Brno, Czech Republic: Local Romani Council calls for the resignation of Czech MP Quittová from her post as mayor of the Brno-Černovice Municipal Department because of her anti-Romani remarks. She has apologized - sort of
During the March session of the Brno-Černovice local assembly, Petra Quittová, the mayor of that municipal department who is also a lawmaker in the lower house of the Czech Parliament for the STAN (Mayors and Independents) movement, made anti-Romani remarks that sparked a wave of condemnation and displeasure. The mayor spoke disrespectfully of a Romani family who had recently moved in to the Černovice neighborhood.
The local Roma Council in Brno has called on the mayor to apologize and resign from both of her offices. The volunteer civil society members of the Czech Government Council for Roma Minority Affairs also called on the mayor to apologize.
Quittová has since partially apologized for her remarks through news server Romea.cz. During the local assembly session on 11 March 2024, she responded to a question from a local assembly member asking whether the situation in the location where a Romani family had just moved in was being monitored.
The mayor stressed in her answer that the house had been sold to Romani buyers with criminal records through a real estate agency. “A married couple whom I know personally sold it. They sold it…, yes, to persons, hmm, who are different, I don’t know how to say this now, they’re just Romani people whom we got rid of, several years ago we rid Staré Černovice of them, they moved away to Slavkov u Brna, but those same people then bought the house from our people, whom I know, because they made the highest offer,” the mayor said.
“Those people have committed criminal activity in the past and we have read in the newspapers what they did and who has done time. I actually do not want to say their names specifically here. We know precisely who they are,” Quittová said, adding that none of the newcomers have yet been accused of committing any more crimes or misdemeanors.
“So far we do not have any proceedings opened against them, not even misdemeanor proceedings. For the time being they are…, what I’ll say now is that they’re staying at home. They are not undertaking any activity that could be considered criminal… and the information I have about the children who came with them is that they are not attending our primary school, they attend special school, at least that was the most recent information I received, because they’ve been going to the school in their catchment area,” Quittová said.
“We are also annoyed because we were glad to be rid of them and now they’re back,” Mayor Quittová said to the public session of the Brno-Černovice local assembly.
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Czech Government Council for Roma Minority Affairs: Apologize to Romani people
The volunteer civil society members of the Czech Government Council for Roma Minority Affairs have objected to the mayor’s remarks. “The Government of the Czech Republic has pledged to implement the Strategy for Roma Equality, Inclusion and Participation 2021 – 2027, the aim of which is to improve the conditions and position of Romani people in Czech society. One component of that strategy is the effort to eliminate discrimination and to support the genuine integration of Romani people at all levels of life in society. These remarks made by the mayor undermine those efforts and reflect a lack of respect for (and understanding of) basic human rights,” reads the statement sent to news server Romea.cz.
The statement also points to the inability of the Agency for Social Inclusion, which works in Brno, to effectively intervene to support the sufficient participation of the Romani community in processes directly impacting their lives. “It is essential that the Agency reassess its working methods and focus even more intensively on dialogue with the Romani community and their active involvement in decision-making processes,” the volunteer civil society members of the Czech Government Council for Roma Minority Affairs said in the statement.
The safety of this family may now be endangered, according to the volunteer civil society members of the Czech Government Council for Roma Minority Affairs. “The statement by the mayor led to the revelation of the address of this family, which represents a violation of the General Data Protection Regulation and endangers their safety. That step could lead to the risk that the family might be subjected to attack or harassment. It is important that public officials pay attention to protecting personal data and that they never commit errors of such a serious nature,” said the volunteer civil society members of the Czech Government Council for Roma Minority Affairs.
“We call on the mayor to publicly retract her previous remarks and fully apologize to the Romani residents of Brno-Černovice. Furthermore, we appeal to all parties involved, including the local authorities and bodies, to pledge to strengthen their efforts in the field of fighting discrimination and racism and to support genuine integration in accordance with the laws and strategies of the Czech Republic,” said the volunteer civil society members of the Czech Government Council for Roma Minority Affairs, adding that they will be monitoring how the situation develops.
Local Roma Council in Brno: Apologize and resign from office
The local Roma Council in Brno has expressed its serious concern over Quittová’s remarks. In their view, the content of those remarks is an example of antigypsyism, the definition of which was recently adopted by the Government of the Czech Republic, and grossly violates the commitment to eliminate this kind of anti-Romani racism.
Quittová met with the local Roma Council on Wednesday. “At that meeting it was unequivocally demonstrated that the mayor’s stereotyping remarks were made about a Romani family who actually have not resided in that municipal department for a longer time now. She ascribed criminal pasts to an unrelated Romani family who bought a home here legally. This is yet another example of a politician who perpetuates the defamation and vilification of Romani people,” said the local Roma Council in Brno in a statement sent to news server Romea.cz in which they call on the mayor to apologize and resign.
RomanoNet, an umbrella organization of pro-Roma and Romani NGOs, also objected to the mayor’s remarks. According to its director, Michal Miko, the mayor’s remarks unfortunately reflect deeply-ingrained prejudices against the Romani community.
“Those words don’t just violate the principles that should be guiding our society, they also directly undermine efforts to create an inclusive, respectful society,” Miko said. “As RomanoNet, an umbrella organization that advocates for the inclusion, participation and rights of Romani people, we sharply condemn any displays of discrimination and racism. We are calling on the mayor and on other municipal representatives to clearly distance themselves from these remarks and to take steps to correct them, including a public apology and introducing measures to promote better mutual understanding and cooperation among all residents.”
News server Romea.cz reached out to Mayor Quittová with a request for a statement, which she provided. We are publishing it in full translation below.
Mayor Petra Quittová’s statement for news server Romea.cz
First and foremost I would like to state that yesterday, 17 April, I met in person with representatives of the Advisory Body for Roma Affairs to the City of Brno, a meeting that was also attended by the Vice-Mayor of the City of Brno, Robert Kendl, who is responsible for this agenda in his role as head of the Social Welfare Department, and that this entire matter was discussed in detail there.
I apologize for the unfortunate choice of words, which decidedly were not meant to target the whole Romani community and what has happened, in my opinion, is a misunderstanding, because I was responding to a specific query about a home where a Romani family currently lives. I am decidedly not the kind of person who would take the side of any minority in our republic. One cannot speak of any prejudices toward the Romani community either.
In Brno-Černovice, where I am mayor and where I have lived since birth, Romani families have long been resident with whom we all live without any problems. Some of their members even work for the municipal department, some have their businesses here, their children attend nursery or primary schools here, and I can say that I grew up with some of these people and I am in regular personal contact with them. I’m sorry that my statement about a specific family has sparked these negative reactions.
All local assembly members for Brno-Černovice will be informed of this matter at the ninth session of the Local Assembly on 29 April 2024, which representatives of the Advisory Body should also attend, as has been agreed.
All members of the STAN club in Parliament were informed of this case on Tuesday, 16 April.
The call for my resignation will be the subject of local coalition negotiations next week and the result will be communicated at the next session of the Local Assembly.
As I have repeatedly said in personal conversations on this issue, an apology will take place at that Local Assembly session.
