Dozens of police officers will maintain public order at this weekend’s Sudeten German congress in Brno, including riot police, immigration officers, traffic police and criminal investigators, according to South Moravian police spokesman Pavel Svab.
The police are also investigating several threats made against the event’s organisers, and they have been able to identify two of the perpetrators.
Brno is hosting the Sudeten German Landsmannschaft (SdL) congress from Thursday until Monday. The descendants of Sudeten Germans, who were forced to leave the Czech lands after World War II, were invited to the Moravian capital by the Meeting Brno festival. The event is controversial and protests are expected.
“Riot police, immigration police, traffic police, and, of course, criminal investigators will be on the scene,” said South Moravian police director Leos Trzil. “The anti-conflict team, too, plays an irreplaceable role in such operations. Technology will also assist us.”
According to Svab, detectives are investigating several threats directed against the organisers and the event itself. So far, they have been able to identify two perpetrators. One of the men is from the Central Bohemia Region, and his health condition prevents him from travelling to Brno, so local police will take over the case. The second suspect has also not yet been questioned due to his health condition. All actions under investigation so far are of a misdemeanour nature, Svab said.
The Sudeten German Congress will take place from 22-25 May in Brno, as part of the Meeting Brno festival. It is being held in the Czech Republic for the first time, following an invitation from the festival organisers last year. Bavarian Minister-President Markus Soder, Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt and several other German and Austrian politicians will attend the congress.
At the initiative of the far-right Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD), the Chamber of Deputies passed a resolution last Thursday opposing the holding of the congress in the Czech Republic. The coalition of ANO, SPD, and Motorists called on the organisers to cancel the event in Brno. MPs from the opposition parties boycotted the parliamentary session in protest. Sudeten German leader Bernd Posselt described the vote as “a farce” and “a caricature of parliamentarianism”. He and the organisers of the Meeting Brno festival stressed that the Sudeten German congress will take place regardless of the resolution.
