| 1990 |
There were several attacks by skinheads against Gypsies including at least one with fatalities as well as violent fights between Gypsies and skinheads. |
| Mar 31, 1990 |
The constitutional convention of the Congress of the Union of Romanies in Slovakia meets. |
| Apr 26, 1990 |
At a press conference, representatives of the Romany Civic Initiative (ROI) describe unemployment, education, living standards, and housing as the worst problems among the Roma and call for the recognition of the Roma nationality. The organization also states that the Roma should be housed among the rest of the population and calls for improvement in their educational and cultural standards. |
| May 1, 1990 |
200 skinheads create havoc in central Prague, turning on a Canadian tourist group after beating up on some Roma and Vietnamese. |
| May 10, 1990 |
According to an official report, there have been repeated attacks on Gypsies during the past several weeks by skinheads and punks in various Czechoslovak towns. The report also notes that almost half of those arrested for burglary or robbery this year were Gypsies. Note References to the Roma's disproportionately high crime statistics occur throughout the period covered by this chronology and will not be further noted unless otherwise noteworthy. |
| May 18, 1990 |
The ROI expresses its dismay over what it calls the "buck passing" of police who fail to respond to attacks against the Roma. |
| Jun 1990 |
The first free elections since 1946 are held. A Roma party participates and gains 0.73% of the vote. |
| Jul 27, 1990 |
The ROI organizes the first world festival of Gypsy art. |
| Aug 1990 |
Due to fact that Romanian Gypsies, among others, use Czechoslovakia as a transit route to Germany, the government announces travel restrictions on Romanian tourists. |
| Nov 1990 |
The first Roma magazine in Slovakia begins publication. |
| Dec 1990 |
The first Constituent Congress of the Cultural Union of Romanies is held. |
| Jan 1991 |
A poll of Roma in the Slovak Republic reports that about two-thirds of the Roma there regard themselves as Roma with the rest considering themselves ethnic Slovaks or Hungarians. |
| 1991 |
According to a poll, 91% of the population of Czechoslovakia dislike the Roma. |
| Feb 1991 |
There are reports of Gypsies migrating from the Slovak republic to the Czech republic. |
| Apr 1991 |
The government of the Slovak Republic approves a decree which declares the Roma to be "free and rightful citizens responsible for themselves and their families." The document recognizes the Roma nationality and includes guarantees for the use of the Romany language, the publication of Romany textbooks, and the preservation of the Romany culture. |
| Jul 14, 1991 |
According to the Warsaw Voice, "a week does not pass without the press writing of new brawls with Gypsies, of their being thrown out of public places, of attempts at lynching, of arson at their homes." Some of these attacks result in deaths. |
| Sep 10, 1991 |
A Roma publication demands the right of Roma representatives from Czechoslovakia to take part in upcoming European talks on the human rights and positions of minorities. |
| Oct 22, 1991 |
A Slovakian national leader calls for "death to Gypsies." |
| Nov 1991 |
Neo-Nazi skinheads march through the center of Prague chanting "Gypsies to the gas chambers." |
| Jan 1 - Feb 28, 1992 |
Skinheads resolve to replace the police whom they see as ineffective. In order to prevent crime they engage in several pogroms against Gypsies. According to opinion polls, more than half of those polled approve of the skinheads' activities or at least do not condemn them. The skinheads are tacitly supported by local populations because when they appear, the Gypsies vanish. |
| Mar 21, 1992 |
The Romany Parliament is formed with the intention of uniting the various Roma political parties. Unfortunately, these intentions go unrealized. |
| Mar 29, 1992 |
According to a poll, 69% of Czechoslovakians consider themselves to have a bad relationship with the Roma. |
| May 1992 |
Amnesty International accuses Slovak police officers of using violence against members of the Roma community in eastern Slovakia. This violence includes savage beatings while shouting "all of you will die" and "hail Hitler, all Gypsies are to be shot." |
| Jun 5 - 6, 1992 |
The Movement for Democratic Slovakia wins a clear victory in elections in the Republic of Slovakia. The ROI wins 0.59% of the vote. In the elections for the Czechoslovakian parliament, the racist extreme-right Republican party gains enough votes to enter parliament with 6% of the vote and as much as 15% in regions heavily populated by the Roma. The party's platform includes a promise to clear the country of the Roma. |
| Jul 2, 1992 |
South Bohemian representatives of the ROI address an open letter to ROI chairman Scuka expressing a lack of confidence in him due to the ROI's failure to win a seat in the June 5-6 elections and accuse him of intentionally destroying Romany unity. |
| Aug 20, 1992 |
The Romany congress of Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia and Slovakia is formed as a political movement intending to act as a representative of the Roma in talks with the government. |
| Aug 30, 1992 |
Inter Press Service reports that despite government claims that there have been few attacks on Gypsies, many Roma claim that the police disregard and refuse to report harassment and violence against the Roma. |
| Oct 1992 |
An estimated 800 to 8,000 Roma emigrate to Czech land from Slovakia seeking jobs. |
