Paroubek for removal of pig farm in Lety
Prague, 29. 4. 2005, 17:51 (CTK)

Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek (Social Democrats, CSSD) is for the removal of a pig farm situated near the former Nazi concentration camp for Czech Romanies in Lety, south Bohemia, but is afraid that there is no quick solution, Paroubek told journalists today. On Thursday, the European Parliament passed a resolution condemning discrimination against Romanies and called on the Czech Republic to remove the pig farm.

"In human terms, they should be complied with," Paroubek said, adding that if the government is to buy the land under the pig farm, it could cost tens of million crowns. Paroubek said that he would have a comprehensive report drawn up on the issue.

Foreign Minister Cyril Svoboda said that the case was complex, as revealed by the debates in past years. "There are many legal problems, especially in ownership relations," Svoboda said, adding that he, too, is of the view that the pig farm should not be on such a place.

German Green MEP of Czech origin Milan Horacek said that the pig farm was an EU affair since the Czech Republic was its member.

Horacek told CTK today that around the pig farm there were sites with infrastructure suitable for its relocation. "In human terms, it is undignified for a pig farm to be standing on the place of a former concentration camp," Horacek said. A remembrance act and a mass will be held at the pig farm on May 14, Horacek said, adding that one day later, a seminar on the Romany issue will start in Prague's Goethe-Institute. The future of the pig farm should be decided in the Czech Republic and not in the European Union, President Vaclav Klaus said today.

He indicated that most MEPs have not had necessary information on the case.

Historians stated that 326 people died in the Lety Camp during World War Two, half of them being children. Romany associations have been fruitlessly attempting to have the pig farm closed for some time.

The resolution calls on EU members and candidates to draft a strategy devised to increase the involvement of Romanies at all levels of elections, both as voters and candidates.

CTK