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Ivana Řápková responds to the open letter from nonprofit organizations

22 October 2012
3 minute read

Several nonprofit organizations wrote an open letter to Mayor of Chomutov Ivana Řápková (ODS) over the unprecedented attack on a peaceful demonstration against neo-Nazism there by a group of extremists and her subsequent manipulative statements. The mayor has sent a response; Romea.cz publishes it below in full.

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Open letter by nonprofit organizations regarding the neo-Nazi attack on the demonstration in Chomutov

RESPONSE TO THE OPEN LETTER FROM NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS

"I strongly reject the claim that I might not respect the law when deciding as to who can assemble within city limits. I unambiguously base my decisions on the law on the right to assembly, which says an authority can ban an assembly if it is to take place at the same place and time as a previously announced gathering. The exception is if the conveners of the conflicting gatherings agree to share the space. On Sunday, on Náměstí 1. máje, the ODS party had previously announced a gathering. I and the local ODS branch made it very clear that we do not want extremism of any sort in Chomutov by making it possible for the gathering subsequently announced by the Roma Council of Chomutov to take place there. I draw your attention to the fact that both ODS and ČSSD have announced that their actions will be taking place on Náměstí 1.Máje until October, and that is the basis on which I can say we will not be permitting any similar actions in Chomutov.

If ODS and the Roma Council had not reached agreement, the town hall would have had to ban the Roma demonstration under the law on assembly. That did not happen. On the contrary, ODS, aware of the rise in extremism, met the Roma halfway.

The organizers of Sunday’s demonstration did not respect the law on assembly in several respects. They did not have a sufficient number of organizers on hand. Nor did they arrange for the demonstration to take place peacefully, but most importantly, they did not, as the law requires, request either the municipal or the state police to provide protection to the gathering. I warned the Roma in advance that their event seemed very dangerous to me at the current time and that provocation could be expected. Purely for preventive reasons, I asked the municipal police, together with the state police, to be increase their oversight of the maintaining of public order. This step of mine, which according to law is supposed to be taken by the organizers, essentially prevented direct conflict and injury.

Extremism is becoming an election crowd-puller for the Green Party on the one hand and the Workers Party on the other, and unfortunately our Roma allowed themselves to be manipulated as part of this game. The only ones who pay the price for these political calculations are the decent citizens, including those among the Roma. Until now, Chomutov has been a quiet town. Extremism is a source of discord that the state primarily must address. I have to view extremism from the point of view of town government, and therefore we use the law on the right to assembly in order to prevent attacks on decent people during similar events.

The Chomutov town hall is doing its best to help the Roma. We constantly hold various courses and trainings, we help them find jobs, we teach them basic hygienic habits, we help them defend themselves against loan sharks, we organize special Roma work teams. If a Roma initiative comes up that leads to a praiseworthy aim, we are glad to help.

Unfortunately, help can only reach those who want it. If some Roma believe that help automatically means money, that is a mistake. The only effective help for anyone – Roma or not – is to get the chance to make money and arrange their lives thanks to their own endeavors. Only then will they value what they have made, be proud of it, and protect it from destruction.

Ivana Řápková, Mayor of Chomutov

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