| Dec 22, 1992 |
Hungarian parties in Slovakia complain about growing skinhead activity against the Jewish, Roma and Hungarian minorities in Slovakia. |
| Dec 30, 1992 |
UPI reports that demonstrations by skinheads in Slovakia worry Slovakian Gypsies. |
| Jan 1, 1993 |
The Czech and Slovak Republics formally separate into distinct states. |
| Feb 6, 1993 |
Representatives of the Romany Civic Initiative appeal to Deputy Prime Minister Roman Kovac to hold talks on the situation of the Roma in Slovakia. Claiming that the government and the Ministry of Culture "ignore and reject" Roma demands for cultural and social development, they call for observers to investigate the observance of the human rights of ethnic minorities in Slovakia. |
| Jul 10, 1993 |
Officials of the eastern Slovak village of Spisske Podhradie impose a curfew on Roma and "other suspicious persons" in an effort to reduce crime. The regulation also makes it illegal to operate vehicles in poor condition and allows police to enter Roma homes. The local government refuses to repeal the law even after requested to do so by the national government. Representatives of 17 Slovak minority and human rights groups condemn the action. On July 15, the curfew is declared unconstitutional by the Slovak parliament. |
| Jul 28, 1993 |
Farmers in an eastern Slovakian village have taken to patrolling their fields to protect them against armed bands of Gypsies who harvest the vegetables at night. |
| Aug 5, 1993 |
In the Slovakian town of Kezmarok, police are given the authority to carry out daily identity checks of Gypsies. Those Gypsies discovered to have been involved in stealing or to be ex-convicts are expelled from the town. |
| Sep 6, 1993 |
Roma, Jewish and human rights activists are in an uproar over a report that Slovak premier Meciar called Slovakia's Roma "socially unadaptable and mentally backward." He also called for a reduction in social payments to Roma in order to discourage them from having so many children. Despite Meciar's claims that he was misquoted, a text of the speech shows that the report was accurate in that his speech contained language that was clearly racist. |
| Sep 6 - 7, 1993 |
64 Roma armed with machetes, iron bars and chains take to the streets in protest against their being banned from some bars and restaurants due to their inappropriate behavior. |
| Oct 1993 |
According to a poll, 44% of Slovaks take a hostile attitude toward the Roma. |
| Nov 25, 1993 |
A Czech news agency reports that Slovak Roma are planning a national demonstration on December 18 to draw the government's attention to their worsening economic, social and cultural position. There are no reports of any such demonstration actually taking place. |
| Jan 17, 1994 |
Roma representatives from eastern Slovakia express apprehensions about the "irresponsible escalation of civic and national tension raised knowingly by leaders of Hungarian ethnic political parties." This statement refers to efforts by ethnic Hungarians to create an autonomous ethnic territorial unit in southern Slovakia which also contains a sizable number of Roma. |
| Jun 1994 |
Several Roma cultural and political organizations announce their intentions to form a block for elections later this year under the umbrella of the ROI with the hopes of gaining at least one seat in Parliament. The block will campaign on the issues of inner-city poverty and the need for stronger educational and cultural programs for the Roma. |
| Oct 1994 |
The ROI wins 0.67% of the vote in national elections. This is not enough to gain a seat in parliament. |
| Nov 21, 1994 |
CTK Newswire reports that many Roma who have legal problems find it difficult to find a lawyer willing to represent them. |
| Jan 1995 |
According to a poll, 56.9% of Slovaks are for the introduction of stricter laws for Roma. |
| Feb 24 - 25, 1995 |
A referendum to administratively separate the Roma inhabited part of a community in eastern Slovakia fails because less than half the electorate turns out to vote. Despite the fact that the referendum takes place at the request of the Roma in the community, the lowest turnout is among the Roma. |
| Jul 21, 1995 |
Rampaging skinheads set fire to a Roma youth (who later dies from the attack), attack another Roma youth and set fire to a bar frequented by Roma and a flat occupied by a Roma in the central town of Zair. This sets off a flurry of public scrutiny on the issue of the situation of the Roma in Slovakia. |
| Jul 30, 1995 |
Representatives of Roma political parties write an open letter complaining of open tolerance for Slovakia's skinheads. |
| Aug 3, 1995 |
600 to 1,500 Roma attend the funeral of a Roma youth burned to death by skinheads. Roma politicians call for a ban on racist organizations after the funeral. |
| Sep 4, 1995 |
A few dozen Roma gather to protest Premier Meciar's policy toward ethnic minorities. About 30 skinheads manage to intimidate the demonstration into breaking up early, although no violence ensues. |
| Sep 6, 1995 |
Premier Meciar symbolically founds a new Roma village. |
| Sep 16, 1995 |
About 50 delegates of the United Roma Parties and Political Movements organization meet to approve the organization's new name The Union of Romany Parties of Slovakia (URPS). The URPS includes 6 Roma groups. |
| Oct 27, 1995 |
Roma organizations express concern at a statement by Slovakia's health minister saying that "the government will do everything to ensure that more white children are born than Romany ones." |
