Michal Miko on senators' racist remarks: Is the Czech Senate a racist institution? We call on President of the Senate Vystrčil to meet with us!
Antigypsyism, bias and systemic discrimination against the Romani minority remain deeply entrenched problems in the Czech Republic. It is sad that some politicians seek political success by exploiting populist narratives, inciting and taking advantage of the existing prejudices in the wider society
Recently, Senator Jiří Čunek (Christian Democrats) and Senator Miroslava Němcová (Civic Democratic Party-ODS) have done this, both members of the parties in Parliament in power as part of the five-party coalition Government of the Czech Republic. The discourse of their remarks can be compared to the narrative of speeches made during the 1930s and 1940s, a narrative that resulted in the Holocaust of many millions of innocent victims, including Roma.
When these politicians pander to disinformation and fear, they are benefiting from the frustration of the majority population, distracting their attention away from the actual problems, and accusing the Romani community of allegedly being a source of problems in society. This dangerous mix of antigypsyism and populism doesn’t just keep harmful stereotypes alive, but also undermines the values of inclusivity and social cohesion which any prosperous democracy should be striving to uphold.
Unfortunately, when it comes to the question of including Romani people in society, in modern history – as a democracy, since the 1990s – we are witnessing political representatives’ total lack of interest. Romani “inclusion” (the term used by Government structures for INTEGRATION) only “works” here when financial resources are to be drawn from the budget of the European Union, and then only on paper.
The case that exploded in the media this week based on the statements by Senators Čunek and Němcová merely reveals how their populism and structural racism is helping disinformation platforms to spread collective guilt and hate against the Romani population in the Czech Republic. Senator Miroslava Němcová, who has also held one of the highest constitutional positions in the country in recent years, participated in the creation of policies in relation to Romani people in the Czech Republic in her past role as speaker of the Chamber of Deputies.
In 1997, she was one of the politicians who had the Bratinka Report on her desk as an MP. I haven’t noticed that her political career has done anything to help Romani people in the Czech Republic succeed.
We can continue in this vein. In the past, the Civic Democratic Party (ODS) has been in Government and has adopted and implemented several Romani Integration Strategies and was party to the creation of the Agency for Social Inclusion – back then called the Agency for Social Inclusion in Romani Localities.
I would like to ask my readers who are Romani from the socially excluded localities – do you know the Agency exists? How has the Agency aided you all in concrete terms?
Have any of you ever attended a meeting with the Agency in relation to addressing your social exclusion? I could continue with such questions until the end of time and we would never receive a positive response to them.
Then of course there is Jiří Čunek, the famous builder of accommodation out of used shipping containers for Romani people in the Poschle quarter of Vsetín, the bastion of his political career. That activity of his aided him with rising to the highest tiers of politics successfully, where he was one of the first modern antigypsyists and racists to make it into the post of Minister for Regional Development.
Čunek really loves talking about welfare, which in his telling is mostly drawn by Romani people, but he has apparently forgotten that he himself was a welfare recipient in the late 1990s – while also depositing millions of crowns in the bank. Is there even any point in commenting on somebody as incompetent and stupid as he is?
His words are not surprising, but at the same time, in the public discourse against Romani people he has committed much more evil for which he should be held accountable, and the same goes for Madame Senator Miroslava Němcová. To conclude, our question is: Should we Roma be concerned that the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic is a racist institution where incorrect speech gets a green light?
As representatives of civil society, we are asking the President of the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, Ing. Miloš Vystrčil, to meet with us at a round table to discuss the remarks by these senators and to also levy the appropriate penalties to prevent such actions by senators in the future.
