Yet another demonstration by Romani people in front of the Office of the Czech Govt: First they deterred pro-Russian activists, then they criticized the Govt for double standards

Ahead of the beginning of the gathering, the organizer and other Romani people objected to several anti-system, pro-Russian activists who wanted to join their demonstration. “Respect the fact that we do not want you here,” several Romani people said in objection to the presence of Pavel Matějka and Lenka Tarabová; Matějka had been a speaker at a demonstration held in the same place the day before that was convened by controversial Romani community member David Mezei.

Jakub Jašek, who has been convicted of wearing symbols in support of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, was also on the scene amongst the small pro-Russian group. This demonstration, like the one the day before, was held on the stairs across from the Office of the Czech Government, where the speakers hung the Czech, EU and Romani flags; although several speeches called for the cabinet to resign, most speakers distanced themselves from any radical demands and called for the Government to begin to collaborate and discuss issues with Romani community members.

CLIPS FROM THE DEMONSTRATION ON 13 JULY 2023

“Government, we don’t feel safe”

“Government, we don’t feel safe”, read one of the signs being carried, and that subject was touched on by most of the speeches made. To begin, the demonstration’s organizer, Alex Muraškin, explained why the demonstration was being held.

“We disagree with how the Government is addressing the cases of the individuals who are assaulting us [Roma]. We want the Government to do something about this,” Muraškin said at the start, referring to the recent cases of incidents during which one Romani man was murdered and others have been injured.

“We have given you our trust, both to the Government and to the President. We want you all, the Government, the politicians, to make us feel safe. We’re giving you all our trust to represent us, don’t behave like populists. We are demanding the resignation of this Government. This Government is not doing anything to benefit the citizens,” moderator Pavel Sliško began the demonstration on a harsh note.

Vojtěch Rác, the next speaker, called on those present to hold a minute of silence for all the Romani people who have been murdered for racial reasons. His speech also criticized the current Government.

Rác criticized Czech Interior Minister Vít Rakušan for tarring two national minorities, the Roma and Ukrainians, with the same brush, adding that what has been happening is not a clash between two different groups of inhabitants. “This is not an anti-Ukrainian demonstration, we are not pro-Russian. We’ve assembled to clearly convey to you all that it is necessary to take more care of the citizens of this country,” he said.

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“I’m 69 years old, I have worked my whole life, and I can barely make a living today, I can barely buy enough groceries, and that goes for most citizens. Try to think about whether your policy is beneficial,” Rác criticized the Government.

“I see fathers and mothers here, they’ve come here because they are afraid for their children. You all don’t know what it’s like to encounter a Ukrainian who is drunk and if I give him the wrong look he pulls a knife. That incident happened in Brno just because [the Romani victim] was listening to loud music,” Rác said.

Marcel Packert: Pseudo-patriots want to exploit the Roma, there is a double standard being used

Marcel Packert made the next speech, calling himself a pro-Romani activist from Ústí nad Labem. He criticized the current concept of patriotism and the attempts by so-called patriots to exploit Romani people in the current situation.

“The people who call themselves patriots today are extremists, xenophobes, antisemites, and I am not afraid to call them Fascist groups, different clubs, organizations, political movements or parties who have never hidden their hate for national minorities, predominantly the Roma in particular,” Packert said. “The pseudo-patriots today are doing their best to exploit Romani people for their political purposes. These people are attempting to establish great hatred here and to create great unrest so that later they can point the finger at the Roma as those responsible. Fortunately, many Romani people comprehend this, they get the danger that is posed by the Romani and these so-called patriots joining forces.”

Packert then rejected the principle of collective guilt being applied after the recent incidents allegedly involving Ukrainian perpetrators. In his view, it is necessary to judge each case individually.

“People are just concerned mainly that these people be fairly judged and that the double standard not be used, and mostly they are afraid more such attacks will continue,” Packert said, who then gave an example of the double standard as being the Government’s approach to Romani Ukrainians seeking temporary protection. Many other speakers drew attention to that as well.

“Why did the Government behave toward the Romani Ukrainians in such a way that they were not treated the same as the ethnic Ukrainians who are white, why didn’t they get the same conditions? That has not been forgotten and I am asking the Government establishment: Why did Romani Ukrainians have to sleep on the tiled floors of railway stations, children, the elderly, women, and then later in tents or detention facilities?” Packert asked.

Jan Houška then drew attention to the flags behind the speakers and said the Czech flag and the Romani flag belong together. “We want to raise the Czech flag just as proudly as we raise the Romani flag. We don’t want to experience prejudices anymore. We are not ‘inadaptables’, I’m here and we’ve come to tell the Government that enough is enough. For 30 years the socially excluded localities have not managed to be addressed, everything that is addressed is not being addressed with the people themselves. That’s not democracy. That’s totalitarianism,” he said, adding that Czech Roma succeed when they go abroad but are still discriminated against in the Czech Republic.

Emil Voráč reminded those assembled that he himself has been aiding both non-Romani and Romani Ukrainians seeking temporary protection for 16 months. “It was a problem to receive Romani Ukrainians. There was a double standard, discrimination. I worked with those people, I heard them tell their stories, the war has greatly impacted them, even if many Czechs claim the opposite,” he said.

“The Roma were not wanted in the Czech Republic, so we arranged for them to seek asylum elsewhere. That was how the Czech Government treated them,” Voráč said.

Bartoloměj Girga: There are too few of us here, the Roma don’t know how to unite, Government, resign!

The singer Bartoloměj Girga then criticized the Romani people themselves who, in his opinion, can’t unite and come to a demonstration in greater numbers. “I can’t want something without doing something for it myself,” he said.

“The fact that people are not doing well is not their disgrace, it’s the disgrace of the Government. Who got you all elected to the Government, and who put you in office as President? The people! I’m afraid of tomorrow. You’re all drawing a salary to protect us, all of us who pay taxes and work. Today the people who work are badly off, unlike you all,” Girga criticized the leading politicians.

Girga then accused the Government of having lied to people during their election campaigns. “How is it that we are supposed to honor the rules while you all lie and nobody condemns you for it?” Girga asked before recalling Czech President Petr Pavel’s recent apology to a girl from Ukraine who had been bullied by Czech children.

“Why isn’t the President apologizing to the little girl from Přerov now?” Girga asked, referring to a recent incident in which a Romani girl was reportedly threatened by children with a knife. “This Government is supporting the discrimination of Romani people, resign if you don’t have what it takes and you’re not a man, Mr. Fiala, put on your dress and start cooking!”

The low turnout for the demonstration was also criticized by another speaker, Ferdinand Baník of Náchod. “This is a disgrace to all of you who just comment on social media and were incapable of coming here,” he shouted into the microphone.

“We want security so we won’t have to arm ourselves. We don’t want anybody to insult our wives or our grandmothers. We, too, have ‘citizen of the Czech Republic’ written in our identity cards!” Baník said.

Marco Cavali: If the Government won’t collaborate with us, there will be another France here, and nobody wants that

Marco Cavali, chair of the Roma Luma political party, opened his speech by explaining why he supported the demonstration and said he was not there to speak on behalf of his party, but personally as a father. “Actually, there are already a lot of problems in our community. When I go out among the majority society, I feel like a second-class citizen. We already have something to offer today, though. Many Romani people go to work, but all the same they spread nonsense about us being on welfare,” he began, before rejecting the calls for the Government to resign.

“It’s not good to call on the Government to resign, but it is important to offer to collaborate with the Government. We don’t want the Government to collapse because we don’t want the SPD to govern here,” Cavali explained, then praised the police who, in his view, are doing all they can to protect citizens, even if excesses happen sometimes.

“There is a flaw in the system that is set up here. The easiest thing to do is to give people welfare, but that’s no solution. Nobody takes an interest in why people have no work. It’s necessary to invest money into the ghettos so more won’t be created,” Cavali said, emphasizing the need to find the causes of each negative phenomenon in society.

Cavali then distanced himself from Mezei’s demonstration the day before and called him an extremist. “That person, what he’s doing with Romani people through social media is no contribution,” he said, adding that all of the Romani people will probably never come together because everybody has a different opinion.

Similarly, all of the Czechs aren’t unified either, Cavali pointed out. However, in his view it is important to collaborate with each other despite holding different opinions.

“It’s necessary to transform the system. There are hundreds of experts here, but none of us feel that the financing invested is aiding us Roma,” Cavali said, before recalling the existence of a double standard as far as Roma are concerned, just as the other speakers had.

“Romani people who have practical experience should be involved in the solutions, it should all go from the ground up,” Cavali said before standing up for Czech Government Commissioner for Roma Minority Affairs Lucie Fuková. “Let’s collaborate with her. Let’s cooperate with the Government, because if the Government doesn’t start negotiating with us, then another France is in danger of happening here, which none of us wants, naturally. We are not warriors, we are not going to set cars on fire,” he said, before rejecting the labeling of Romani people as Gypsies (Cikáni).

“We aren’t gypsies. We don’t have the word ‘gypsy’ in our language. We have the word ‘Rom’. ‘Gypsy’ is an insult to us,” Cavali said as a message to the majority.

Robert Horváth then also stressed the importance of communicating with the Government. “It’s important that the Government start communicating with us. I expect the President to bring society together so there won’t be tensions here. Romani people themselves have to take an interest in these problems and start doing something about them. I’m not a fan of blaming others for this,” he said.

Josef Daniel of Brno then recalled the death of the young Romani man at the Brno Reservoir and said he was attending the demonstration to discuss security. He rejected the principle of collective guilt and of tarring all Ukrainians with the same brush.

“We will not condemn an entire community the way they condemn us. That’s what we’re not going to do,” said Daniel, who also criticized Romani people for arguing with each other on social media.

Jozef Miker then asked in his speech why Romani children are ending up in schools for children with special needs. “There are other minorities in this country, not just the Romani minority. Why, exactly, are the Roma the most oppressed?” Miker asked, recalling that the road to success might take a long time, referencing Martin Luther King, Jr.’s dreams in the 1960s and the election of the first African-American President in the USA in 2008.

“Why aren’t there more Roma working for the authorities, there’s just a couple there. We have more college-educated Romani people than ever before now, why aren’t those people being used?” Miker asked, adding that Romani people are still second-class citizens in the Czech Republic.

“Our forebears contributed to the liberation [from the Nazis]. Romani people have been working in heavy industry, they dug the ditches and built this republic. They’ve done the inferior labor and they are doing it to this day. When will a Romani entrepreneur get a commission directly from a ministry, like the ministers’ friends do? This has to end,” Miker said.

Alex Muraškin: If the assaults continue, we will arm ourselves and defend ourselves

In conclusion, the demonstration’s organizer, Alex Muraškin, gave a radical speech. “I am afraid for my life. The Ukrainians came here from a war zone and many people are afraid. Control those people in the streets, make sure they aren’t carrying weapons!” he said emotionally.

“If this continues, we will defend ourselves too, we will form small groups to patrol. The Government is doing nothing about this. I’ll defend myself, and if I’m not in physical shape for it, I’ll buy a weapon. I’m afraid of those groups of people,” Muraškin reiterated more than once.

“We’re here because of those who are aggressors, who drink alcohol, they’re aggressive, they attack and provoke, and the Government should be aware of that,” Muraškin said. “I’m not threatening anybody, but we will defend ourselves if the Government won’t negotiate with us.”