| Nov 29, 1995 |
For the second year, an elementary school in Nitra offered a separate first-grade program for Romany children, which grew to include three classes. According to government sources, Romany parents had initially protested the segregation, but now supported it. The children were separated due to their lack of proficiency in Slovak, as well as cultural separation, and used a different syllabus which spread the first-grade curriculum over two years. (CTK News Wire 11/29/95) |
| Dec 14, 1995 |
The Czech-Slovak Intellectual Parliament sent memoranda to both the Czech and Slovak Ministries of Education and Culture demanding that they publish textbooks on Romany language and culture for the education of Romany children, and criticized courts and governments for succumbing to prejudice against the Roma in the administration of public affairs. (CTK News Wire 12/14/95) |
| Feb 10, 1996 |
The Slovak Culture Ministry announced the March publication of a Romany-Slovak dictionary consisting of approximately 20,000 entries and 600 pages compiled by Romany lecturers at the University of Nitra. The dictionary reportedly cost the government one million Slovak crowns ($34,482). Another dictionary had been sold since October at no public cost because the author had received no subsidies and forwent royalties. The two were the first Slovak-Romany dictionaries ever published. (CTK News Wire 2/10/96) |
| Mar 7, 1996 |
The United States Department of State released its annual country report on Slovakia, which stated that Romanies were victims of social discrimination and inadequate police protection against skinhead attacks. (CTK News Wire 3/7/96) |
| May 30, 1996 |
The Slovak Ministry of Social Affairs and the Family and the Slovak Government Office organized a conference on the employment of Romanies in Levoca, which was sponsored by the Austrian Ministry of Social Affairs and the Family. Those attending the conference agreed that improving the education of Romanies was essential to increasing employment. (CTK News Wire 5/30/96) |
| Sep 27, 1996 |
A Slovak newspaper printed a feature article on the Romany, essentially stating that they caused a blight to towns, had poor hygiene, tended to work in the black market, saw no benefit in education, threatened neighborhoods, and created a "Mafia-like" character with their practice of housing extended families in a single dwelling. The article claimed that Romany mothers became the sole breadwinners for their families by bearing children, which would earn them increased welfare payments. (CTK News Wire 9/27/96) |
| Oct 1, 1996 |
The head of the Slovak Council for Nationalities decried the town of Kladno, Central Bohemia, which had banned Romanies from using public swimming pools in an attempt to prevent jaundice. Though the national minister said the measure was wrong, the Council had no governmental power to overturn it. (CTK News Wire 10/1/96) |
| Oct 23, 1996 |
A Romany leader in Central Slovakia threatened to sue Slovak National Party chairman Jan Slota for publicly stating that "Romanies deserve a small courtyard and a big whip," and that "Seventy percent of Slovak Romanies are criminals." (CTK News Wire 10/23/96) |
| Dec 23, 1996 |
A skinhead was arrested in the murder of a 43-year-old Romany man and the stabbing of his son, who was waiting for him at a bus stop. Romanies in the area held a candle-light march in honor of the dead man. (CTK News Wire 12/23/96) |
| Jan 8, 1997 |
Romanies in Prievidza (central Slovakia) formed the Romany Home Guard as a police service to protect themselves, causing politicians to complain that they need to work with the authorities and NGO’s instead of segregating themselves. (British Broadcasting Corporation 1/10/97) |
| Feb 7, 1997 |
Two hundred anti-Fascists and anarchists held a demonstration in Prievidza against the increased violence against Romanies, prompting several dozen skinheads to throw bottles and paving stones at them. Prievidza was near the town where the Romany father and son were attacked on December 23. The group later filed a complaint against the police, whom they said intimidated and attacked them. (CTK News Wire 2/7/97 & 2/9/97) |
| Feb 13, 1997 |
A police investigator in Prievidza formally accused four skinheads of violating public order and supporting movements aimed at limiting people's rights and freedoms in relation to the February 7 demonstrations. The four had made Nazi salutes. On the same day, the regional court in Banska Bystrica in central Slovakia has sentenced another skinhead to seven-and-a-half years in jail for setting light to Romany Martin Goral in Ziar nad Hronom in 1995. (CTK News Wire 2/13/97) |
| Feb 14, 1997 |
The European Romany Rights Centre (ERRC) released an English-language report called "The Time of Skinheads." In it, the Helsinki-based ERRC described attacks by Slovaks against Romanies and accused the government, parliament and public of doing nothing. It called on the government to investigate all racial crimes and ease Romanies’ access to the legal system. Slovak police, government officials and reports were skeptical of the report. (CTK News Wire 2/14/97) |
| Feb 17, 1997 |
Interior Minister Gustav Krajci blamed opposition parties for stirring up unrest between Romanies and skinheads. (CTK News Wire 2/17/97) |
| Mar 30, 1997 |
Approximately thirty skinheads shouting Nazi slogans attacked a group of five Romanies, including one woman, with iron bars in Prievizda. One elderly man was left critically injured after the attack. (CTK News Wire 3/30/97) |
