Demonstration in Duchcov sparks fears of renewed violence
A few hundred people gathered in the north Bohemian town of Duchcov on
Wednesday evening to protest against a rise in violence, specifically a
recent beating of a local couple by a group of Romanies. Although most
participants peacefully listened to the organizers and the town’s mayor
Jitka Bártová, a couple of hundred people staged an unannounced march
towards the neighborhood where most Roma reside, chanting racist slogans.
The police prevented direct confrontation from taking place, and organizers
as well as the authorities have appealed for calm, but the situation is
still tense, reminding some of the events in the Šluknov region in 2011.
Radio Prague spoke to Martin Šimáček head of the government agency for
social inclusion, who was present at the demonstration and asked him what
sense he got of the organizers’ intentions.
“I was listening to the organizers during the demonstration and they
were saying that they just want to be understood and that they are not
against all Roma people. But I feel that the demonstration in the end was
against all the Roma people in the city. They were just trying to be
correct, but also riding the way of the popular mood in the city and
addressing the people who want to hear things like ‘we don’t want Roma
people here in our city’.”
And from your perspective, how is the city administration dealing with
this situation?
“When the mayor was talking to the people on the square and I’m afraid
that she is partly on the side of the populist politicians who do not want
to actually find a solution, but to improve their own position. Our agency
cooperated with the city administration for six months last year, and we
had to stop the cooperation a year ago because of a conflict over the
solutions to the situation in the city.
“There is a huge problem with housing in the city. And they planned huge
privatization of houses where the Roma live. We wanted to allow the people
to stay in their houses with some basic services, support for education.
And I feel that from the side of the mayor there is no support for such
measures that would bring about some solutions. So, there is a big
difference between what she says and what she actually does.
“I hope that there will be an opportunity to go back and look for some
solutions again, and this is what we will try to focus on in the next few
days, now after the demonstration and maybe before the next one.”
So, does that mean that you feel this is not over, that the situation may
escalate even further, similarly to what happened in Šluknov two years
ago?
“I hope not. I feel that people just want to see some response to the
crimes that have been committed in the city and they also want to see that
the politicians have the situation under control and they have some kind of
solution. So I think we can expect some sort of meeting in the future, but
we want to take steps to prevent any violence.
“The mayor just announced that she wants to organize this kind of
meeting, which could bring about some solutions, some visions. And I feel
that this could be a good step for the future and we want to prepare for a
meeting like this. I would prefer an organized meeting rather than another
demonstration. And I feel that the situation [in Duchcov] is not so
extreme, so that we have no reason to expect something similar to what
happened in Šluknov.”
What steps do you think need to be taken specifically in Duchcov?
“We need to talk to the police, we also really need to explain to
residents what the police can do to bring about a calmer situation and also
provide some assurances that the crimes which have been happening since the
beginning of the year will not happen again.
“Another important things is to implement measures to support social
cohesion in the city, involving social services, supporting education,
employment mostly poor people, Roma people. Citizens of Duchcov must see
that there is a clear plan put forward by the local authorities, and we
want to support and help with that.”
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Radio Prague spoke to Martin Šimáček head of the government agency for
social inclusion, who was present at the demonstration and asked him what
sense he got of the organizers’ intentions.
“We need to talk to the police, we also really need to explain to
residents what the police can do to bring about a calmer situation and also
provide some assurances that the crimes which have been happening since the
beginning of the year will not happen again.
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