Representatives of the Olah Roma selected a new king today in the Czech town of Hradec Králové. Robert Beneš of Brno, a 52-year-old entrepreneur, became king and says he now intends to create a new Olah Roma government.
"Every family has its vajda [member with the most authority] and its own problems. We need to get to know everyone and do our best to implement change for the better," said Beneš, who primarily intends to concern himself with family matters among the Olah Roma.
"I will take on three or four people whom I know to be competent to assist me and to do good among the Roma," Beneš said. Representatives of Olah Roma families from dozens of towns around the country gathered in Hradec Králové.
Only the oldest men spoke Romanes to discuss the choice of a new king while younger Roma listened at an adjacent table. Josef Horvát (age 85) of Kolín was there for the vote.
"The king is elected so that when something needs to be attended to, he does it. Among the Roma there are meetings that are like trials, and when someone is found guilty he has to pay a fine. The king is naturally involved with that," Horvát said.
After electing their new king, those present kissed him and bottles of luxury cognac were brought to the table. Beneš said he had invited his opponents to attend, but they never made it.
"It’s not my fault, they evidently were afraid and didn’t come," said Beneš, who is now referred to as the King of All Olah Roma. Representatives of the Olah Roma from Ostrava, for example, were not present at the Hradec Králové vote.
After the death of Josef Smolka in 1999, Jan Lipa became king of the Olah Roma in 2001. However, a nationwide assembly of Olah Roma in Brno then declared Lipa’s election invalid and elected Jan Horvátko king instead.
Lipa passed away in 2012 and Horvátko passed away the following year. According to some estimates, there are about 25 000 Olah Roma in the Czech Republic, comprising roughly 10 % of the total Romani population.
