Czech Republic: Protect Roma at risk of violence ahead of far-right demonstration

Czech authorities must protect Roma communities from violence and
intimidation, Amnesty International and the European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC)
said ahead of planned anti-Roma demonstrations across the country.

Far right groups are staging anti-Roma protests in up to 13 different Czech
towns. One demonstration is planned in the town of Vítkov. Here, in 2009, far-right
supporters almost killed a two-year-old girl, Natálka, when they set fire to a
house belonging to Roma.

“The government must ensure that these protests do not lead to violence
against Roma communities, and that those at risk get the protection they need,”
said John Dalhuisen, Europe and Central Asia Programme Director for Amnesty
International.

The ERRC has documented nine anti-Roma marches and rallies in the Czech
Republic since April 2013, some of them in the same towns.

“The situation is extremely tense in the Czech Republic at the moment, with
far right groups rapidly gaining in influence. Many Roma families and activists
we talk to fear for their safety, in particular ahead of demonstrations like
those planned tomorrow,” said Dezideriu Gergely, Executive Director of the ERRC.

The mother of two-year-old Natálka recently told the ERRC: "We are afraid of
further attacks. We cannot understand how the government allows them to march in
this town, when everybody knows who they are. These marches will fuel more
violence against us and we are afraid that more Roma families will be attacked."

There are between 150,000 and 300,000 Roma in the Czech Republic today, a
community that has historically, and continues to be, subject to widespread
discrimination, racism and prejudice.

Discrimination affects Roma in all aspects of society, including housing,
health care and employment. The last years have seen an upsurge in violent
attacks against Roma, with ERRC documenting at least 48 attacks between January
2008 and December 2012.

Recently, the Czech Intelligence Service (BIS) has raised serious concerns
about the widespread anti-Roma atmosphere in the Czech Republic, while the Czech
Government Human Rights Commissioner has called on 1 August a working group
meeting to deal with the situation.

In July this year, the UN Human Rights Committee expressed concerns over the
anti-Roma climate in Czech Republic – including discriminatory remarks against
Roma made by politicians, in the media and at demonstrations by far-right groups.

“We have seen a deeply worrying trend over the past year with entrenched
discrimination against Roma reaching new heights. This is a fundamental issue
that the Czech authorities can’t ignore,” said Dalhuisen.

In July, the European Court of Human Rights ruled in respect of vigilante
marches through Roma settlements in Hungary, that the right to peaceful assembly
can be restricted where it is repeatedly exercised to intimidate local residents.