Hungary: Evacuated Roma children and women return to village

Yesterday the Roma children and women who were evacuated from the northern Hungarian village of Gyöngyöspata on Friday returned home. They had been evacuated because they feared they would be attacked by members of the extremist paramilitary organization Véderő (Defense), which had set up a training camp near their homes. The Hungarian Government, however, denies that they were forced to evacuate because of a dangerous situation. Police arrested several Véderö activists on Friday and then broke up the camp.

Janos Farkas, the leader of the local Roma community, denied the government’s claims that the evacuation was actually a pre-planned Easter vacation. Aladar Horváth, Director of the Foundation for Roma Civil Rights, backs Farkas up. “They were afraid and they wanted to spend their holidays in peace,” Horváth said, adding that the children and women were sent to a camp in Budapest and to another site in eastern Hungary. “We asked the Red Cross to help us with the evacuation,” he said.

The Red Cross, however, has somewhat distanced itself from this interpretation of what happened and has issued a declaration stating that while it did organize an Easter trip at the request of the Roma community in Gyöngyöspata, it denies that it was an evacuation. Péter Szijjártó, spokesperson for the Hungarian PM, has made similar statements, labeling all reports of a forced evacuation a “pure lie”. Szijjártó told the MTI Agency that the Roma residents had traveled away from their village for a pre-planned Easter vacation.

Nevertheless, according to previous reports, Red Cross representative Richard Field, who oversaw the departure of the Roma residents, made statements that the evacuation was being professionally organized and that the Roma residents would return home once the paramilitary training was over. Reuters quotes local resident Gyula Rácz as saying that he and other men sent their children and wives to Budapest in order to spare them problems. “Let them enjoy a nice Easter there, we have reports that this place is going to be full of men in uniforms,” Rácz said on Friday. Véderö members often wear military field dress and red berets.

According to the leader of the local Roma community, János Farkas, in recent days the village has changed “into a battlefield for all practical purposes.” Militia members in military clothing have been patrolling the village for many weeks and locals are afraid, Farkas said, adding that the local mayor had resigned over the rising tensions and that his successor might end up being a candidate for the radical nationalist Jobbik party. “If that happens, I will probably seek asylum in Canada, Great Britain, or the US,” MTI quotes him as saying.

Hungarian Interior Minister Sándor Peter said police arrested seven members of the Véderö organization on Friday, including its head, because they had incited fear in local residents. According to the radicals’ website, a three-day training camp was to have taken place there welcoming “all youths and adults who love their country and are interested in learning about warfare and the basics of self-defense.”

The Hungarian Government has issued a statement saying it is doing everything it can to halt such illegal activities. On Friday it issued a decree according to which it can fine civilian guard activities that take place without prior police permission or that usurp the right to uphold public order. The fines can be as high as EUR 370.

Tamás Eszes, the organizer of the training, was quoted by the Associated Press as defending Véderő, claiming it is not a racist organization, that it does not participate in anti-Roma patrols, and that it has no ties to any political party. However, he went on to say that “Gypsy crime” is a problem that cannot be denied. He labeled the main purpose of the event as being the improvement of the physical condition of Hungarian youth, which is in a poor state from sitting in front of computers all day long.

In mid-April the Hungarian Government announced that patrols by the extreme right in the eastern areas of the country had been brought to an end. Various media reports said the patrols had been organized by circles close to the extremist parliamentary party Jobbik (Movement for a Better Hungary). Today Jobbik distanced itself from the Véderö action and claimed to have nothing to do with it.