Almost two hundred people have now been refused entry into the Czech Republic ahead of the anti-NATO Summit demonstrations, which begin this evening. Reports of harassment at borders and of people being ordered to leave the country have been coming in for days.

It is understood the Czech authorities have a list of some 2,200 people arrested at other European summit protests who they will automatically deny entry to, while others have been turned away for having anti-NATO leaflets or anarchist badges upon their person. Five people suspected of perhaps planning to cut power during the NATO summit were arrested by police in north Moravia. The Congress Center and the city subway system may have been targeted, police said. Solidarity protests and actions at the borders are planned in several cities.

While the police and authorities have been warning of serious violence from a 'hardcore' or around 2000 people, protest groups and networks have published proposals for the demonstrations which specifically discourages confrontational actions. With a huge anti-terrorism operation in place around the summit, 250 US military personnel will be on duty while over a dozen American fighter planes will patrol the skies as America virtually takes over the military running of the country.

Amnesty International has issued a press release further condemning the ill-treatment and torture of protestors during the anti-IMF and World Bank protests in September 2000, and calling for the Czech authorities to improve their human rights record and respect the freedom of expression. However Czech Police representatives and the Interior Minister, Stanislav Gross, have said that policing of the summit protests will be more aggressive than during the IMF / World Bank protests in 2000, with a publicly declared strategy to step up use of water cannons, tear gas and armoured vehicles to tackle protests.

Beyond the scare stories the NATO media drive includes a wealth of articles in local and national press talking up the benefits to business from the NATO summit and a free-to-broadcast satellite downlink covering the major summit press events and addresses (see official site http://www.natosummit.cz). A pro NATO student conference will take place alongside sessions for other civil society groups. A range of alternative and independent meetings will also take place alongside the summit. The main protests are taking place Wednesday evening and Thursday afternoon.

So far the small protests have passed off without serious incident. A convergence centre for the protests has been set up and a demonstration on Sunday of around 200-400 people went ahead with a large police escort. There are of course many police in the streets (12,000 scheduled in total) as well as plain clothes undercover police, stopping people and checking their identity papers and searching their bags. Recently a meeting in a pub for international protestors was raided by police in riot gear who searched and filmed everyone, making one arrest (a href="http://prague.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=4150&group=webcast">report).

The start of the summit comes hot on the heals of protests in the US where over 10,000 people took part in mass civil disobedience at the Western Hemispheric Institute for Security Cooperation, formerly the School of the Americas, at Fort Benning (Nov 16/17). 95 people were arrested, many for breaching the training base grounds (see Indymedia.org and Atlanta Indymedia).

LINKS:

Czech Republic: Past mistakes must not be repeated -- respect for freedom of expression
Amnesty International (16 November 2002)
Amnesty International today called on the Czech authorities to ensure that the right to peaceful demonstration is protected and that international human rights standards are fully observed during policing operations in connection with the NATO summit in Prague on 21 and 22 November 2002. Following protests organized in Prague on 26 and 27 September 2000 to coincide with the annual meeting of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, Amnesty International investigated more than 60 individual complaints of arbitrary detention, police ill-treatment of detainees and other violations of detainees' rights. The organization also analysed information concerning some of the investigations conducted by the Czech authorities into complaints submitted by the victims of the reported human rights violations.

Police prepare for protests at the NATO summit as human rights organization warns against excessive force
The Prague Post (October 23, 2002)
In a post-9/11 world, there can be no tolerance for street violence or threats to public safety, says Interior Minister Stanislav Gross. "We will not be caught by surprise,"; said Jiri Kolar, police president for the Czech Republic, at an Oct. 16 press conference on NATO. "I want to decrease the chance of man-to-man combat so that extremists don't have direct contact with our policemen." Both Kolar and Beran also believe the police were not aggressive enough during the IMF-World Bank summit.

Transport standstill forecast as streets close for summit
The Prague Post (October 23, 2002)
If you don't have to be in or near the city center of Prague during the NATO summit, Nov. 21-22, then by all means, stay home, do your shopping before the summit starts and please, don't drive anywhere. Citybraces for international summit The Prague Post (November 15, 2002) NB Also see the Prague Tribune for other Engish language corporate media coverage.

Draft proposal regarding protests coinciding with the NATO Summit in Prague
CSAF (21-22 November 2002)
The best case scenario we envision is a creative occupation of the city embodying and assisting the struggle against the dictatorship of capital and its armies. The protest would bring together a massive expression of resistance, of many decentralized, but coordinated, actions in various sites in Prague, which will be directed at the initiative of individual groups. *In addition, we know that the role of the various summits of global capitalist institutions, shouldn't be overestimated: Capitalism is not powered by the meetings of its managers, but by everyday exploitation and alienation. Nevertheless, we can use the NATO summit as an opportunity to voice anti- capitalist resistance. However, we feel it would be counter-productive to use confrontational tactics when the proper conditions don't exist--that is just the fetishization of direct action. Instead it would be preferable to take our activities to the squares and streets where normal people go about day-to-day living, rather than emptying the streets below the fortified palace of the defenders of capital. Our goal is not to create a spectacle for the rich war-makers inside the conference center, but to present our critique to the working class.

English + Cz News From Indymedia Prague

English Language News From The Czech Anarchist Federation (CSAF)

The Complete anti-NATO Activist Guide to Prague

Information for border (Eng)

List of the "official" actions (Eng)

OPH Legal Observers


BACKGROUND

The NATO summit, which will take place on November 20 and 21, will be the largest convention ever to be held in Prague: 46 heads of state 2,500 delegates 3,000 journalists

Czech budget: CZK 800 million CZK 340 million will be divided among about 100 suppliers 70 employees for summit preparations 500 cars and buses for transport , 3-4000 NATO protesters, 12,000 police and military unit members for security (paid out of the budget's remaining CZK 460 million)

Out of the total CZK 800 million budget that the foreign affairs ministry has allocated for the event, CZK 460 million are earmarked for security.

Security measures for NATO will include: Closing to cars and pedestrians of areas surrounding the Prague 4 Kongresove centrum, Prague Castle and Obecni dum 500 security cameras monitoring visitors and residents Tightening of borders and keeping out protesters with a history of violence 3,000 riot gear uniforms for police in case violence erupts

Use of water cannons, tear gas and armoured vehicles to separate police from demonstrators, if needed

The Prague Summit has been widely referred to as a meeting designed to take forward the further transformation of the Alliance with topics including:
-new challenges and new threats;
- operational capabilities;
- the enlargement process;
- partnership and cooperation, with sections on NATO and Russia, NATO and Ukraine, the NATO-EU strategic relationship, and the Mediterranean Dialogue;
- and NATO's commitment to the Balkans.