Slovakia told to tear down Roma segregation wall

The local authority in the Slovak city of Kosice said in August 2013 that they would take legal action to remove a wall separating Roma (Gypsy) families from majority Slovaks set up by a local community.

The pledge came in a letter from Kosice mayor Richard Rasi to EU Commissioner for Culture Androulla Vassiliou. The mayor called the wall illegal.

He was responding to a complaint from Ms Vassiliou, who said the wall violated the EU's stand against racism.

Separately, hundreds of far-right activists staged anti-Roma marches in towns and cities across the Czech Republic on the 24 August 2014. The worst clashes took place in Ostrava and Ceske Budejovice.

• Primary Source

Wikipedia: Roma in Slovakia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roma_in_Slovakia

BBC News, 20.08.13: Slovakia 'anti-Roma' wall in Kosice riles EU http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-23767036

European Commission: The Commissioners (2010-2014): Androulla Vassiliou: 2013: August: Androulla Vassiliou tells Košice it must pull down Roma segregation wall without delay http://ec.europa.eu/commission_2010-2014/vassiliou/headlines/news/2013/08/20130818_en.htm

Lidové noviny, 26.08.13: Anti-Roma protest coincides with march against ethnic tensions (via PressEurop) http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/news-brief/4087171-anti-roma-protest-coincides-march-against-ethnic-tensions

BBC News, 25.08.13: Czech anti-Roma protests end in arrests http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-23830623

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