Government Plenipotentiary for Roma Communities Miroslav Pollak expresses his deepest and offered his condolences to the survivors of victims of the tragedy in Hurbanovo killed by an off-duty local police officer on Saturday. Pollak said that in his view the shooting that killed three people and injured two in Hurbanovo, southern Slovakia, is inexcusable and incomprehensible. Spokeswoman for the Government Plenipotentiary for Roma Communities Iveta Duchonova told Gipsy Television on Monday that later in the day Pollak will meet with Police Corps chiefs in connection with the tragic events in Hurbanovo and demand that responsible law enforcement agencies investigate the case thoroughly and take effective measures to prevent similar tragedies in future.

The Government Plenipotentiary for Roma Communities further asks the media to inform about the tragedy sensitively, as biased and dishonest information contributes to rising tensions between members of the Roma community and the rest of the population. Most of the responses and attitudes of the majority population to the sad event in Hurbanovo proves that Roma are perceived negatively and delaying solutions to the problems of Roma communities can only bring about further deterioration of relations and an escalation in relations between the Roma communities and the majority society. The Slovak Government has adopted a strategy for integration of the Roma until 2020.

The Plenipotentiary for Roma Communities believes there will be enough political will for responsible and consistent realization of this strategy in cooperation with the relevant authorities to improve the social-economic status of the Roma communities and also to eliminate tensions in society, resulting from low social status of segregated communities.


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