Town bans alcohol consumption in public over influx of Roma

Caslav, Central Bohemia, Sept 19 (CTK) - The town hall in Caslav yesterday passed an ordinance banning public alcohol drinking, mayor Jaromir Strnad told CTK, speaking about the measure primarily targeting the Romanies who recently moved to the town.

Roughly 100 Romanies have moved to the Caslav hotels and hostels whose owners are paid social contributions from the state for their accommodation, Strnad said.

"We want to prevent what has happened in other towns. However, the self-rule body has limited powers," Strnad said.

He pointed to the recent unrest in north Bohemia in which majority population has staged a number of protest rallies against what it calls rising Romany crime.

Due to the unrest, riot police were sent to the region.

In Caslav, owners of four hostels have found that it is profitable to provide shelter to the unadaptable (mostly Romanies). They easily fill their capacities and are paid destitution benefits from the state, which is highly profitable for them.

In all, there are some 100 unadaptable Romanies in the town with roughly 10,000 inhabitants.

The public alcohol drinking ban is not valid for the whole of the town, but only to the streets in its centre, Strnad said.

"Besides, the town wants to limit the operation of gambling house as of next year," he added.

Government human rights commissioner Monika Simunkova told CTK yesterday she would watch the situation in Caslav and if it worsened, she would certainly go to the town.

She said the problem with hostel owners did not have any simple solution as their ownership rights could not be encroached upon.

On Wednesday, the government will discuss a package of measures with which to cope with the problems in the slums inhabited by Romanies. There are some 400 of these "ghettoes" in the Czech Republic.

Destitution benefits are to depend on the due school attendance of the recipients' children. Moreover, the recipients would have to do public-benefit works to have the right to welfare payments.

"People on the welfare should really do something," Strnad said.