At the weekend Bratislava city centre was the stage for a face off between human rights activists and around 400 protesters marching under the heading of Together for a Decent and Safe Life.
The march was initiated by Oskar Dobrovodsky, who has been at the centre of a dispute with his Roma neighbours in Malacky and who eventually left his own home. The protest was also attended by members of the far right group Slovenska Pospolitost (Slovak Brotherhood), known also for their intolerance of Roma citizens.
The march was co-organised by former municipal policeman Marian Misun, who has been labelled in the past as a Neo-Nazi. He has organised meetings before involving head of the Slovenska Pospolitost movement, Marian Kotleba, who is currently considering steps to remove around 800 Roma from land that was donated to him.
With such a gathering, it was no surprise that a counter demonstration was organised by those who defy displays of extremism and racism. The group of around 40 activists formed a human chain and managed to block the march for almost an hour as it headed up the hill towards the castle.
The police eventually broke through the human chain to allow the marchers to the the controversial statue of Svatopluk, King of ancient Slovaks, in Bratislava castle.
I genuinely feel sorry for Mr. Dobrovodsky, who is not only a victim of his Roma neighbours anti-social behaviour but also the the failures of the authorities to deal effectively with the problem. I think getting the right wing Nationalists involved was an error on his part.
Noise and disturbance is a growing problem yet it would appear that there is no application of common sense to the enforcement of the law. On Sunday a police officer explained the “rules” about excessive noise at any time of the day or night – the noise has to be measured for duration and volume by officials of the local authority – your own recordings are not acceptable. I don’t know about council staff in Malacky, but the local non-jobs don’t work during normal office hours and, even if you had a contact number, I doubt that anyone would turn out at 3am on a Sunday morning.
If anyone knows Mr Dobrovodsky, I know of a simple, cheap, effective and legal way to turn the tables on his neighbours and would be more than willing ( with some translation help! ) to explain the system to him. I can’t guarantee that it would be 100% effective but the system is very popular in the USA and many western European countries.
Grandpa, are you suggesting that Mr.Dobrovodsky should take the Roma children and adopt them?
It can be effective in the UK and it’s legal, we know. But is it the best solution for Mr.Dobrovodsky?!?!
Decent Life Protesters ?
Was Lucia, SaS,ex Family Minister there then ?