Czech Interior Minister: Saturday's street brawl in Pardubice is being addressed by the police and the Czech Govt Commissioner for Roma Minority Affairs
Saturday's street brawl in Pardubice, which involved a clash between Romani men and three non-Roma who allegedly are Ukrainians, is being investigated by police and dealt with by the Czech Government Commissioner for Roma Minority Affairs, Lucie Fuková. Czech Interior Minister Vít Rakušan (Mayors and Independents - STAN) informed the Czech News Agency (ČTK) of that today.
The minister currently sees no reason to create any special strategies to prevent such incidents. “Yesterday’s incident in Pardubice, while it did draw attention because it allegedly involved Ukrainians, was not unlike other incidents police address on a daily basis. More than 500 crimes are committed on average per day in the Czech Republic. Every day, the police have to respond to and deal with between 3500 and 4000 crime-related incidents. In this case, too, the police are lawfully proceeding, ascertaining what the circumstances and the facts were, and calling for calm,” he told ČTK.
Hundreds of Romani people from elsewhere in the Czech Republic traveled to Pardubice today in response to yesterday’s conflict, first protesting in front of the main train station and then marching through the city. Rakušan also said today that the next steps are primarily up to the police in collaboration with the City of Pardubice.
“At this moment there is no reason to create special strategies above and beyond the integration of Ukrainian refugees, which is being addressed by the Czech Government Commissioner [for Human Rights] Klára Šimáčková Laurenčíková,” the Interior Minister said. The street brawl, which apparently involved 18 people, was broken up by police yesterday evening in Pardubice.
One person involved in the conflict was injured and treated in hospital. Police arrested three people.
According to news server Romea.cz, the injured party was a Romani man. He was released that same evening with two stitches to his face.
Police are refusing to comment on the nationality of those involved in the conflict. This is the second such incident to transpire between Romani men and men presumed to be Ukrainians in a matter of weeks in the Czech Republic.
In Brno, interethnic tensions rose recently after an incident near the Brno Reservoir during a fireworks festival as a result of which a Romani youth died. According to information that has not been confirmed by authorities, the assailant in that case was Ukrainian, but police will only say he was a foreign national; the suspect is in custody.
