Czech neo-Nazis clash with anti-fascists

http://www.smh.com.au/news/World/Czech-neoNazis-clash-with-antifascists/2007/11/11/1194724812768.html

At least 250 people were arrested in violent flare ups in the capital on Saturday as neo-Nazis tried to march through the Jewish quarter of Prague.

Police also seized weapons including a gas gun, axes and sticks at scattered sites as the extremists tried to reach the Jewish quarter, police spokesman Ladislav Bernasek said.

At least six people, including one policeman, suffered head injuries, said Prague rescue service spokeswoman Jirina Ernestova.

The march had been scheduled to take place just a day after the anniversary of Kristallnacht, the 1938 night of terror when the Nazis attacked synagogues and Jewish homes and businesses throughout Germany and parts of Austria.

The march was banned, and about 1,400 policemen were deployed in the capital, including riot police and officers on horses. Equipped with armoured vehicles and water cannons, they sealed off most of the historic Jewish quarter.

The organisers were the Young National Democrats, which is linked to the National Resistance, a neo-Nazi group. They said their intention was to protest the deployment of Czech troops in Iraq and they pledged to defy the ban.

---

Muslim chief warns of Nazi fear climate

http://www.smh.com.au/news/World/Muslim-chief-warns-of-Nazi-fear-climate/2007/11/10/1194329574441.html

A leading Muslim in Britain has warned authorities against helping to create a climate of fear and suspicion similar to that in Nazi Germany during the 1930s.

He suggested the British government and MI5 were helping create an atmosphere of exclusion with their rhetoric.