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Roma hold solidarity march preceding right-wing demonstration |
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Sunday, 09 December 2007 |
Budapest, December 9 (MTI) - About one hundred ethnic Roma and
leaders of Roma civic organizations met in Tatarszentgyorgy, near
Budapest, on Sunday to hold a solidarity march and at the same time
protest a planned anti-Roma demonstration planned by the far right
paramilitary Hungarian Guard.
The Roma group marched through the streets of the town, moving
from a street largely populated by Gypsies, to the local Catholic
church, where they prayed for the souls of the Jews and Roma
massacred by the Nazis in World War II.
Addressing the gathering, Orban Kolompar, President of the
National Gypsy Authority, said: "We have had to come here because
the murderous ideals of Nazism exist in Hungary today and are being
manifest on the streets of Tatarszentgyorgy. We have to act together
for we cannot allow an extremist group to inspire fear in any
minority group inside Hungary."
The message, he said, is that we are not alone. In fact we are
sufficient in number to stand up for one another and exchange hatred
for the spirit of loving our neighbours, extended to all citizens.
Meanwhile, Aladar Horvath, chair of the Roma Civil Rights
Foundation told MTI's on site correspondent that his group disagreed
with the extremist position that ranks freedom of speech and
assembly higher than respect for social harmony and human dignity.
"We demand that Hungarian Guard and Jobbik - the political party
forming the paramilitary group - be banned because of their
anti-constitutional and far right goals," he said.
Member of Parliament Laszlo Teleki - Socialist - told MTI by
phone that he believed Hungarian Guard was "a wolf in democracy's
clothing." Teleki, a former state secretary for Roma affairs, called
on the country's president and the heads of all parties in
parliament to find a way to prevent groups from abusing democracy to
inspire fear in residents.
Hungarian Guard had originally asked for and received a permit
to march through this town on Sunday afternoon, with its large Roma
population, as part of a programme aimed at "improving public safety
in rural Hungary." However, according to fliers they distributed in
the town and published over the Internet, they planned to focus on
Roma crime and turn the march into an anti-Roma demonstration.
Tatarszentgyorgy mayor - Mrs Imre Berente - revoked Hungarian
Guard's marching permit on Saturday. Nevertheless, some 300 members
of the organization, dressed in black and carrying the red-and-white
striped banners associated with the far right, marched through the
town, which was secured by about 200 police officers. There were no
incidents.
Jobbik party vice-chair Jozsef Biber said his party was in
favour of "law and order," wanted to see restoration of the death
penalty, and a new "Gypsy programme" He called for an end to
affirmative action, restrictions on social assistance, and a halt to
integration efforts because "the problems of the Gypsies can only be
resolved through segregation."
Jobbik vice-chair Csanad Szegedi told a news conference after
the march that four Hungarian Guard members lived in
Tatarszentgyorgy and one of them had received death threats. The
Guard was providing him with round-the-clock protection, Szegedi
said, adding that the organization planned similar marches elsewhere
in the country.
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