Czech govt's "Romany" council makes no recommendation on Cunek

The Czech government’s council for Romany community affairs did not issue any recommendation on how the government should proceed in relation to deputy PM Jiri Cunek (Christian Democrats, KDU-CSL) over his controversial statements about Romanies.

Cunek explained to the council his statements as well as his idea of dealing with the Romany issue.

Minister Dzamila Stehlikova (Green Party, SZ), chairwowman of the council, convoked the meeting last week when Romanies called for Cunek’s resignation at a demonstration they staged outside the Government Office.

The Romanies were angered by Cunek’s words that if someone wants to get social benefits from the state, he must get sunburnt, and make mess and fires in squares.

Cunek later said that his words did not aim against Romanies, but against politicians.

Stehlikova said that Cunek admitted that his statement was inappropriate, he offered a long explanation and apologised for the statements.

"But there was no time left to adopt a resolution," Stehlikova said adding that the council is not a political body, and therefore it cannot say whether ministers should leave the government or not.

Monika Mihalickova, Romany deputy chairwoman of the council, said that Romany members sharply criticised Cunek for his statement today.

She said that they also had objections to his continued participation in the preparation of a Romany integration project.

"He by no means arouse trust in a big majority of the Romany community representatives. Nor has their relation and attitude to him changed," Mihalickova said.

Cunek claimed until recently that he is preparing his own Romany integration project by which he arose a wave of Romany activists’ opposition.

They feared that it could be based on the model which Cunek applied last autumn when he was mayor of Vsetin, north Moravia.

Vsetin then moved Romany rent-defaulters from a dilapidated house in the town centre to new container-like houses on the town’s edge.

Other families were resettled to dilapidated houses elsewhere in Moravia.

Experts, however, warn against relocating Romanies from towns and villages, against their isolation and against the building of ghettos.

The Romany integration project is being prepared by the government council and Cunek’s Local Development Ministry participates in it together with other ministries.

The project provides for the establishment of a new agency that would supervise the implementation of particular measures.

The government could discuss the document in June.