The fascist attacks against Gypsies are continuing unabated
by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
European countries seem to become a dangerous place for Gypsies yet again
Prague, Czech Republic - A Romany toddler and her parents were seriously injured in an apparent petrol bomb attack on their house in north-eastern Czech Republic recently, according to police reports.
The victims said someone threw Molotov cocktails in their house in the town of Vitkov, setting it ablaze shortly before midnight, police spokeswoman Sona Stetinska said.
She said that police would not be able to confirm the cause of the fire until after examining the site, which has been complicated by the danger of the building's collapse.
Outgoing Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek said he was 'seriously concerned by surging extremism', urging authorities to determine whether the incident had been racially motivated.
Police said the motive of the alleged attack was not immediately known. 'We cannot confirm that it was racially motivated but we also cannot rule it out,' the spokeswoman said.
The 22-month-old toddler girl, rescued from the burning home by her parents, was airlifted to a hospital in the regional capital of Ostrava in a critical condition, according to the medical rescue services.
She has suffered severe burns on 80 per cent of her body and inhaled fumes, spokesman Lukas Humpl said in a statement.
Her mother, 27, sustained burns on her legs and one arm, while the father, 33, had serious burns on his back and limbs, the statement said.
The incident took place amid rising political activity of far- right and neo-Nazi groups.
On the same night, far-right extremists had embarked on a highly- publicized march through north-western Czech town of Usti nad Labem, home to ghetto-like Roma communities 430 kilometres east of Vitkov.
Czech towns have struggled to ban extremist rallies as their organizers exploit laws that safeguard freedom of assembly.
'It is clear that there is a link between political activation of extremists and direct violence towards inhabitants, ' the premier said. He vowed that his outgoing cabinet would discuss the issue on April 20.
Despite such rhetoric, far-right groups have continued their activities unhampered. The government recently failed in its effort to ban one such organisation, the Worker's Party. Racist-tinged fire bomb attacks, some of them deadly, have also recently shaken Hungary and police torture of Gypsy boys occurred in the Slovak Republic.
Nothing, it would appear, is being done by the EU as regards to those happening, bar lots of talking, yet again, and even more talking.
Being more than a little concerned with the lack of action by the European Union and the Council of Europe, bar rhetoric, I am beginning to wonder as to whether there is more here than meets the eye and whether there is some kind of hidden agenda here by the EU and its member states against the Romany minority.
I leave the readers to make up their own minds on this...
© 2009
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