Commentary by Michaela Marksová - Tominová: MP Chaloupka's demagoguery

Czech MP Otto Chaloupka (Public Affairs – VV) has made blunt statements about Romani people in a recent interview. He uses many arguments that we constantly hear repeated in the media, arguments that are purely demagogic and not based in truth. That is why they must be sharply opposed.

The main motto of these opinions is the idea that “all of the citizens of this country and people living here must enjoy the same rights and the same obligations. If someone does not meet their obligations, the appropriate punishment should be applied to them. It does not matter whether the person is white, black, or a Gypsy.”

Such statements introduce the idea of a situation in which Romani people are able to undertake criminal activity but are never punished for it, an alleged privilege not enjoyed by everyone else. However, those claims are not based in truth. The law applies equally to everyone and it is up the relevant authorities and institutions to see that it is upheld.

Another opinion of MP Chaloupky’s is the idea that “most people from that minority fall into the category of troublemakers who are a burden to society”. Such a generalizing claim should never be uttered by a member of the Czech lower house. An enormous proportion of the Romani people living in excluded localities are unable to find work and their children are automatically assigned to “special schools”, losing the opportunity for a meaningful education and the option of finding a place in the labor market. The families who find themselves in these desperate social situations become the victims of a wide variety of crimes, ranging from loan-sharking to real estate speculation.

The vast majority of people living in ghettos did not voluntarily choose to live there, but were forced there by circumstances. They themselves are becoming the victims of crime, but in the current social situation they do not know how to get out of the ghettos through their own resources.

To “tar everyone with the same brush” just because they all belong to the same minority, in this case, the Romani minority, is extremely dangerous. History has shown us what awful, tragic results such statements can result in, even in countries considered advanced. Mr Chaloupka, I call on you not to repeat such remarks in the future.