Intrigue against Slovak government behind attack on Romany house

The extra-parliamentary Slovak Romany Initiative (RIS) believes that political intrigues against the current government coalition could be behind the recent defilement of its building in Sladkovicova, west Slovakia, at which two swastikas and an insulting inscription recently appeared, RIS chairman Alexander Patkolo told journalists today.

Someone is seeking to create an impression that ethnic minorities rights are being violated in Slovakia, Patkolo said.

The RIS is the only Romany group that does not hide its sympathies for the senior government Smer (Direction)-Social Democracy (Smer-SD) party of Prime Minister Robert Fico and junior governing People’s Party-Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (LS-HZDS) of former Slovak prime minister Vladimir Meciar.

Patkolo said he firmly believed that the perpetrators were from a group of people who certainly dislike the composition of the government coalition.

Apart from the Smer-SD and LS-HZDS, the coalition also includes the nationalist Slovak National Party (SNS) of Jan Slota.
He said that the SNS whose representatives in the past made statements insulting Romanies could be the target of the attack.
"Now when they are members of the government coalition they would certainly not do anything of the kind," Patkolo said.
However, he called on the interior minister to see to it that the attack on the building be thoroughly investigated.

The unknown perpetrator sprayed a huge swastika on the RIS building and an insulting inscription defaming the Romany minority. Slovak police have launched the investigation of suspected instigation to national, racial and ethnic hatred.

In the latest parliamentary elections the RIS ran its candidates on the list of candidates of the Movement for a Democracy (HZD) established by President Ivan Gasparovic.

There are no data on how many people support it.

Although the RIS backed the SNS its representatives said that they did not intend to establish with the SNS cooperation similar to that the Romany Parliament established with the party.

"The Slovak Romany Initiative would by no means sign an agreement with the SNS because of its past statements," RIS deputy chairman Vaclav Kappel said.