ERRC Press Statement: Wall Built in Czech Republic
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Date: Sat, 16 Oct 1999 19:10:52 +0300 (EET DST)
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Subject: ERRC Press Statement: Wall Built in Czech Republic
From: MINELRES moderator <[email protected]>
Original sender: European Roma Rights Center <[email protected]>
ERRC Press Statement: Wall Built in Czech Republic
European Roma Rights Center Press Release
City Authorities Build Ghetto Wall in Usti nad Labem, Czech Republic
October 14, 1999
Municipal authorities in the northern Czech city of Usti nad Labem
yesterday, Wednesday October 13, went ahead with plans to wall in a
series of buildings inhabited predominently by Roma. According to
articles appearing in the Czech press, inhabitants of the buildings on
Maticni Street were awoken at approximately four in the morning when
builders arrived and began constructing a two-metre-high wall under an
approximately eighty-person-strong police guard. Construction was
completed by evening. According to press reports, Czech parliament
finally acted the same day to annul the municipal resolution to build
the wall.
Over the approximately one and a half years which have passed since
city officials first announced plans to build a wall to separate Roma
and non-Roma on Maticni Street in Usti nad Labem in May 1998, the
international community has repeatedly indicated that such segregation
stands in violation of international law, and has called upon the
Czech government to annul the resolution. In March 1999, during
consideration of the question under its early warning procedure,
members of the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial
Discrimination voiced concern that the Government was not doing enough
to prohibit an unlawful act of racial segregation. Ion Diaconu, the
Committee expert serving as country rapporteur on the situation in the
Czech Republic, criticized the Government for having decided to take
legal measures only if and when the local authorities started actually
to build the fence: "The Government should have declared the decision
to build the fence illegal and should have requested its annulation."
More recently, in June of this year, according to an article appearing
in the Czech weekly "Respekt", European Union Envoy to the Czech
Republic Ramiro Cibrian stated that should the wall be constructed,
the Czech Republic could not be considered for EU membership. In a
statement issued on October 7, 1999, the European Roma Rights Center
(ERRC) called on Czech authorities to halt municipal plans for
construction of a wall which would cordon off a Roma "ghetto" in Usti
nad Labem. The ERRC had made a similar appeal in May 1999.
Building of the wall began on October 5, when builders succeeded in
constructing a series of pillars, a gate, and three sections of wall
before Roma, acting peacefully, blocked further construction. On
October 6, Romani activists from around the Czech Republic went to
Usti nad Labem and dismantled sections of wall. Romani activists took
down the rest of the wall on October 7. Protests against the wall in
Usti and around the Czech Republic continued throughout the week.
In response to the actions of the Usti nad Labem municipality, Prime
Minister Milos Zeman reportedly stated on October 7, "The wall in Usti
divides the Czech Republic from the European Union." However, other
high ranking Czech officials have downplayed the importance of the
wall and, most importantly, although legally empowered to do so, Czech
authorities failed entirely to act to prevent construction; Czech
parliament finally annulled the original resolution by the Usti nad
Labem town council in the afternoon of October 13, during or shortly
after the wall was built.
The wall now segregating Roma from non-Roma stands in violation of
international and Czech domestic law, effectively contravening
prohibitions on racial discrimination, racial segregation and
degrading treatment set down in the International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights, the International Convention on the Elimination
of Racial Discrimination, as well as the Czech Charter of Fundamental
Rights and Freedoms. The ERRC welcomes the actions of the Czech
parliament in canceling the Usti nad Labem resolution. It is now
incumbent upon Czech authorities to use all powers available to them
under domestic and international law to dismantle the wall
constructed, and to hold legally accountable those municipal
authorities responsible for violating the rights of the Roma in
Maticni Street. The ERRC will continue to monitor the situation to
establish how long it will take to bring down the shameful wall and
how long it will take to restore justice and provide remedy for the
severe racist assault on human dignity caused by Czech officials.
*****************
The European Roma Rights Center is an international public interest
law organisation which monitors the rights of Roma and provides legal
defence in cases of human rights abuse. For more information about the
European Roma Rights Center, visit the ERRC on the web at
http://errc.org.
European Roma Rights Center
H-1525 Budapest 114
PO Box 10/24
Hungary
Telephone: (36 1) 42 82 351
Fax: (36 1) 42 82 356
*****************
SUPPORT THE ERRC!
The European Roma Rights Center is dependent upon the generosity of
individual donors for its continued existence. If you believe the ERRC
performs a service valuable to the public, please join in enabling its
future with a contribution. Gifts of all sizes are welcome; bank
tranfers are preferred. Please send your contribution to:
European Roma Rights Center
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99P00402686
1054 Budapest
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