Speech by Thomas Hammarberg, Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe, at the Summit of Mayors on Roma: “Building mutual trust at the grassroots Plenary Panel – Roma inclusion: what obstacles?”
Posters displayed in Milan during this year’s municipal election campaign warned against the risk of the city turning into a “Gypsy town”. Though this was an extreme display of anti-Gypsyism and xenophobia, anti-Roma statements by politicians are in fact commonplace in several countries in Europe. Until this stops, efforts to promote the inclusion of Roma in society will rarely bear fruit. Instead, discrimination and violence will continue to be a part of the daily lives of many Roma.
Local politicians have a special responsibility for combating discrimination and building bridges across different parts of society. They should avoid using stigmatising speech against the Roma and should not feed the age-old prejudices against this minority. Sweeping generalisations about Roma and Travellers, in particular concerning their involvement in crime, feed the false stereotypes. In a letter posted on the municipal website in November 2010, the Mayor of Novэ Bydћov in the Czech Republic held the Roma collectively responsible for the rape of a girl and announced repressive measures targeting the local Roma community.
Another example comes from Hungary, where comments of the Mayor of Tiszasarion about what he called “Gypsy crime” triggered the setting up of a special ‘gendarmerie’. Such vigilante groups have been operating in other parts of Hungary as well.
The consequences of anti-Roma rhetoric by politicians should not be underestimated. Their words can be understood as encouraging violent action against the Roma, such as mob violence and pogroms. Following the Novэ Bydћov Mayor’s public statements on Roma, extremist groups attacked Roma in the town during a demonstration organised in March 2011. The police failed to provide adequate protection to the Roma on the occasion.
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