Czech Senator has not apologized for her racism, but Romani celebrities met with her anyway, earning their own criticism

Hamplová said she is not a racist and emphasized that racism has no place in society and is reprehensible. She also argued that her meeting with Marco Cavali, chair of the Roma Luma political party, and the Romani musician Bartoloměj Girga proves she is not racist.

Romani social media users then harshly condemned that meeting and Cavali has since filed a criminal report against the senator. A similar criminal report was filed on Sunday by Romani educator and local assembly member Marian Dancso.

Hamplová responded to a direct question from Czech Television moderator Michal Kubal by explaining that she is not a racist. “I absolutely refuse the label that is now associated with me in the headlines, that I’m a racist or something of the sort, because that is absolutely ruled out by my 30 years of legal practice and the implementation of that practice,” she said, adding that the journalists have taken her words out of context.

“My entire speech, one part of which has been taken out of context, was basically, essentially entirely against discrimination,” the senator said on television. “I was responding to Senator Šípová, from the Pirates, who spoke about segregated schools before me. We had spoken of the subject of discrimination a great deal behind the scenes. I have to apologize for actually choosing a shorthand reference that could be interpreted as it has been. That is basically the only thing I intend to acknowledge.”

Šípová later objected to that characterization, called Hamplová a racist, and refuted the claim that they had been discussing the subject behind the scenes. “Zwyrtek differentiates between Romani and Czech children, she is a racist because she prefers separating people by skin color. If she indicates that we have spoken together behind the scenes, I have to say that the two of us never speak to each other. I was raised to be polite, so I greet her and then I keep on going. That’s how it will still be,” Šípová tweeted.

Romani organizations: There was no apology

Representatives of Romani organizations do not consider the senator’s words on the “News and Commentary” program to constitute an apology. “The senator should have apologized on that program for her previous behavior and remarks, but after watching the discussion that obviously did not happen. On the contrary, it was again apparent that she lied, and her appearances in Parliament are already famous for being controversial and untruthful,” the chair of the Czechoslovak Romani Union (ČSRU), Karel Karika, told news server Romea.cz.

That organization has called on Senator Hamplová to apologize through a petition and on everybody who considers her remarks outrageous to send that call for an apology as a photograph directly to the senator’s e-mail or to the ČSRU itself. They intend to continue collecting signatures.

“We would like to achieve 1,000 signatures on the petition against her behavior and remarks. As a friend of mine said, to differentiate between black and white Czechs is part of a past we should be leaving behind us. It is important to focus on the future and on cooperation among all citizens irrespective of their opinions or origin. To differentiate among children is something monstrous that has no place in modern society,” Karika said and called on all citizens to join the ČSRU initiative and support the petition against Senator Hamplovká.

“Together we can show our disagreement with her behavior and our desire for better representation for our country,” Karika told Romea.cz. Michal Miko, director of the RomanoNet umbrella organization, also said he does not consider the senator to have apologized.

“I do not consider yesterday’s statement by Ms. Hamplová to be a sufficient explanation and certainly not an apology. As a senator, she should accept responsibility for her remarks, which were a display of structural antigypsyism in practice, which does not align with the Czech Government Roma Integration Strategy,” Miko told Romea.cz.

Romani activist Jaroslav Miko is also not satisfied with Hamplová’s so-called apology. “Yesterday’s statements by Ms. Hamplová, both on Czech Television and in the live [Facebook] broadcast that was moderated by Romani people, cannot be considered an apology. In this case, an apology would not be enough. Romani people should demand her resignation even if she will never do that,” he told the news server Romea.cz.

“This was not an explanation of her remarks about Romani children and the need to set up special Romani classes. What Ms. Hamplová said were just absurd, stupid excuses,” said the activist, who also works as a truck driver.

Roma respond to Hamplová’s meeting with Cavali and Girga: You both let yourselves be used

During the Czech Television interview, Hamplová also defended herself by saying she had already met with Romani community representatives and explained everything to them. “Romani citizens invited me, they contacted me today, they said I am the first politician to meet with them,” she literally claimed in the interview and even said the Romani representatives had informed her that Romani people themselves are of the opinion that the inclusion of Romani children in education is not working.

