Czech human rights activists have launched a petition against a concert by American rapper Kanye West to be held in Prague, and are asking Prague Mayor Bohuslav Svoboda to block the event due to West’s anti-Semitism and comments expressing admiration for Adolf Hitler. The show was moved to Prague after the cancellation of the Slovak festival where the artist was originally scheduled to perform.
The three dozen signatories have addressed an open letter to Prague City Hall, warning of possible security risks. Prague Deputy Mayor Jiri Pospisil (TOP 09) supported the activists’ stance.
Organisers of large concerts told CTK that it was not realistic to stage West’s performance in Prague in a few weeks.
Aktuality.sk reported on Tuesday that the concert had been moved from Slovakia to Prague. However, no promoter from the Czech Republic has announced the concert so far.
West, who styles himself as ‘Ye’, was due to perform in July at Slovakia’s Rubikon festival, close to Bratislava. However, there were doubts about whether the festival would go ahead, as the site was not ready even a few days before the event.
A petition against the event was launched in Slovakia in June. Its authors described the rapper as one of the most infamous anti-Semites.
The initiators of the Czech petition have expressed the same opinion. The petition also notes that West has glorified Nazi leader Adolf Hitler in his work and statements, repeatedly relativises Nazism, released a track called ‘Heil Hitler’ in May, and sold T-shirts with swastikas in his e-shop. He also made international headlines when he had his visa revoked by Australia, the home country of his wife Bianca Censori, due to his track celebrating Hitler.
According to Pospisil, the deputy mayor for culture, the concert should not be held in Prague either. “Prague is not a place to celebrate Nazism,” he said. “We had first-hand experience of the horrors of the Second World War, and now we should not give space to people who glorify these crimes. I am strongly opposed to Kanye West performing in Prague. A man who makes no secret of his admiration for Hitler has no place in Prague!”
“A Kanye West concert in Prague would be an affront to historical memory, a glorification of wartime violence and a humiliation of all victims of the Nazi regime – including Czech soldiers, civilians, political prisoners, resistance fighters, the Jewish community and their families,” the signatories said in their letter and petition.
They also warn of possible security risks, arguing that such an event could contribute to the strengthening and spread of extremism. It could also attract radicals from across the Czech Republic and abroad to Prague, posing a threat of violence.
The signatories, who include representatives of human rights organisations, lawyers, artists, filmmakers and former ombudsman Anna Sabatova, are appealing to Prague Mayor Svoboda (ODS) and the City Council. They are asking Svoboda to intervene so that the concert does not take place in the Czech capital. He could do so through the authorities, by negotiating with the organisers and operators of the premises, or by using the city’s authority to ensure security and order.
According to Aktuality.sk, the new organiser is finalising the details of the exact date and venue for the Prague concert. Hugo Varga, the organiser of the cancelled Slovak festival, informed ticket holders via e-mail that they can either exchange them for tickets to the Prague concert or get their money back.
