Latest on the banning of the KSM (Czech Communist Youth)

international | rights, freedoms and repression | news report Wednesday May 14, 2008 23:14 by Nikita - CYM

The KSM were recently banned by the Czech courts and the following letter is an update on the KSM's situation after the verdict.

Dear comrades,

We want to inform you about the latest news and developments of the banning of The Communist Youth Union (KSM) of the Czech Republic. On Wednesday March 19th, 2008 a Municipal Court of Prague rejected the administrative protest delivered by the KSM against the decision of the Ministry of Interior of Czech Republic on the dissolution of the Communist Youth Union (KSM). The official reason of the banning of the KSM was declared a programmatic goal of the KSM to replace private ownership of means of production with a collective ownership of means of production. Also the reason for the dissolution of KSM was the convincement of the young people about the necessity to struggle for another society not based on the capitalist principles. This attack against KSM is a culmination of the long lasting anti-Communist campaign.

The state power, represented by the police, also made the next steps in the way of fascization of our society. On May Day 2008, a group of activist of the Communist Youth Union during a May Day celebration in a city of Brno was attacked by the police that has confiscated materials and also flags with the logo of KSM and the activists will have the next legal proceedings with the state organs. The Czech media reflected this fact in many ways and many people were informed about this scandalous step of the state repressive policy. But it is not enough.

Two weeks ago, a non-communist artistic group Guma Guar officially opened an exhibition against the ban of KSM in a Gallery of the capital city of Prague in historical Old Town Hall. This group strongly rejected the ban of KSM as an attack against the fundamental democratic rights and presented in the mentioned Gallery the campaigns of the KSM, the expressions of solidarity with the KSM received from a vast number of foreign organisations and individuals and a movie about the KSM. Video report from the exhibition you can find in http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYN5K5rqzrY. Precisely and symbolically on the May Day this exhibition was destroyed by a brutal attack of anti – communists who wore black clothes and balaclavas covering their faces. The director of the Prague Gallery kept silent about this violent anticommunist attack for 4 days. The artistic group wanted to reopen the exhibition in the conditions after the attack. But the Gallery decided to abolish the exhibition without any opportunity for the artistic group to defend their right of artistic expression.
We are witnessing anticommunist oppression realized both by the state and by various fascist and extreme rightist groups as well as a number of physical attacks against the activists of the KSM in the streets.

The KSM appeals to all the democratic forces to oppose the ban of KSM by the Ministry of Interior and the anti-Communist and anti-democratic tendencies of the current state power. Herewith, the KSM makes sure all its members and friends, that in spite of the bans and persecutions the young communists do not back off their activities for the struggle for the interests of the majority of the young generation – the students, apprentices, the young workers and unemployed people – and struggle for socialism.

Comradely,
Veronika Pazderova
Vice-chairperson of the KSM