Five Czech parties from the governing coalition send greetings for International Romani Day, opposition is silent
All five parties in the governing coalition of the Czech Republic have used social media to express their recognition and support for the Romani community on the occasion of International Romani Day. Chairs of the Civic Democratic Party (ODS), the Christian Democrats (KDU-ČSL), Tradition, Responsibility and Prosperity (TOP 09) and the Pirates published greetings on 8 April through their own profiles on Facebook or Twitter.
The Mayors and Independents movement (STAN) sent its wishes through its official profile on Facebook. Former Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, who chairs the opposition Association of Dissatisfied Citizens (ANO) movement, and the chair of the “Freedom and Direct Democracy” (SPD) movement, Tomio Okamura, had sent no such greetings as of 15:00 CET on 8 April.
News server Romea.cz published greetings from Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala (ODS) ahead of 8 April. On 8 April itself, the PM shared an image of the Romani flag on his own social media profiles, and the greetings also appeared on the official Facebook profile of the ODS.
The president of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic and chair of TOP 09, Markéta Adamová Pekarová, posted a video on Twitter that she filmed with the online television channel ROMEA TV. She then posted an image of the Romani flag to Facebook and wrote: “Our cultures may not be the same, but that gives us even more of an opportunity for mutual enrichment. To achieve that, we need respect, tolerance and understanding, not the intensification of stereotypes, segregation and racist remarks that have no place in the 21st century.”
The chair of the KDU-ČSL, Czech Labor and Social Affairs Minister Marián Jurečka, posted a video to Facebook describing the Romani flag and invited people to attend the celebrations being held in different towns. “This is International Romani Day, when Romani people celebrate their common culture, language and origin. I have a request to make of you today. Let’s judge each other according to what we do, not according to the color of our skin,” the minister posted along with the video.
The Czech Pirate Party also marked International Romani Day through social media. The party posted to its own official profile and its chair, who is the Czech Deputy Prime Minister for Digitalization and Minister for Regional Development, Ivan Bartoš, sent greetings to Romani women and men through his own profiles on Facebook and Twitter.
“Czech history involves countless cases of systemic discrimination, and today as well, Romani men and women are one of the groups harshly afflicted by social exclusion here. However, we are living at a time when discrimination should have no place, and each of us can contribute toward that. Let’s be open, let’s listen, let’s learn from people of different backgrounds and experiences. Let’s start being more empathetic and respectful. That is the only way we will create a safe and equal environment,” Bartoš posted.
The Mayors and Independents movement posted to its social media profiles a contribution by one of its members, Deputy Foreign Minister Martin Dvořák. The post was shared both on the official profile of the party and by its chair, Vít Rakušan (the current Czech Interior Minister), who shared it on his own profile on Twitter.
“Today is International Romani Day, when we commemorate not just Romani culture, but mainly the discrimination, prejudices and other problems Romani people frequently had to face in the past and unfortunately still face to this day, for example, in the Czech Senate,” Dvořák posted. The recent racist remarks of Senator Jana Zwyrtek Hamplová are what he was referencing.
Other politicians from parties in the governing coalition also sent greetings to Romani women and men. Their posts, including one from the Czech Foreign Affairs Minister Jan Lipavský (Pirates), are included at the bottom of this article.
As of 15:00 CET on 8 April, when this article was published in its original Czech edition, none of the opposition parties in Parliament had remembered the Roma and their day on social media. Andrej Babiš, chair of the ANO movement, shared nothing about International Romani Day on social media.
ANO members Karel Havlíček and Alena Schillerová, who are tasked with the movement’s PR, also shared nothing about the significance of 8 April. The chair of the other opposition party, Tomio Okamura, was silent on the occasion; only Jaroslav Foldyna, an SPD member, posted on Friday, 7 April that he would be attending International Romani Day celebrations in Děčín.
