From Prominent Anti Communist Dissident To Anti Imperialist Performer –

André Vltchek’s remarkable portrait of the enfant terrible of anti-imperialist politics and scourge of religious fanaticism, Milan Kohout.
The onetime anti-Soviet dissident speaks out on life under capitalism, and what it does to the human soul.

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http://youtu.be/CATJ9DMrEn0?list=PLBNTz781JIl-f1eBTq1q6ICd8bDQBe7VL

Filmed and written by Andre Vltchek 
Edited by Crista Priscilla

[dropcap]V[/dropcap]ery few people are capable of making others laugh, cry and think – to infuriate them and in the same time to convince them that the good fight for humanity should never be abandoned. All that in the same short time!

Milan Kohout, former Czech dissident turned US citizen, then rebel against his new homeland and the Empire, is one such person!

His performances touched and outraged people all over the world, from Croatia and the Czech Republic, to the United States, Israel, and China. He was throwing raw meat to the air inside the churches, to commemorate how the torn flesh of Iraqi people was falling from the sky, after the Western bombing of a market in Baghdad. He was throwing peas at the Israeli wall designed to imprison Palestinian people. And he almost single-handedly forced the authorities to take down yet another wall – that which was built in the city of Usti nad Labem in Czech Republic, in order to segregate the Roma (gypsy) minority.

What is the leitmotif of Milan’s work? That the greatest crimes against humanity were committed by the Europeans and North Americans, in the name of Christianity and capitalism (aka “Free Enterprise), and that these two ‘villains’ go almost always hand in hand against the interests of our human race. And that greed and fanatic religious beliefs, as well as pure ignorance, are some of the greatest dangers to our survival.

Milan Kohout and I met online, some time ago: he wrote to me after reading one of my essays on Counterpunch. We became good friends, as is common in these days, through the Internet, long distance. Soon after, Milan designed the cover of my latest non-fiction book: “Fighting Against Western Imperialism”.

Then he invited me to come to Pilsen, in the Czech Republic: the city where both of us grew up. He asked me to deliver a 90-minute lecture on the state of the world, at the University of West Bohemia, the Faculty of Philosophy and Arts. That is where he is presently teaching.

I accepted. We met, drank gallons of legendary Pilsener beer and realized that we actually see the world in fairly similar ways. But we only had 48 hours to forge some serious cooperation, before my driving back to Stuttgart and returning back to Beirut, Lebanon, just one day later!

We went straight to work. I spoke at his faculty and then Milan arranged an interview with me at the Czech National Radio. And I interviewed him for TGP and Counterpunch.

Then we drove to the historic city of Nepomuk and from there to the Christian pilgrimage site – Zelena Hora. There I encouraged Milan to release all the poison he has been holding against the Christian faith for ages! Which he did happily and diligently: in front of the most tasteless of Christian statues, and straight to my camera!

The result is right here: edited lightly, only to improve the flow. And here stands the artist – in front of the cross and 1.5L empty coca cola plastic bottle – in his full combative glory!

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Andre Vltchek is a novelist, filmmaker and investigative journalist. He covered wars and conflicts in dozens of countries. The result is his latest book: “Fighting Against Western Imperialism”. ‘Pluto’ published his discussion with Noam Chomsky: On Western Terrorism. His critically acclaimed political novel Point of No Return is re-edited and available. Oceania is his book on Western imperialism in the South Pacific. His provocative book about post-Suharto Indonesia and the market-fundamentalist model is called “Indonesia – The Archipelago of Fear”. His feature documentary, “Rwanda Gambit” is about Rwandan history and the plunder of DR Congo. After living for many years in Latin America and Oceania, Vltchek presently resides and works in East Asia and Africa. He can be reached through his website or his Twitter.

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Published on Nov 13, 2014