Pardubice, Czech Republic: Hundreds of Romani people protest the harm caused yesterday to a young Romani man, allegedly by Ukrainians
Hundreds of people, most of them Romani, have been protesting today in front of the main train station in Pardubice, Czech Republic against a conflict that arose on Saturday between Romani men and three non-Romani men who are allegedly from Ukraine. Those organizing the protest told the Czech News Agency (ČTK) that a young Romani man was injured during the street brawl.
Organizers said Romani protesters had come to Pardubice from all over the Czech Republic. A police spokesperson said today that one person was injured and three were arrested on Saturday evening during the brawl of about 20 people total.
The police have repeatedly called for calm. Ferdinand Baník, one of the organizers of the protest, told ČTK: “We want to draw the Government’s attention to the fact that we [Roma] too are citizens of the Czech Republic, but we do not walk around the city armed and we do not attack anybody. We [Roma] want to live peacefully. We’re here because the situation among the Roma is tense. This case from Saturday is not unique, it’s just the second one to be reported through the media. Conflicts between Ukrainians and Roma are increasing, I think it’s unnecessary.”
Baník said he is concerned that if “the state won’t address this”, Romani people could radicalize. “We don’t consider all Ukrainians to be the same, we know what racism is, we are not racists. We just want them to not walk around armed and to not assault us. There could also be problematic people among them in such an influx of people [from Ukraine],” he said.
The organizer also admitted the possibility of such persons being provocateurs who want to spark conflict with the Roma. “We don’t want conflict, we just want security. We want the situation among us Roma to calm down. We know this situation could be turned against us,” Baník said.
Roman Novák, a representative of Pardubice’s Romani residents who convened the protest today, said: “We’re just asking for protection, or for more security and inspection.” Police spokesperson Markéta Janovská also spoke at the demonstration to the Romani community members assembled; she explained the approach the police are taking to the case and assured those present that it is being investigated.
David Mezei radicalizes the crowd, leads protesters to the scene of the assault
The peaceful protest was transformed once David Mezei arrived, a Romani community member who appeared at an anti-Ukrainian demonstration in Brno last week. In an openly anti-Ukrainian, xenophobic speech today in Pardubice, he attacked “nonprofit organizations” and did his best to radicalize the Roma against Ukrainians.
Mezei did his best, more than once, to provoke his fellow Romani community members into chanting “We don’t want them here!” Most of the Romani people on the scene applauded him, but some called him a Romani Fascist and did their best to calm the situation.
During a live Facebook broadcast, Mezei and several other Romani people openly threatened the representatives of “nonprofit organizations”, the Czech Government Commissioner for Roma Minority Affairs Lucie Fuková, and other Romani community members who are doing their best to calm the situation. Mezei indulged in vulgar verbal abuse and called his targets “sell-outs” more than once.
Mezei then led a crowd of mostly Romani people on a march to Anenská Street, where Saturday’s incident transpired, chanting anti-Ukrainian slogans and calling for greater security. “Where is Fuková to solve this? She shakes hands with the Ukrainians!” Mezei shouted.
Police say the protest did not involve any incidents. Between 200 and 300 people marched through the city center, police spokesperson Janovská told ČTK.
Police accompanied the protesters. The event ended just before 15:30.
Injured Romani man: The street brawl was provoked by the Ukrainians
According to the injured Romani man, Petr S., Saturday’s street brawl was provoked by the trio of men whom eyewitnesses have identified as Ukrainians and who allegedly had already threatened other Romani people on the day before. “We were defending ourselves, one of the Ukrainians pulled out a knife and stabbed me,” Petr S. said.
After the incident, he received medical treatment. He was released on Saturday evening with two stitches to his face.
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 such 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. As far as the Pardubice conflict goes, the police also did not want to comment on the citizenship of those detained.
