Czech Romanies moving to Britain

The Czech Romany families evicted from the town of Vsetin to the houses in the Jesenik region have resolved their problems by moving to Britain, the local paper Sumpersky a Jesenicky denik (SJD) writes today.

One of the family members said they were doing well abroad and they had even found jobs, Sumpersky a Jesenicky denik said.

The Romany families were evicted from a dilapidating house in the centre of Vsetin, mostly populated by rent-defaulters, two years ago when Jiri Cunek, current Czech Deputy Prime Minister and chairman of the junior government Christian Democrats (KDU-CSL), was Vsetin mayor.

He was sharply criticised for his step by human rights groups inside and outside the country.

The house in Stara Cervena Voda, allocated to them, has been quite abandoned, SJD writes.

"All of them are in England. They could not live here. Even the design engineer said the house is impossible to live in," Karol Kandrac, one of the Romanies in question, told the paper.

He said he was now living with his wife and two sons in Britain. Another three children of his still live with their families elsewhere in the Czech Republic, he added.

Kandrac said his family had been helped in Britain by his two sisters who were living there for a long time.

Kandrac said he had found a job in Britain without any problems.

Kandrac said the Romanies from Jesenik only wanted to return to the Czech Republic for court trials in which they would sue the Vsetin town hall.

If the court does not recognise the objections by the evicted Romanies, they are ready, along with other families, to sue the Czech Republic at the European court, SJD writes.

Two years ago, the Vsetin town hall bought old houses in the Jesenik region which their Romany inhabitants will have to repay for 20 years.

The resettlement of Romanies from the centre of Vsetin was criticised by Romany associations and human rights activists.

Czech ombudsman Otakar Motejl also criticised the town hall saying that it made a mistake.

However, Vsetin officials have dismissed the criticism from the very beginning and defended their decision as correct.