By Colby Pacheco
(Prague, CZ)- This summer, a rash of anti-Romani legislation and proposels have swept Europe, most notably in Italy and the Czech Republic. This wave began as a ripple, gaining momentum as neither the European Union or the governments of which it encompasses raised any alarm. However, the scapegoating espoused by neo-fascists will have farther reaching implications than merely the Roma community.

In April, Silvio Berlusconi was elected Prime Minister of Italy over his center-left rival Walter Veltroni. Playing to what the BBC called a “deep suspicion throughout the country of the Roma community”, Berlusconi focused on the Roma – and immigrants in general – pinning them as the root cause of many of Italy’s problems and vowing a security crack down. The crackdown came in the form of a scheme to fingerprint Italy’s entire Roma population, including children. This plan has received widespread condemnation in the human rights community, most notably from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

Shortly after Mr. Berlusconi was elected, he received another triumph as the far-right politician, Gianni Alemmano, was elected mayor of Rome; wrestling control of the capital from the left for the first time in 15 years. Mr. Alemmano, a former youth leader of the neo-fascist Italian Social Movement (MSI), was elected on a comparatively more stern stance against immigrants. Mr. Alemmano promised to put more police on the streets of Rome and expel thousands of Roma travellers living in settlements around the city. In late June, the BBC showed footage of Mayor Alemmano’s swearing in ceremony. The coverage highlighted the man’s far right credentials by focusing on skin-heads giving one armed salutes to the new leader as well as footage of bulldozers destroying Roma camps under supervision of the police.

On July 10^th, the first rebuke of such policies came from the European Parliament. In a resolution adopted by 336 votes to 220, MEPs called on Italy to stop its practice of fingerprinting Roma; no mention was made of the destruction of Roma communities or expulsions of Roma people. The message was hailed, by the EU, as a strong message to extremist factions. However, the message faded into the background and has been scarcely mentioned again.

The developments in Italy, though disturbing, appeared far removed from other areas of Europe. However, on July 31^st the face of fascism was brought to the fore of the Czech Republic as the Czech National Party unveiled it’s “Final Solution to the Gypsy Issue in the Czech Lands”. Evoking Nazi Germany with its title, the political group layed out a plan to buy land in India (largely agreed to be the historical origins of Roma) and forcibly relocate all Romani people. As of yet, little has been done by the Czech government - let alone the EU - to discredit this appalling approach to race relations.

Caught up in the struggle to figure out what to do with the Lisbon Treaty after its rejection by Ireland, the EU appears to be unwilling to pressure governments to take a tougher stand against far-right political parties. This is a mistake considering what is at stake. If the Czech National Party is not condemned by the EU or the Czech government, the EU faces an incoming presidency of the Union (the Czech Republic takes over the rotating presidency for 6 months on January 1^st 2009) with elements of fascism alive and well within it’s borders. The damage to the EU’s strained image, not to mention the reputation of the Czech Republic and the fate of the Roma population will be in jeopardy.

The European Union and the Czech government have the ability to rectify the developing push of fascism on the continent. It is not merely in the interest of minority groups such as the Roma to quell the threat to sovereignty before it grows too large to be stopped. However, the question remains: who, if anyone will act first?

 
Colby Pacheco is a graduate student of international affairs at the University of California, San Diego. This summer he is serving as an Advocacy Project Fellow for Peace at the Dženo Association.