Hamplová was referring to a live broadcast organized through Facebook by Bartoloměj Girga, a Romani musician and singer. That interview with the senator was also attended by Marco Cavali, chair of the Roma Luma political party.

Cavali and Girga were then overwhelmingly criticized for the Facebook broadcast. Many Romani social media users reproached them for allowing themselves to be used and for legitimizing both the senator and her racist remarks.

Hamplová published a photograph and a post full of praise on social media for how well she, Cavali and Girga understood each other. “We had a chat, and what’s more, we even recorded a video interview for Romani viewers – I don’t have a problem communicating on equal terms across the spectrum. Thanks to Bartoloměj Girga for his mature, responsible approach, it was his idea and he has closed the scandal of this ‘one sentence’,” she posted to social media.

“Unfortunately, Hamplová has exploited and today is continuing to exploit her meeting with two Romani men in order to defend herself in public and allege that this was a meeting with important representatives of the Roma, which is just as much a lie as the allegation that she speaks behind the scenes with Senator Šípová about children being discriminated. For the sake of completeness, Mr. Cavali and Mr. Girga have never had any mandate from any other Romani people to meet with Hamplová on their behalf, so in this case these people were not representing the community of Roma,” Jaroslav Miko said of the meeting.

Bartoloměj Girga: I do not regret broadcasting with Hamplová, I just wanted to calm Romani people down

Girga claims he originally wanted to hold a demonstration against the senator’s remarks. The Roma Luma political party had originally convened a demonstration in front of the Senate on Valdštejnské náměstí in Prague, but then learned that assemblies cannot be held there by law.

According to Girga, those who convened the demonstration knew that beforehand and it was a tactic of theirs. “I was then berated all day long by those who said it would be an embarrassment, which is why I decided to contact Madame Senator to explain this all to me,” he told news server Romea.cz.

Cavali sent a statement to Romea.cz saying that the demonstration was not permitted in front of the Senate. “They offered us the option of demonstrating on Malostranské náměstí, where it would not have had any effect and our community disagrees with that, so we are cancelling the demonstration,” he wrote.

Girga explained to Romea.cz that his intention with the live Facebook broadcast and meeting was for Romani people to have the opportunity to hear the senator’s opinion about the matter and decide for themselves. “I saw that everybody was writing online about our children being separated from others in the schools. I got ahold of her number and asked her for a statement,” he said.

“For me it is essential that she told us that nothing of the sort will happen. Naturally, everybody who is clever knows that nothing of the sort could happen because a senator does not have the right to order it,” Girga said, adding that he does not consider the live Facebook broadcast and the meeting to have been a mistake.

“Dialogue among people is important, even if it’s with a fascist. If some Roma want to get into Parliament, they will be sitting there with the fascists and they will have to negotiate with them on the level of an intelligent person, not on an animal level, so if anybody else has the feeling that this can be done some other way, they should do it,” Girga said in response to the enormous wave of criticism he has heard from Romani men and women about the meeting.

“I do not regret taking this step. I believe many of the moralists who are against me now should look at themselves and get themselves in order,” Girga said.

Marco Cavali: We are filing a criminal report against Senator Hamplová

Roma Luma chair Cavali has provided news server Romea.cz with a surprising statement. Although on social media he has defended his participation in the meeting with the senator, who then referred to him as one of “two badasses” who were brave enough to meet with her, he has now announced that he has filed a criminal report against her.

“We are taking legal steps. Today we filed a criminal report against Senator Hamplová. We are also sending a complaint to the Senate. We have not removed the racist label from the senator and we continue to insist that the Senate sanction her,” Cavali told Romea.cz.

This is the second such crime report to be filed, as Romea.cz has been informed that such a report was filed on Sunday by Marian Dancso, an educator and local assembly member in Lom. Cavali also said he does not perceive the senator to have apologized.

“We still consider Senator Hamplová’s remarks to have been racist and inappropriate and she has not apologized, she just expressed regret. We perceive antigypsyism to be a problem in both the lower and the upper chambers of Parliament. Antigypsyism is also widespread among mayors who appeal to such politicians for children to be categorized by skin color, which is racist and unacceptable,” Cavali said in a statement sent to Romea.cz.