| Apr 4, 1997 |
The Slovak President publicly decried increasing violence, especially violence targeted against ethnic minorities, in Slovakia. (CTK News Wire 4/4/97) |
| Jun 24, 1997 |
The Good Fairy Kesaj Foundation, a bureau monitoring human rights violations among ethnic minorities in Slovakia and funded by Phare and Euroma, released a book detailing the abuses against the Romany. Since the Foundation’s creation in February, it had investigated 98 cases of the violation of human and civic rights, discrimination and racially-motivated acts. They said the most serious cases concerned discrimination against Romany children in hospitals and attacks by skinheads against pupils at schools for children with learning disabilities. (CTK News Wire 6/24/97) |
| Jul 23, 1997 |
The district court in Prievizda found five skinheads guilty of hooliganism and other charges for their involvement in the February riots. They were sentenced to suspended prison sentences ranging from four to 12 months, while one was sent to prison for six months. (British Broadcasting Corporation 7/25/97) |
| Aug 21, 1997 |
The Slovak government and its special inter-ministerial Council on Nationalities announced its plan to solve the problems of the Romany community through education, employment, housing, social and medical care, and prevention. Though the council had been in existence for years, it did not begin to deal with the Romany problem until the skinhead attack of 1995. The government announced it was seeking input from the Romanies on its plan. (CTK News Wire 8/21/97) |
| Sep 22, 1997 |
Representatives of Slovak Romany intelligentsia, speaking on behalf of Coexistence, protested against the statements made by the chairman of the Slovak National Party, Jan Slota, during the recent visit of Jean-Marie Le Pen to Slovakia. Slota had said “We have been here for 1,250 years and no gypsies nor nomadic barbarians can force us out of this territory because we are strong enough to sort these people out.” (British Broadcasting Corporation 9/25/97) |
| Oct 20, 1997 |
Branislav Balaz, a Romany and government commissioner for people in need of special assistance went on Slovak radio to discourage Romanies from trying to emigrate to foreign countries and apply for asylum. Documentaries on Czech television in August and September had shown Romanies in Canada and Britain living comparatively well, leading hundreds to sell their possessions and make the journey, and causing considerable concern in the countries suddenly receiving the influx. Note Throughout the period covered by this update, Slovak and Czech Romanies migrated to various Western countries and applied for asylum on the basis of persecution and discrimination, prompting each receiving country to launch an investigation into conditions in the country of origin. Slovakia claimed that these exoduses were organized to make the country look bad, and that the Romany were simply seeking better welfare benefits. Unless otherwise noteworthy, these migrations will not be further mentioned in this chronology. (British Broadcasting Corporation 10/22/97) |
| Nov 22, 1997 |
The Legal Protection Office for Ethnic Minorities in Kosice filed suit against the communities of Mnagov and Rokytovce on charges that they violated the rights of Romanies when they banned them from the villages. (CTK News Wire 11/22/97) |
| Dec 8, 1997 |
The Budapest-based European Romany Rights Centre (ERRC) released a new edition of its report "The Era of the Skinhead," detailing Romany rights abuses and individual race attacks in Slovakia, which include being terrorized by both skinheads and police from 1993 to 1996. It also included reports of attacks by police, discrimination, eviction, and a report that local authorities planned to turn the Lunik IX housing estate in Kosice, East Slovakia, into a 30,000-strong Romany ghetto. The Slovak government rejected the report’s findings. (CTK News Wire 12/8/97) |
| Mar 15, 1998 |
OSCE commissioner Max van der Stoel visited Slovakia to look at the situation and living conditions of Romanies in the most problematic regions. (CTK News Wire 3/15/98) |
| Mar 16, 1998 |
According to the Slovak Interior Ministry, at this point there were fourteen registered political parties and movements in Slovakia to represent the interests of the Romanies. (CTK News Wire 3/16/98) |
| Mar 25, 1998 |
The mayor of a town in Central Slovakia appealed to Parliament to prevent the influx of Romanies from Kosice into his town. While a third of the town’s population was Romany, the mayor believed the new arrivals - who were being driven to his town after their old homes had been sold - would increase unemployment and tensions with the town’s military population. (CTK News Wire 3/25/98) |
| Apr 6, 1998 |
The Komensky University in Bratislava decided to postpone the deadline for Romanies applying for study at some of its faculties until April 30 to give them more time to prepare for entrance exams. Several NGO’s, as well as UNESCO, the Council of Europe and governmental agencies had requested that opportunities for Romanies at Slovak universities be increased. According to unofficial estimates, only two of the university’s 24,528 students were Romany. (CTK News Wire 4/6/98) |
| Apr 17, 1998 |
The Romany Intelligentsia for Coexistence (RIS) released an editorial in support of the Romanies emigrating to Western Europe, saying it was "surprised" that the Slovak Foreign Ministry (MZV) appealed to citizens to stay in a country "where they had no prospects and where human and civil rights were flagrantly violated." (British Broadcasting Corporation 4/17/98) |
