Czech Republic: government opposes Sudeten German event
According to a proposal by the governing coalition, the Czech parliament is to take a stance against plans for a meeting of Sudeten Germans in Brno at Whitsun. This would be the first such event to be held on Czech soil. A draft resolution calls for the organisers to be urged to cancel the event. Sudeten Germans were expelled from what was then Czechoslovakia after Nazi Germany's defeat. The opposition has so far blocked the vote.
Demands abandoned long ago
Forum24 calls for the debate to focus more on the present:
“The Sudeten German Congress evokes mixed feelings within our society. Considering the history of relations, this is hardly surprising. But history is not black and white, and these relations should be considered from all angles, including from a present-day perspective. And the Sudeten German Association, which has changed significantly since its inception, should also be considered in this light. Particularly because in 2015, it abandoned its explicit demand for the return of property, which was the biggest point of contention.”
Don’t reject reconciliation out of hand
Lidové noviny calls for a more self-confident stance:
“What impression do we convey to the world if, after 80 years, we're afraid of elderly people and their descendants coming to Brno with Bavarian politicians? That their presence might destabilise us? That we're not capable of welcoming them, engaging in dialogue with them, while also preserving our own historical memories and national interests? Isn't that ridiculous? A self-assured country doesn't shy away from dialogue, and a self-assured nation doesn't need to prove its strength by rejecting symbolic gestures of reconciliation. Quite the contrary.”
The old bogeyman of Czech politics
Hospodářské noviny criticises the way Czech politicians fall back on an old cliché:
“In the Czech Republic, scaring the population with talk of the Sudeten Germans is generally an effective tactic. We need only recall how [former president] Václav Klaus effectively exploited the 'Sudeten threat' for years. Or how his successor Miloš Zeman used the issue in a successful presidential election campaign against Karel Schwarzenberg, and how [Speaker of the House] Tomio Okamura repeatedly whips up sentiment against the Sudeten Germans. It's quite simple: when you have a problem and can't come up with anything better, you bring an 'evil Sudeten German' into play.”