Brno, Czechia - 2 June 2001

There was the 3rd Street Party in Brno on Saturday, 2.6.2001. It was organized by various nongovernmental activists, anarchists and other individuals. In spite of bad weather it was joined by 800 people from Bohemia, Moravia, Slovakia, Germany, the United States and maybe other countries. Its aim was to point out the problems connected with car culture - and, on the local level, to critique the transport policy of the Brno city government.

It started at a big parking place with speeches about the phenomenon of street parties in general, the "problematic" draft text for a new czech law on public rallies, and a summing up of the protests against the IMF and World Bank summit in Prague last year. Music was produced by a live jazzrock band and a jungle sound system. Loads of information materials about animal and human rights, environmental and social problems and anarchism were available - and there were drummers and jugglers too.

After two hours the people started a march headed by the Prague samba band and a three-and-a-half-metre-tall puppet symbolizing the connection between petrol and car multinational companies and high emissions of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. As the march was situated on a big road, where cars are coming down from the D1 highway Prague - Brno, it caused a one-and-a-half kilometer long traffic jam. This road was choosen also because it is full of petrol stations and hypermarkets and symbolises the madness of consumerism and car culture. The march stopped at a big crossroad near the city center and blocked it for one hour. There were held more speeches about hypermarkets, feminism, capitalism etc and the soundsystem played. After this the march continued to a square, where the Street Party finished.

The gathering and the march too were announced and permitted, so there were no problems with the police. Only because of the blockade we expect small penalties - as every year.

kids in sandpit on M41
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Updated 5 July 2001