Czech Romanies seek support for deputy PM's resignation abroad

Czech Romanies have called on an international conference that is assessing the Decade of Roman Inclusion project in Budapest to support their demand that deputy PM Jiri Cunek leave the government over his statements about Romanies, Romea association told CTK today.

Eight countries from Central and East Europe have joined the project launched two years ago.

The Czech Republic set an improvement of Romanies’ education, employment, housing and health its goal by 2015.

"The Czech government pledged on February 2, 2005, to work for the removal of discrimination and narrowing of the gap between Romanies and the other population. Deputy prime minister Cunek repeatedly publicly acts against the government’s stand," says a statement which Czech Romanies have submitted to the Budapest conference participants.

They also mentioned in the statement Cunek’s reply in the Friday issue of the tabloid daily Blesk to a reader who asked whether "other people will also be subsidised like Romanies."

"For this you will have to get sunburnt, start making a mess with your family, put up fires in the square and only then will some politicians say – he is really a poor man," Cunek, who is also senator and local development minister, said in his reply.

Cunek (Christian Democrats, KDU-CSL) was catapulted into the media attention last year already when he had Romany rent-defaulters moved to container-like flats on the edge of Vsetin, north Moravia, when he was the town’s mayor.

Besides, he had several families moved to shabby houses in other parts of Moravia which, he said, they should reconstruct for themselves while they will be repaying the cost Vsetin had paid for the houses.

Shortly after Cunek became minister, police accused him of corruption. He dismisses it and says he would not resign over the accusation.

The Czech Romanies say in their statement that Cunek’s words have a negative impact on public opinion in the Czech Republic and escalate hostility between the Romany minority and the majority population.

The Decade of Romany Inclusion was initiated by the World Bank and the Open Society Institute.