BRATISLAVA, September 5, (WEBNOVINY) — A Roma protest in front of the Cabinet Office in Bratislava and the start of a hunger strike will on September 20 from 13:00, leader of the Union of Roma in Slovakia’s Frantisek Tanko told a press conference today. He explained that organizers were unable arrange adequate transportation for about 2,500 people who are planning to take part in the event for September 10 as originally announced.
As the Union of Roma in Slovakia reported on August 31, the reasons for the protest and their hunger strike are linked to the living standards of the Roma in Slovakia. „The situation of Roma in Slovakia is difficult and social impacts of the crisis on the Roma population are many times higher than on the majority population of this country,“ said Tanko. The Roma Union is asking the government whether it knows any recipe for solving the problems facing the Roma population and calls for concrete facts instead of „empty words“ which, according to them were used handle their situation for the past 22 years.
Tanko also presented some of the requirements that the Roma Union has towards the government. Because of fear that food crime could escalate, they urge the government to increase the offer of jobs in regions where the situation is becoming critical. They identified as such the districts of Stara Lubovna, Presov, Trebisov, Poprad, Spisska Nova Ves, Gelnica and Kezmarok. „People want to work … The state cannot use the power of people who want to work,“ said Tanko in defense of unemployed Roma people.
„It’s always the same carousel. Every government wants launch a perspective for the Roma minority, but which government has sat down at the negotiating table with the Roma?“ asks Tanko. He said that in May he turned to the Prime Minister Robert Fico, Education Minister Dusan Caplovic and Minister of Labor, Social Affairs and Family Jan Richter with a request for a meeting. He responds to the fact that to date he received no answer saying: „It is striking that they were unable to find even a half an hour for us!“ They therefore plan to hold the hunger strike until Prime Minister Fico receives them, Tanko promised.
SITA