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Caplovic: Ultra-right Marches Won't Resolve Roma Issue
Monday 18 January 2010 Zoom in | Print page
Bratislava, January 18 (TASR) - The problems with the Roma population won't be resolved by the marches organised recently by Marian Kotleba and his ultra-right Slovenska Pospolitost organisation, said Deputy Premier for Human Rights and Minorities Dusan Caplovic at a meeting between Slovak President Ivan Gasparovic and representatives of the country's minorities on Monday.
"Today it's the Roma, tomorrow it will be the Jews, then differently-thinking people, and then they'll be against everybody. This is how Hitler started and this is how Mr. Kotleba is starting as well," said Caplovic. According to him, the Roma are part of society and have their rights but also their responsibilities, and they will bear the consequences of their actions. "If the Roma fail, we need to proceed against them as we would against all other Slovak citizens," he added.
The deputy premier is convinced that the question of the status of the Roma can be resolved mainly through education and by focusing on the young generation. "It's a long distance run. It's very important to focus on the young generation [...] to give them opportunities to learn, give them conditions for better employment," he stressed.
According to representative of the Cultural Association of Roma Nationality Citizens in Kosice Erika Adamova, more could be done to resolve the Roma's problems. "Mainly in connection to nationalism," she added. In her opinion, this doesn't only concern marches by Kotleba-supporters, but also statements made by certain politicians, mainly from the Slovak National Party (SNS). She asked Gasparovic to discuss this issue with SNS representatives, and to ask them to "reduce their vocabulary and their statements, which are sometimes nationalist".
Adamova claimed that such proclamations increase aversion in society not only towards the Roma. "The Jewish community also perceives this issue very sensitively and negatively," she said.
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