| May 12, 1998 |
The Romany Intelligentsia for Coexistence accused the Slovak authorities of deliberately depriving the Romanies throughout Slovakia of their civil and human rights by forcibly removing them from towns and communities to outlying areas. Such moves caused the Romanies to lose their permanent residence as well as voting rights, employment, social security and health care. (British Broadcating Corporation 5/14/98) |
| May 30, 1998 |
On Slovak radio, the Slovak National Party described its plans for welfare reform, which they felt was necessary because the national budget was going to "to people to whom they do not belong, to people who do not feel like working, to our Romany fellow citizens who, perhaps, support themselves only through having large families [through social benefits for large families]." (British Broadcasting Corporation 6/1/98) |
| Jun 22, 1998 |
Torrential rain caused flooding throughout Slovakia, but hit Romany encampments along rivers especially hard. Politicians, reacting to the crisis, accused Romanies who never lived in the area of materializing for aid, claiming that their documentation had been lost in the flood. (United Press International 6/22/98 and British Broadcasting Corporation 7/10/98) |
| Sep 1, 1998 |
The Romany Intelligentsia for Coexistence protested an earlier report by the Ministry of the Interior, which had stated that Romanies were responsible for about 22 per cent of all criminal deeds in Slovakia. The Romany Intelligentsia for Coexistence called the statement racist, and called on the ministry to publish the ethnicity of all criminals, not just accused Romanies. The protest did not directly mention the Interior Ministry’s Aug. 24 statement. Earlier reports had shown that only seven percent of all crimes were committed by Romanies, but that the high recidivism rate among Romanies could lead to a perception that the actual rate was higher. (British Broadcasting Corporation 8/24/98 & 9/1/98, and CTK News Wire 11/23/98) |
| Oct 7, 1998 |
Britain introduced a visa requirement for people entering from Slovakia as a means of reducing the number of Slovak and Czech Romanies applying for asylum. A total of 1,611 Slovak Romanies have asked for asylum in Britain over the last two months. (CTK News Wire 10/7/98) |
| Nov 6, 1998 |
After meeting with Romany Intelligentsia for Coexistence representatives, the Slovak government Deputy Prime Minister for Human and Minorities' Rights and Regional Development, Pal Csaky, declared that it wanted to create a real atmosphere of tolerance, and emphasized that emigration was not the solution to Slovakia’s problems. (British Broadcasting Corporation 11/7/98) |
| Nov 20, 1998 |
The Slovak National Party (SNS) questioned the Interior Minister’s decision to abolish the publication of the Romany crime rate. (British Broadcasting Corporation 11/21/98) |
| Nov 23, 1998 |
The Interior Ministry announced that an Romany Intelligentsia for Coexistence representative would hold the newly created post of external advisor to the Slovak Interior Minister for ethnic minority issues, beginning in December. (CTK News Wire 11/23/98) |
| Nov 28, 1998 |
The Romany Coalition was formed in order to coordinate the activity of three parties - the Romany Democrats' Party (SRD), the Democratic Romany Alliance (DAR) and the Romany Congress (RK) - on issues of education, social issues and unemployment. (British Broadcasting Corporation 12/2/98) |
| Jan 14, 1999 |
The elected mayor of Petrova village was dismissed by popular petition after only three days in office. While the petition claimed he did not have the education to fulfill his duties, he charged that he had been fired because he was Romany. (CTK News Wire 3/2/99) |
| Jan 19, 1999 |
The Slovak Helsinki Committee released a report on the standing of Romanies in Slovakia which called attention to the absence of any associations aiming to create toleration for the Romanies in society and the trend towards moving Romanies away from city centers. (CTK News Wire 1/19/99) |
| Jan 28, 1999 |
At a press conference, representatives from Romany Intelligentsia for Co-existence (RIS) said the government was unwilling to work with them to solve Romany problems, and as a result, about 1,500 Romanies were planning to emigrate to Belgium and apply for asylum there within a few days. (CTK News Wire 1/28/99) |
| Feb 6, 1999 |
Slovak media detailed the high birth rate in a particular hospital in the Kosice region, where Romanies accounted for over half the births. Doctors alleged that the almost 100% unemployment rate and social welfare had led Romanies to try to increase their income through having children, leading to high birth rates, large numbers of young (under 18) mothers, and premature births. (British Broadcasting Corporation 2/6/99) The Romany Intelligentsia for Coexistence (RIS) expressed concern that the Slovak cabinet's policy on human rights and ethnic minorities was focusing only on the Hungarian ethnic group. (British Broadcasting Corporation 2/7/99) |
| Feb 24, 1999 |
A delegation of Belgian officials visiting Slovakia in response to the asylum petitions of Slovak Romanies criticized local governments of not being sufficiently aware or responsive to Romany problems and for giving them unhealthy and unbearable segregated housing. They found no problems with the Slovak national government, however. (CTK News Wire 2/24/99) |
| Mar 9, 1999 |
