The Czech Republic is again a champion in anti-communism and anti-Putinism - Prague criminalizes communist propaganda. Why in Bulgaria can't we still be like the Czechs, asks Ivaylo Noizi Tsvetkov.
The Czechs are again champions in anti-communism and anti-Putinism. After organizations such as the local Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes strongly insisted, President Petr Pavel passed an amendment to the Penal Code that criminalizes communist propaganda, practically equating it with Nazi propaganda. Look how beautiful it sounds: sentences of up to 5 years in effective prison for anyone who "establishes, supports or promotes Nazi, communist and other movements that demonstratively or not aim to suppress human rights and freedoms or to incite racial, ethnic, nationalist, religious or class hatred".
In other words, the Czech state "cooks" quite culturally all kinds of "revivals", "greatness" and "swords", because the spirit of the amendment also includes pro-Putin propagandists. Of course, the "Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia", led by MEP Katerina Konecna, screamed that this was a political decision aimed at them - and I agree with her.
Of course, it is political, when it comes to both civic sensitivity on the issue and the determination of a truly European state. Konecna is part of a local anti-European circle called "Staćilo" (something like "Enough"), but in October he will fight for his pitiful 5% and entry into parliament at all. That is, they are somewhat similar to some of the weakest teams in the Czech football league, such as "Teplice" and "Zin".
Lithuania and Estonia also have similar laws.
You understand where I am taking you, but here are a few more good examples. Lithuania is my real favorite - they've had a similar law for decades, they've torn down all communist monuments and, as their Prime Minister Gintautas Palukas says, they've long since finished glorifying everything Soviet, and now the people are worried that Putin's Russia wants to take them over again. Understandable, when you have a border with Belarus and the Kaliningrad region. And when you've seen the sting of communism.
Estonia also has a similar law: communist symbols are absolutely banned there, including Bulgaria's beloved red pentagram, or, as I call it, the red devil's pentagram. In Tallinn, probably because the new Red Army is on their eastern border, they even banned that Putin-designed ribbon with the St. George's Cross in their horror. The Estonians, as the most digital country in the world, even have a state mobile app that monitors pro-Russian symbols and propaganda. But there is no need for it, as a Reddit user makes clear: "In theory, there is a law on Russian propaganda, but the state does not enforce it and does not monitor it - everyone just knows what the threat is".
In the case of the Czech Republic, there is another interpretation: that this is a kind of PR by the ruling party, like "look, we follow Vaclav Havel". Some intellectuals, however, remind us that Havel himself was never in favor of a prohibitive regime of communism. Havel was a "Gandhist" - he wanted a gentle transition and certainly did not prohibit anything, and the new Czech Republic once and for all forgave the communists and the cops in order to move forward. And that is more or less what happened. With a small detail: the new opposition turned the collapsed Czechoslovakia into the magnificent Czech Republic of today.
And Bulgaria?
And right here is the moment to ask ourselves the question for the hundredth time: What if during these 35 years we were not governed by neo-communist structures and services? In other words, should I ask you what happened in Bulgaria? After the half-hearted attempt at an "anti-communist" law under Ivan Kostov in 2000, the topic has long been swept under the rug, no one really decides what to do with communist symbols, because it was complicated legally and otherwise.
It seems to me that until we as a nation decide that everything communist and Putinist is an absolute NO, we will be at the bottom of the Eastern European rankings. That's why I gave the example of the Czech Republic, which has long since surpassed us.
Why can't we still do it like the Czechs? The simple answer is that almost everyone in power at the moment is somehow connected to the post-communist. The complicated one… I’m not even sure if there is such a thing as complicated.
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This comment expresses the personal opinion of the author and may not coincide with the positions of the Bulgarian editorial office and the State News Agency as a whole.