Roma in Czech town protest mayor's generalizations about them

Nový Bydžov, 7.12.2010 14:11, (ROMEA)

On Sunday, 5 December a Czech Television report on the situation in the town of Nový Bydžov opened with local resident Petr Suchánek, the initiator of a petition against the Roma, saying, "A handful of residents is terrorizing the majority and radical solutions are desired." The broadcast also quotes Mayor Pavel Louda (ODS) claiming police would be supplying him with statistics on crimes committed by Roma, even though statistics on suspects disaggregated by ethnicity are not kept by the police. The report was broadcast as part of the "168 Hours" program.

Louda's previous general condemnation of all Roma as criminals has particularly outraged members of the Roma community who have lived most of their lives in thetown. Louda issued an official declaration in the immediate aftermath of allegations that a female resident of Nový Bydžov had been raped and that police suspected a local Roma youth was the perpetrator. Louda entitled the declaration "Gypsies are raping, town prepares special measures" and posted it to the town's web page. He later removed it in response to criticism from around the country. The declaration included the following general condemnations of Roma:

"The citizens' hatred of the Gypsies is boiling over."

"There are only two state police officers serving in the town. Since their jurisdiction is broader than just the town itself, whenever they are called away, the town is left unprotected and the Gypsies merrily cause trouble by shouting in the streets, threatening people, including with knives, and