In a radio broadcast in which he also maligned ethnic Hungarians and the American Secretary of State, Slovak National Party Chair, Jan Slota, stated he would never consent to a Romany nation living in Slovakia, as "they are Gypsies who steal, rob and pilfer." (CTK News Wire 3/9/99) |
| Mar 12, 1999 |
The European Centre for Romany Rights in Budapest sent a complaint to the European Human Rights Court in Strasbourg accusing two Slovak villages of racial discrimination against Romanies. In 1997 the local councils of Nagova and Rokytovce made a decision "explicitly saying that Romanies would not be allowed access to these villages." The case was closed the following month, after the two towns ended their ban. (CTK News Wire 3/12/99 and British Broadcasting Corporation 4/20/99) |
| May 5, 1999 |
Nine Slovak Romany political parties signed an agreement on unification and established the Romany Coalition. (CTK News Wire 5/5/99) |
| Jun 30, 1999 |
Pal Csaky, Deputy Premier responsible for human and minorities' rights, called on Slovak Romanies today not to fall for "impertinent machinations of irresponsible persons who see business in ethnic tourism,'“ alluding to Romanies who applied for asylum in Finland. The Finnish immigration office said that nearly 400 Slovak Romanies applied for asylum in Finland since Thursday, June 24. The influx of Romanies in Finland prompted a series of government investigations into the cause of the emigration and its veracity, as well as into reports that the migrations had been organized by outside parties. By early July, Finland had introduced a visa requirement for visitors from Slovakia in response to the influx, which they regarded as being economic and not political. Slovakia also set up a special commission to watch migrations of Romanies, which included members of the Slovak Intelligence Service. (CTK National News Wire 6/30/99 & 7/7/99 and British Broadcasting Corporation 7/8/99) |
| Jul 4, 1999 |
Efforts to create a coalition of 17 registered Romany political parties failed due to irreconcilable differences among the delegates and the absence of leaders of several of the parties. The Party of Democratic Unity of Romanies (SDJR) had organized a congress to try to unite the Romanies and enter parliament. (British Broadcasting Corporation 7/6/99) |
| Jul 7, 1999 |
The Romany Intelligentsia for Coexistence requested the dismissal of Deputy Prime Minister for Human and Minority Rights and Regional Development, Pal Csaky, and Government Commissioner for Romany Affairs, Vincent Danihel. They claimed Csaky was mostly concerned with the Hungarian ethnic minority and Danihel was ineffective. Other reports accused the officials of fomenting ethnic rivalries and of creating conspiracies surrounding the mass emigration of Romanies to cover up the inadequacies of the Slovak government’s approach. (British Broadcasting Corporation 7/7/99 and CTK News Wire 7/8/99) |
| Jul 8, 1999 |
A former senior member of the Romany Intelligentsia for Coexistence accused current Romany Intelligentsia for Coexistence members Alexander Patkolo, Ivan Tokar and Tibor Loran of organizing the Romany exodus to Finland, noting a division within the Romany Intelligentsia for Coexistence between a leadership council in Zvolen and a faction in Bratislava which was centered around Tibor Loran. (British Broadcasting Corporation 7/9/99) |
| Jul 15, 1999 |
The parliament adjourned an extraordinary parliamentary session called to discuss the dismissal of Deputy Premier for Human and Minority Rights, Pal Csaky, after only 46 deputies, mainly opposition members, attended the session. The session required a minimum attendance of 77. (CTK News Wire 7/15/99) |
| Jul 21, 1999 |
Slovakia’s Romany Minority Commission announced the August launch of four programs to help Romanies in education, housing, and tolerance. The programs consisted of a television series about Romanies, a monthly job publication, a Romany history supplement for the sixth through ninth grade textbooks and a program to increase Romany participation in public administration. Analysts were skeptical about the programs, which were slated to be the first of a total of 15 Romany aid projects.(CTK News Wire 7/21/99) |
| Aug 12, 1999 |
According to the Association of Romany Businesspeople, only 24 Romanies co-own limited companies, while no Romany owns a joint-stock company. A Slovak newspaper blamed the 85% Romany unemployment rate on the low level of education and skills in the Romany population. Only one thousand Romanies were officially registered as small-size businesspeople. (CTK News Wire 8/12/99) |
| Aug 16, 1999 |
The Zvolen group of the Romany Intelligentsia for Coexistence founded the Romany Democratic Left (RDL) a leftist-democratic party with strong democratic principles to eliminate the problems of family clans, machinations and frauds. The party hoped its leftist ideals would appeal to Romanies and non- Romanies to find a solution to the Romany problem. The party started an ethnic awareness program, under which it hoped a minimum of 320,000 members of the Romany minority would formally declare their ethnicity, instead of registering as Slovak or Hungarian. (British Broadcasting Corporation 8/20/99) |
| Aug 23, 1999 |
The Romany Intelligentsia for Coexistence criticized the government's plans (unveiled 7/21) to tackle Romany for not including any means of implementation. (British Broadcasting Corporation 8/23/99) |
| Aug 25, 1999 |
