Slovakia: Hundreds of Romani demonstrators shout down politician who tried to exploit the murder of a nurse
Hundreds of Romani people assembled on the square in Michalovce, Slovakia yesterday to honor the memory of Erika, a 46-year-old nurse who was murdered at the start of the year. Ultra-right politician Marián Kotleba, the chair of the "People's Party-Our Slovakia" (LSNS), had accused the entire Romani community of the murder and convened an anti-Romani gathering in the town.
Romani people then turned out for that meeting and shouted down the chair as he attempted to exploit the murder to score political points. Slovak Police have charged Valentýn H., an 18-year-old Romani man from a local settlement, with chasing Erika and stabbing her more than once.
The alleged assailant then robbed Erika of her mobile phone and wallet. He is now in custody, but the decision to charge him has yet to take effect.
“Last week it was Erika. If nothing changes, then it could be your daughter, sister, wife or mother next,” Kotleba’s Facebook advertisement of the anti-Romani gathering predicted.
“The reaction of standard politicians to this brutal murder and robbery in Michalovce shows they have no interest in protecting decent people. The death of an innocent woman has not moved them. That’s why the more we turn out in Michalovce on Sunday, the greater the hope will be that Erika’s death was not in vain and that something will change,” Kotleba’s Facebook post continued.
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For three days in the runup to the assembly, a van with the logo of the LSNS and Kotleba drove around Michalovce calling on residents to intervene against the Romani community, but instead, hundreds of Romani people went to the gathering to honor the memory of the murdered woman. All was calm until Kotleba, the convener, appeared.
The Roma began to chant “Fascist! Fascist!” The TV Noviny website reported that the organizer ended the event early.
Slovak MEP Peter Pollák has filed a criminal report against Kotleba
Slovak MEP Peter Pollák has filed a criminal report against Kotleba over his calls for action to be taken against Romani people in general. “We filed a criminal report against him today,” he said Saturday.
“The failures of one individual cannot be used to impugn a community of hundreds of thousands,” the MEP wrote. “I appreciate the fast, professional intervention by police and I also believe the investigation will be thorough and the murderer will be justly punished.”
“At the same time I regret that some people are doing their best to spark a wave of hate against the entire Romani community due to the violent actions of one individual because they want to assign collective blame to all Roma for this abominable act,” Pollák wrote. “They are attempting to spark hatred against the entire Romani community, which does nothing to aid our society or any decent person under any circumstance.”
