Prague authorities have banned a march by neo-Nazis through the Czech capital’s Jewish Quarter.
The march was planned for Nov. 10, the anniversary of Kristallnacht.
The City Hall ban reverses an earlier announcement in September by officials who said they were powerless to stop the march because it was registered as a protest against “the Czech particpation in the occupation of Iraq.”
However, a group monitoring racist activity in the Czech Republic pointed out that the march was being spearheaded by the Young National Democrats, which it said was a front for neo-Nazis. The Prague Jewish Community then met with city officials to request that they find some way to cancel the demonstration.
Erik Sedlacek of the Young National Democrats told City Hall he would postpone the march until Nov. 17, a national holiday marking the the end of Communist rule in 1989. But the march is unlikely to happen since the Jewish Liberal Union, a Jewish congregation in Prague, has reserved the area for demonstrations for every day through the end of the year.