Only forty of the 114 deputies in the parliament voted to dismiss Deputy Prime Minister for Human and Minority Rights and Regional Development Pal Csaky. The proposal to dismiss Csaky was submitted by 38 deputies of the opposition Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS). (British Broadcasting Corporation 8/26/99) |
| Sep 2, 1999 |
Jozef Cervenak, chairman of the Roma-Gemer civic association in Roznava, East Slovakia, initiated an investigation into the placement of racist leaflets in Romanies' mailboxes. The leaflet called on Athe white man’ to stand up and defend what is his by right in the name of his ancestors . . . Let us not permit life under Romany oppression as a minority in our own country in a few years.’“ (CTK News Wire 9/2/99) |
| Oct 1999 |
A Romany reporter, sponsored by a group of non-governmental Western organizations aimed at increasing the visibility of Romanies in their home countries, won a journalism prize in a Kosice competition. The prize winning segment, "Barbed Wire," featured a resident of the Kosice Mir housing estate, who separated his apartment with barbed wire and told the Romany reporter he did it to prevent "Gypsies" from going there. The pilot program would sponsor between eight and twelve aspiring Romany journalists the following year. (CTK News Wire 10/31/99) |
| Oct 6, 1999 |
The Slovak Helsinki Committee released its study on the portrayal of Romanies in Slovak popular newspapers, state-run radio and television, and one commercial television station. It found that the majority of stories linked to Romany issues were presented in a dispassionate way, but that journalists often did not differentiate between the behavior of individuals and the entire ethnic group. The committee concluded that the image of Romanies had deteriorated primarily due to their recent mass departures to Finland, Norway and Belgium. (British Broadcasting Corporation 10/6/99) |
| Oct 13, 1999 |
In response to allegations by Belgian senators investigating Romany asylum claims, Slovak Deputy Premier Pavol Hamzik announced that "There is no racial discrimination in Slovakia." Hamzik admitted that the Romany community in Slovakia had social and economic problems. (CTK News Wire 10/13/99) |
| Oct 29, 1999 |
About 70 representatives of Romany associations, Slovak government officials, representatives of the European Union in Slovakia and of the U.S. and Belgian embassies took part in a conference on problems of Romanies in the Spiz region, which had one of the highest concentrations of Romanies in Slovakia. While the European Union Phare program and the Dutch government had funded several quality of life projects for Slovak Romanies, one of the conference’s goals was to find more funds, especially since the Slovak government had not yet contributed its share to the program. (CTK News Wire 10/29/99) |
| Nov 2, 1999 |
The Romany Intelligentsia for Coexistence charged in the media that Slovak unemployment offices routinely marked the files of Romanies with an "R." The officials denied any discrimination in the action, stating that this simply indicated that the applicant was considered "risky," since Romanies had lower education levels and social adaptability. The Deputy Prime Minister for Human and Minority Rights and Regional Development Pal Csaky and the government watchdog for the protection of personal data, Pavol Husar launched an investigation into the practice. (CTK News Wire 11/4/99 and British Broadcasting Corporation 11/3/99 & 11/9/99) |
| Nov 11, 1999 |
In an interview with a Slovak newspaper, a deputy from the Slovak National Party accused the government of overemphasizing Romany issues. The politician alleged that if the government continued to give "excessive rights," programs and projects for the Romanies, the economy would collapse in 2010, when Romanies (due to their high birthrate) were expected to become the dominant population group. He claimed that the Romanies did nothing but collect benefits from others. (British Broadcasting Corporation 11/16/99) |
| Nov 16, 1999 |
The World Bank (WB) approved a grant to the Slovak government of $275,000 dollars to be spent on those projects addressing the problems of its Romany minority. The WB had identified Romanies as the poorest community in Central and Eastern Europe several years earlier. (British Broadcasting Corporation 11/17/99) |
| Nov 30, 1999 |
The Office for the Protection of Romany Rights criticized Slovak President Rudolf Schuster for stating, while on a trip to Germany, that the Slovak Romany minority was profiting from state help but was neither willing nor capable of assuming the responsibility for the improvement of their own situation. (CTK News Wire 11/30/99) |
| Dec 3, 1999 |
The Czech and Slovak governments announced a five to twenty year project which would ensure educational, cultural and social cooperation between Romany and national groups in the two countries. (CTK News Wire 12/3/99) |
| Dec 7, 1999 |
Deputy Premier Pal Csaky announced plans to send "civilization missionaries," paid through the European Union’s PHARE program, to live with the Romanies in Romany villages. He said that experts for Romany issues had reacted to this type of solution very positively. (CTK News Wire 12/7/99) |
| Dec 20, 1999 |
The Slovak government unveiled a new textbook, Romany History, which would be used in elementary and secondary schools. The textbook had 50 pages which described Romany history in the Czech and Slovak areas from the time they arrived from India, through World War II to the present, as well as describing traditional Romany occupations, language, habits, traditions and life in their settlements. The book also profiled successful Romanies like Czech Television moderators Iveta Kovacova and Ondrej Gina. Between 2,500 and 3,000 books were to be distributed and used solely as teaching aids. (CTK News Wire 12/20/99) |
| Dec 27, 1999 |
The SITA news agency released the results of a poll of 1,046 Slovaks over 18 from across the country, which found that 60.4% would welcome measures ensuring that Romanies live separated from the rest of the population. A spokesperson for the Slovak National Party, Anna Malikova, supported the results, adding that this would also benefit the Romanies by making them responsible instead of letting them use state benefits. The Romany Intelligentsia for Coexistence protested against the poll the following day, saying it was shocked that a Slovak news agency would spread racism and discrimination through such a venue. The Office of Slovak Deputy Prime Minister for Human and Minority Rights and Regional Development Pal Csaky protested too. (British Broadcasting Corporation 12/27/99 & 12/30/99) 9 January 2000 Independent parliamentary deputy Robert Fico, one of the most popular Slovak politicians, presented a draft bill which would have denied welfare benefits to anyone returning to Slovakia after leaving to make a "speculative request” for political asylum. Other politicians categorized the proposal as racist. (CTK News Wire 1/9/00) |
| Jan 19, 2000 |
According to the Slovak government, only 15 racially-motivated attacks took place in Slovakia in the first eleven months of 1999, and Romanies were not the only targets. The government also maintained that most of these attacks were verbal and not physical, and that both skinheads and people under the influence of alcohol perpetrated the crimes. (CTK News Wire 1/19/00) |
| Jan 28, 2000 |
The Slovak National Party proposed a policy of confiscating the passports of Romanies who returned to Slovakia after being denied asylum elsewhere for five years. The Slovak government rejected the proposal. (CTK News Wire 1/28/00) |
| Feb 25, 2000 |
A U.S. report found that while human rights abuses in Slovakia had decreased in the past year, there were still incidents of discrimination and police torture of Romanies. (CTK News Wire 2/25/00) |
| Mar 8, 2000 |
The Romany Civic Initiative (ROI) demanded that the Interior Ministry obey the 1971 law on the use of ethnic languages in official contact, which would allow Romanies to use their language in 57 Slovak municipalities in which Romanies make up more than 20 per cent of the total population. The ROI saw the law as an opportunity to increase Romany participation in public life as well as increasing job opportunities for Romanies to work for the government in Romany-language areas. The ROI also called on the Slovak government to monitor the activities and statements by the Slovak National Party (SNS), which it claimed often breach a framework convention of the Council of Europe on observation of human rights. (British Broadcasting Corporation 3/8/00) |
| Mar 9, 2000 |
The Chairman of the Committee for Human Rights and Nationalities, Laszlo Nagy, denied a report in the European Parliament that Romany women were sterilized against their will. (British Broadcasting Corporation 3/9/00) |
| Mar 24, 2000 |
A poll conducted by the Slovak Helsinki Committee revealed that over 40% of Slovak secondary school students refused to befriend Romanies, while 24% said they had Romany friends. (British Broadcasting Corporation 3/24/00) |
| Apr 5, 2000 |
Amnesty International voiced concern over police treatment of Romanies, noting in particular their use of "punitive police raids,” dogs, torture, illegal entry, and racial abuse. The Slovak government later disputed the report, saying that several incidents were still under investigation, while others involved necessary use of force to apprehend dangerous criminals. (CTK News Wire 4/5/00 & 4/6/00) |
| Jun 6, 2000 |
The Slovak National Center for Human Rights described the conditions of the 592 Roma villages in Slovakia, where each house had an average of nine occupants. Most of the houses were not officially registered, meaning that no sewer or water lines could be laid to them. (British Broadcasting Corporation 6/6/00) |
| Jul 28, 2000 |
An increase in thefts of produce from Slovak farms led to a variety of statements. A majority of Slovaks agreed that Romanies mostly perpetrated the crimes, in part because the welfare payments in Slovakia had decreased in July. Politician Robert Fico suggested that the guidelines for crop theft be lowered so that it would no longer be considered a misdemeanor, and that farmers not be held accountable for attacking people who attempted to steal crops. The Slovak National Party, in turn, suggested the police and army be called in to guard the fields. (CTK News Wire 7/28/00) |
| Aug 4, 2000 |
The Slovak National Party suggested that "unadaptable” Romanies, and possibly unadaptable "whites” as well, be put on reservations. The Romany Initiative of Slovakia later sued the politician making the statement for making racist statements and intimidation. The legislator could not be charged with a crime since he had parliamentary immunity. (CTK News Wire 8/4/00 and British Broadcasting Corporation 8/9/00) |
| Feb 24, 2004 |
Roma protests over welfare benefits cuts resulted in rioting and police brutality toward the Roma. (Amnesty International. 2005. “Slovakia.” http://web.amnesty.org/report2005/svk-summary-eng. Accessed 7.16.07) |
