Points for the ENCOD to condamn legally the Policie Raid against Czechtek2005

Source : http://www.Policejnistat.cz
http://www.soundcirkle.info/europe/




Accusations made by politicians

PM Paroubek said on freeparties participants in his article "Techno fans are not dancing children, but dangerous people"
http://indymedia.h-k.sk/newswire/display/86/index.php of 2.08.2005 published in Czech press:

"Its necessary to await destruction of the natural environment and elementary hygiene, with risk of spreading AIDS, Jaundice, Salmonella etc., until all places are infested with trash. There are tons and tons of such experiences in our towns.

This core (of free-parties organizers) is build from people with dangerous anarchists thrives and they are internationally connected. They provoke massive demonstrations against the peaceful society, started with alcohol and drugs. The logic of these violent persons is similar to the system of organizing their parties."

Also in other articles published in the Czech media Czech governmental politicians issued statements depicting freeparties goers as junkies and trash of the society. Yet, as it results from polls and studies carried on by drug experts, the reality is very different from such a stereotype picture.

Another lies were issued by the government officials (mostly from the PM, the Ministry of Interior and Police officials) regarding reasons for the police action - concerning the rental contract, public status of the access road, blockade of the highway on Friday, negligence of the organizers vis-à-vis the sanitary equipment and potable water supply etc. (for more details see the website: http://en.policejnistat.cz )



Drugs among participants

Following the declaration made by the National Drug Central at the aftermath of CzechTek 2004, the participants were bringing drugs only in small quantities for their personal use to the party - the only drug found in a bigger quantity, which could be destined for sale, was hashish.

In regards to the concerns of the use of injectable drugs, the Dance and Drugs 2003 study http://en.policejnistat.cz/We-inform/Articles/Demographic-and-social-characteristics-of-the-visitors-of-electronic-music-concer made by Czech Addictology experts on characteristics of the visitors of electronic dance parties says, that 8,3% of the people questioned responded that they have tried injectable application of a drug within their lifetime, whereas only 3,2 % did it in last year. So it clearly points out that this is not that so-called problematic drug users group, who create an utterly different group (in CR they mostly consist of heroin and pervitin users). These studies lend weight to the utterly ridiculous implication that among this Dance population resides the high risk of spreading Hepatitis type B, C and HIV due to injection abuse of drugs.

Following a testimony from this year's CzechTek http://en.policejnistat.cz/We-inform/Articles/Report-from-CzechTek-2005-Drop-In.html
made by the field workers of Drop In Foundation, who regularly monitor summer festivals and other events held in the Czech Republic, drug situation in CzechTek 2005 was similar to common summer festivals held in July and August around the country. Before the police action they didn't notice any manifestations of aggressiveness, no junkies or drugs residues lying on the ground except cups or empty alcohol bottles. They did not find any thrown needles or syringes, neither they received any such information from the festivalgoers. Following their expert assessment the visitors of this dance party do not belong among problem alcohol or drug users. Their field worker eye-witnessed alcohol drinking by a policeman on duty, which is absolutely incompatible with the police regulations in force. Following their report, from the behavior of some policemen they felt that they were not fully aware of, or eventually they did not respect their own ethical codex.



Social integration of participants

Regarding the demographic and social characteristics of electronic music concerts visitors, the above mentioned study shows that 53% of participants were high school or university students, 42% were employed and only 3,4% were unemployed (national unemployment rate was above 8%) - so these figures clearly demonstrate that techno festivalgoers are not any social trash, but rather the future elite of the Czech society.



Inadequate brutality of the Czech police

There exists enough video and photo documentation on the brutality of the police action -download http://en.policejnistat.cz/Documentation/Video-Audio/Videos-from-CzechTek-2.html

Here follows some extracts from the testimony of Drop In field workers regarding the behavior of festivalgoers and of the Czech police:

Festivalgoers were standing around and chatting, dancing or drinking alcoholic beverages. Regarding the illicit drugs we noticed casual consumption of cannabis and we also noticed use of dance drugs of LSD and ecstasy type….

We did not hear any requests or warnings from the part of the police before the start of police action. At the very moment of the police action people were sitting in the grass, resting, walking or dancing on the meadow. The first persons were wounded only a few instants after the police cordon started to move towards the festivalgoers….

We decided to follow the police cordon with all our medical material we had available (bandages, plasters, aseptic gauze) in order to treat wounded people. The most of wounds were caused by baton strokes to the head, there were also lacerated wounds caused by detonators and irritations of mucous membranes by the tear gas. One of our team members was helping in the first aid tent to treat wounded policemen and festivalgoers. Within three hours she witnessed first aid treatment of dozens of festivalgoers and only a few policemen. Only after her protests a young man with broken face and a suspicion of fractures of lower jaw and nose was released from tight handcuffs that were twisting his hands behind the back and could be given first aid. The policemen's wounds were mostly cuts on palms.



Impact on the Czech society

The police raid against CzechTek 2005 created a deep divide in the Czech society, where the division line clearly passes between the older and young generation. The older generation mostly believes the affirmation of Czech authorities saying that the festivalgoers were aggressive junkies who deserved it, while the young generation knows well, what is the reality, and has lost any confidence in Czech police and establishment in general. "It was an attack against a kind of authentic togetherness, an authentic community, ie. something which in this age - filled as it is with egoism and cynicism - society desperately needs," said former president Vaclav Havel. The police raid was strongly criticized by the Czech Senate, President Klaus, Ombudsman and many other institutions and organizations.



Our requests

• We request that the Police would communicate us the names of persons who decided on overstepping its legal powers and on contravening the §6 of the Police Act by defending the leaseholder of meadow Mr. Vaclav Sroub and his guests to enter his duly rented lands in spite of the fact that the leaseholder presented them a lease contract duly certified by a solicitor.

• We request the Police to communicate us who and on the basis of which paragraph of the Police Act decided to drive out people from the lands that they were legally occupying and which were legally rented, as proven by the above mentioned lease contract with the owner of these lands, available to the Police of CR in the moment of the action.

• We request the constitution of a Parliamentary committee of investigation including public personalities, which would guarantee an independent assessment of the police action directed against the participants of the teknival CzechTek 2005. We request that this committee would be given access to all internal police information connected to the preparation and execution of this police action.

• We are asking the government of the Czech Republic to express an unambiguous position regarding the justification, legality and execution of the police assault.

We are ready to start negotiations with a government representative, excluding the PM Paroubek and Interior Minister Bublan.



Legal background

• The Police blocked a publicly accessible road including a highway exit on the presumption of guilt; there was no reason to believe that any of the persons legally dwelling on this road were going to violate Czech laws.
• On the basis of the §6 of the Police Act, the Police can use only the means indispensable to remedy an unlawful condition. The Police have no right to undertake preventive actions only on the basis of a suspicion that something illegal might happen.
• The legislation of the Czech Republic DOES NOT have any specific laws banning the organization of free parties. This kind of event DOES NOT fall under the legislation regulating public assemblies as far it is held on private property, and does not require any authorization from state or local authorities, as was the case with CzechTek 2005.