Czech Gov Reports on 'Extremist IMC'

The Czech governemnt has included Indymedia in a list of 'extremist organisations' reviewed in a report covering last years events (2002), specificaly in relation to the NATO summit protests in Prague, November 2002.

In the report they accuse IMC Prague of aiming to "control and coordinate the development of protest events"!

This is the latest in a long line of attacks on Indymedia from Stanislav Gross, Minister of the Interior and the Czech state.

During the NATO summit in November 2002, the small number of Indymedia volunteers in Prague were subject to a high level of surveillance and intimidation, and were followed by undercover police and security agents from different countries in the streets, in bars and in restuarants. While a major Czech daily paper alleged that extremists were in Prague posing as 'independent journalists'.

Following the Anti-IMF / World Bank protests in 2000, Stanislav Gross (who was in charge of the policing then) reported that a foreign company had been working to destabilise the Czech state and to attack the reputation of the police. Later Indymedia was named.

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ENGLISH TRANSLATION
excerpts from the report section about anti-nato

Thankfully, IMC did not make it to the loony section about dangerous sects and extreme religious groups :)

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A report on the problem of extremism in the region of the Czech Republic in the year 2002

presented by Stanislav Gross
minister of interior
&
Pavel Rychetsky
ministry of justice

(....)"Activists from the international group IMC are also in favor of violent mass action scenarios, and in the first half of 2002 (Czech IMC) took part in several international meetings with Czech organizations."

"the activities of Radio Jeleni were renewed (because of the NATO summit)"

"After a July meeting of the anti-nato platform, the "proposed plan for protests during the summit" was published on the Prague IMC website."

The main goals of Prague IMC during the year 2002:
1. to explain the protests from an ideological standpoint
2. to cover the protests during the summit
3. to some extent control and coordinate the development of protest events (!!?!)
4. to gain information about the events after they occurred
5. to provide worldwide media with information modified to meet the needs of antiglobalists
6. to organize press conferences (!?)

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These are just several sentences from a chapter on anti-nato activity, the entire report on "Extremist groups" is very thick.

The ministers of Absurdistan strike again!

Original article on Prague IMC at: