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News server Romea.cz. Everything about Roma in one place

Czech Interior Minister comments on banal altercation, CNN Prima News deceptively reports it as another rough clash between Roma and "Ukrainians"

29 July 2023
2 minute read
Policie (Ilustrační FOTO: Envato Elements)
PHOTO: Envato Elements
Yesterday evening a video was posted to Facebook from the Czech town of Nový Bydžov in which an obviously drunk young man speaking either Russian or Ukrainian can be seen provoking a group of Romani men and women for several minutes. The only physical clash to transpire was of people pushing the provocateur away when he got too close to them.

However, some media outlets are describing the incident as another clash between Romani people and “Ukrainans”, with news server CNN Prima News even writing absolutely deceptively of a “rough” clash between the two groups. This banal instance of people pushing somebody away from them, one of what was certainly many yesterday evening in the Czech Republic, has been commented on by police and even by Czech Interior Minister Vít Rakušan.

“According to the report, this was an altercation between two men, one of whom was no longer on the scene by the time the patrol arrived. We did not record any harm caused in relation to this case, but we are intensively investigating it and ascertaining all the circumstances so it will be properly investigated,” the police posted in response to an edited video circulating on Twitter which a user under the name of Kožený Jiří describes, absolutely deceptively, as “more Romani fair play”.

“I can comprehend the indignation that these reports spark. Please take into consideration the fact that it just takes a couple of seconds to write a personal commentary about some dubious event. Investigating what actually happened takes longer than that. I thank the police for addressing this matter and planning to inform the public about it,” the Czech Interior Minister commented on this banal incident, without responding to the deceptive commentary by the social media user.

What does the unedited version of the video show? It first shows an obviously drunk young man wearing a backpack and performing moves worthy of the unforgettable fighter Bruce Lee for several minutes in front of a group of young Romani men and women, as the person who filmed him comments.

The Roma seem to find him amusing and do not respond to the provocation, turning their backs on him. The young man, who is speaking either Russian or Ukrainian, keeps coming back to bother them.

Then the “Bruce Lee” of Nový Bydžov takes off his backpack and walks up to a young Romani man who at first backs away from him and then lightly pushes back at him when he gets too close. “Bruce Lee” then makes another verbal assault on the young Romani man and gets very close to him.

At that moment another Romani man inserts himself into the incident and shoves the provocateur more strongly, who staggers back and falls to the ground. However, at that moment the other onlookers, including the man who filmed the entire incident, prevent any further conflict and everybody tells the provocateur to go away, while also calling police.

The video then shows police arriving and the Romani people explaining to them that the young man had threatened to call “50” of his friends to come to the scene. In another part of the video, the Romani people complain that the officers didn’t want to investigate the scuffle.

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