The Executive Committee (EC) of the Young Communist League (YCL) unanimously welcomed the recent decision of the Czech Supreme Administrative Court at its meeting on Saturday.  The court overturned the decision of the Prague Municipal Court in 2008 which rejected the KSM's protest against the illegalisation of the Czech Communist Youth organisation carried out by the ministry of the interior. This is an important victory in the struggle of the KSM to overturn its illegalisation, on the grounds that it supported public ownership, but it is unfortunately only the first step.

The EC acknowledged that this important achievement has been down to the fact that the KSM have continued to operate successful campaigns amongst the youth of the Czech Republic despite the ban and have worked tirelessly with their allies in the national parliaments, the European parliament, university professors and former anti-fascist partisans against this decision. The YCL joined the KSM in recognising that the mobilisation of thousands of people from progressive  youth, student and labour movement organisations in Britain and the rest of Europe in solidarity with the KSM, against the Czech governments persecution of a legitimate democratic youth organisation has made a significant contribution to this decision.

However, YCL General Secretary, Joanne Stevenson, has warned against further attacks on democracy in the former socialist country. ‘The judgment by the Supreme Administrative Court of the Czech Republic on the banning of the KSM is a very positive step in the struggle for its recognition, and against anticommunist and antidemocratic developments in the Czech Republic’.