Commentary: Who is the Czech Government Human Rights Commissioner here for?

On Saturday, 10 September, I attended the gathering in Nový Bor organized by the “Violence is No Solution” initiative (“Násilí není řešení”) along with many other people. We wanted to express our disagreement not only with violence, but also with racism.

There were about 200 people there from all over the republic. Everyone could freely express his or her opinion about the situation and the coexistence of Romani citizens with those from the majority part of society. The thing that most pleased me about this gathering was its diversity. There were not only people there of different skin colors, but from various social and societal positions, from lawyers to “ordinary” people, and everyone was there with the same determination and idea.

After signing the spiritual “We Shall Overcome” together, there were many readings from the Bible and prayers for the town of Nový Bor, as well as a blessing of the town and all of its residents. When it was time to read messages from people who had not been able to attend in person, Czech Government Human Rights Commissioner Monika Šimůnková suddenly turned up. She walked by me accompanied by two security guards. I greeted her quietly, more a gesture, a nod of the head, because a helicopter was circling above us and I figured she wouldn’t be able to hear me anyway. I must have not bowed low enough, because she didn’t respond.

It was clear to me that she had finally decided to make a public appearance and I was glad the Human Rights Commissioner was there with us all, condemning the violence that had been committed in recent weeks and also condemning the racism that has been sweeping through our country. However, I was unpleasantly surprised when instead, clergyman Mikuláš Vymětal read a greeting from Czech Government Human Rights Commissioner Monika Šimůnková. I wanted to immediately respond that this must evidently be a mistake, as she was there with us. It was then explained to me that she had merely delivered her greeting for someone else to read and had left. Suddenly she was nowhere to be seen, not even in the vicinity of our assembly.

I don’t know why she chose to behave that way, but one thing is clear to me: We weren’t worth her time. Why? Well, in her view, we are ourselves to blame for what has happened.

Our gathering in Nový Bor ended according to plan. We couldn’t make it to Varnsdorf because the roads were blocked, so we agreed to all go to Rumburk, where our protest was meant to continue. In Rumburk, just like in Nový Bor, there were members and promoters of the DSSS, and a few people from our gathering wanted to go into town where DSSS leader Vandas was making a speech. My colleague Jan Čonka ran into Commissioner Šimůnková once again on the way there.

We all hoped that what she had missed in Nový Bor she would make up for in Rumburk, but we hoped in vain. We weren’t worth her time in Rumburk either, and so I ask myself: For whom does the Human Rights Commissioner work if not for us, the ordinary people?