News server Romea.cz. Everything about Roma in one place

News server Romea.cz. Everything about Roma in one place

Czech magazine Existence publishes interview "Together against anti-Gypsyism"

22 October 2012
3 minute read

The most recent issue of Existence magazine (1/2012), published by the Czechoslovak Anarchist Federation (Československá anarchstická federace) includes an interview with members of Anti-fascist Action (Antifašistické akce – AFA) and the No to Racism! Initiative (Initiativa Ne Rasismu! – INR) about the ongoing racist demonstrations in the Šluknov foothills. The full interview is available (in Czech only) at http://www.antifa.cz/content/spolecne-proti-anticiganismu-rozhovor-z-existence .

The interview was conducted with two activists, Michal Pokorný of INR and a member of AFA. The editors of Existence say that “racist demonstrations and marches in the Šluknov region” have been growing “since the end of the summer and the start of the fall in 2011 with the assistance of active neo-Nazis into something which it is no exaggeration to call an incomplete attempt at a pogrom against the local Romani minority.” Those events motivated the editors to investigate how organizations focused on the question of the fight against fascism and racism responded to the situation. These organizations work within the framework of the broader anti-authoritarian movement.

The article reports that the situation in the Šluknov foothills once again prompted debate among the members of AFA over how effective it is to focus on neo-Nazis when it is mainstream society that is fascisizing. The interviewed AFA member says: “Thanks to the fact that currently the dominant opinion across all of society is that Romani people are responsible for everything that is wrong here, it is correct to be concerned that not only is anti-Gypsyism serving politicians as a tool for their own political dominance, it is also serving as a tool for legitimizing various political moves – in the final analysis, the posturing of politicians toward Šluknov is proof of that… [Czech Prime Minister] Nečas has succeeded in elegantly covering for his reforms by making arguments about Šluknov. When he declared that the too-generous social welfare system was responsible for the problems in Šluknov district, he said that in order to defend his reform of the social welfare system and his ideology as a hard-working conservative gentleman who hates not only everything different and foreign, but any sort of idleness.”

INR is an informal student organization involved in preventing racism, defending the rights of migrants, Romani people and other minorities, and taking an active stance against neo-fascism and neo-Nazism. Since they responded to the exacerbated tensions in the Šluknov foothills, the editors of Existence decided to interview one of their members, Michal Pokorný, about the response of their collective in practice to the racist demonstrations by some Šluknov residents, events that were very actively and willingly supported by neo-Nazis. Pokorný said: “We participated in supporting the demonstrations defending the Romani ghetto against the attempted pogroms organized by Kohout, the DSSS, and other neo-Nazis in North Bohemia. We also responded to the action by the DSSS and some residents of Šluknov district on Palacký Square in Prague by holding a parallel demonstration at the same place at which we spoke with them and tried to explain to them why their activities won’t solve anything and are headed in the wrong direction. They at least discovered that people do exist here who do not approve of their activities and who offer other solutions for their unpleasant situation.”

Help us share the news about Romas
Trending now icon