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Wednesday, September 14, 2016

Remember the Prague Spring?

Czech Republic president, Miloš Zeman, has unleashed a rhetorical fusillade against Muslim incomers of such intensity that it makes the anti-Islamic sentiments of Robert Fico, the Slovakian prime minister, and even Viktor Orbán, Hungary’s prime minister – who is holding a referendum next month aimed at establishing public opposition to accepting migrants – seem mild in comparison. Zeman has warned that the Czech Republic – home to only 3,500 Muslims out of a population of 10.5 million, according to official figures – could be targeted in a jihadi attack and urged Czechs to arm themselves against what he referred to as a possible “super-Holocaust”. He has commented “You might say that Islamic migration is composed of peaceful people. Let me give you one example. The attitude of Islam – I do not speak about jihadists, I speak about Islam – towards women, half of the population. As you know, in the Qur’an, women is something like the inferior part of mankind.”

In 1968 the Soviet invasion and the return of oppressive government measures triggered the flight of tens of thousands of people, eleven thousand of whom went to Canada. Austria was again a stopover for refugees placed in other countries.

Short memories when it comes to welcoming other vulnerable asylum seekers fleeing repression and the threat of death, eh?

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