Non-profits: Mayor Řápková, stop manipulating information, facts and the interpretation of the law on the right to assembly

22 October 2012

5 minute read

Non-profit organizations have responded to a letter sent by Mayor of Chomutov Ivana Řápková in response to their previous open letter. Romea.cz publishes their response in full below.

Response to an e-mail dated 5. 5. 2009

Prague, 7. 5.2009

Madame Mayor,

We have shown your response to our open letter to several civic organizations and found, to our regret, that it has confirmed our justified concern that you are manipulating information, facts and the interpretation of the law on the right to assembly. We base our remarks below on the press release you issued on 3. 5. 2009 and your e-mail response to our open letter.

In both your press release and your e-mail, you repeatedly speak of the town "permitting" gatherings, thereby claiming a right which the law does not in fact grant you. You are also providing the public and the media with untrue information at a time when the image of the Czech Roma population is greatly damaged.

You are correct only when you say that the right to ban a gathering is given to a municipality – here we emphasize, to the municipality – should two separate gatherings be announced for the same time and place and should the organizers of those gatherings – again we emphasize, the organizers – not reach agreement on sharing the space. However, since such an agreement was agreed in this case, there was no reason to ban anything. If someone were to want to hold a public gathering in future, and were to also reach agreement with the organizers of previously announced gatherings regarding the use of space, the municipality would have no choice but to accept that change. The law does not permit the municipality to interfere with agreement being reached between organizers.

As a member of ODS in Chomutov, you did in fact have the opportunity to take part in reaching agreement with the organizer of an event that potentially conflicted with an ODS event, but if the organizer had not reached agreement with you, he would have had the option of directly contacting the chair of ODS in Chomutov, Pavel Karel Markvart, in order to reach agreement. Even in this instance, therefore, it is not possible to speak of you "permitting" anything, but of an agreement being reached between two equal parties, namely, the organizers.

As the Mayor of Chomutov, therefore, under no circumstances do you have the right to permit a public gathering, or to not permit it, and you may ban one only for reasons prescribed by law. If the organizer of the gathering were to believe such a ban to have been issued illegally, he or she would have the right to corrective measures, specifically, filing suit in regional court.

Furthermore, you present fallacious information, evidently with the aim of blaming the organizers for neglecting the safety of the public gathering, claiming that the organizer is obliged by law to request the municipality or the state police protect the gathering. What the law says is that the organizer may (i.e., depending on his or her consideration) request those entities to provide protection to a gathering in the event of a reasonable concern that the gathering might be disrupted. In the case of a peaceful gathering of citizens against racism and violence (unlike a political party or extremist movement gathering), such a concern is not reasonable.

The organizer of the event in question, the Roma Council of the town of Chomutov, had a sufficient number of organizers at the gathering (a total of 14 people) to provide for the public gathering to take place properly. The organizers were in contact with the criminal police starting on 1. 5. 2009 and with the municipal police during the entire duration of the gathering. Again we remind you that the persons participating in this properly announced gathering did not disturb the public order. On the contrary, the public order was disturbed by the neo-Nazis, whose arrival surprised both the state and municipal police.

In your previous press release, you essentially equated the Roma with the extremists, saying "we will not permit any similar demonstrations, whether by Roma or by left or right-wing extremists". You are not as willing to distinguish between an illegal public gathering and a gathering where people are justifiably exercising their freedom of speech and other political rights.

In your response to our letter, you use many anti-Roma cliches which are unacceptable in a democratic society, such as "the decent citizens, even among the Roma" or "we are teaching them basic hygienic habits". Through these cliches, you are implying that the "decent" Roma constitute some sort of exception among the citizenry, and you are presenting the Roma population as a population incapable of maintaining cleanliness. In the conclusion of your letter you indirectly and unjustifiably charge the Roma with being greedy for money and directly charge them with destroying things of value.

In conclusion, permit us to add that the issue of extremism is being used as an election crowd-puller primarily by the political party of which you are a member, the ODS. Mirek Topolánek and Ivan Langer have repeatedly claimed the fight against extremism is their priority. For this and for other reasons, we are also sending this letter not only to those already involved, but also to the chair of your local ODS organization and to the ODS itself.

We continue to insist on the demands listed in our first open letter of 4.5.2009.

Sincerely,

Romea, o.s.
In Iustitia, o.s.
Sdružení Dženo
Amnesty International
Slovo 21, o. s.
Romodrom, o. s.

Na vědomí:
Mirek Topolánek, předseda ODS
Jan Řehák, předseda OS ODS Chomutov
Pavel Karel Markvart, předseda místního sdružení ODS Chomutov
Jiří Vorálek, policejní ředitel, Policie České republiky – KŘP Severočeského kraje
Ivan Langer, ministr vnitra ČR