Czech Lety pig farm turns into fight over Romany question - Klaus

The dispute over the pig farm located on the site of a former Nazi internment camp for Romanies in Lety, south Bohemia, changed into a fight over the Romany question, Czech President Vaclav Klaus told journalists today.

"It seems bad to me if the issue should turn into a fight over the Romany question," Klaus said.

Romany activists have been calling for the removal of the pig farm for a long time. They consider it disrespectful to the people who died in the camp.

The government says the state has not the money necessary to remove the farm.

Klaus said he believes that the Romany issue is much more difficult and that the problems would not be solved by the possible removal of the pig farm.

He said it was the government who was to find a reasonable solution.

The previous government of Jiri Paroubek (Social Democrats, CSSD) started to deal with the issue but failed to reach any agreement with the farm’s owners.

The costs of the pig farm’s removal are estimated at hundreds of millions of crowns.

Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek (Civic Democrats, ODS) recently proposed that a new memorial to the camp’s victims be built next to the farm. However, the Committee for Compensation of Romany Holocaust (VPORH) opposes the idea.

According to historical documents, some 1,308 Romanies were deported to Lety during WW2, while 326 people perished there and more than 500 of its inmates died in the extermination camp in Oswiecim (Auschwitz).