Pogroms again

Weirdly watch video massacre of Roma houses in the village Loschinovka in the Odessa region – just remember so much of any similar scenes of the past century. That’s how it begins: all somewhere frantically go, not yet themselves knowing how and what will happen next. At first, like, someone not very strongly throws a stone at the window, then the lighted windows of an apartment house with increasing enthusiasm smash, break something in the house and in the yard, trying to burn – ordinary men, women and even children. Then they are excited overlooking the street and shout: “Gypsies – get out!”

A few representatives of the security forces walk around with a puzzled look and do nothing. Only in the morning reinforcements arrive, and then finally call the police “stop the lawlessness.” But they are afraid of – and it is very noticeable. The next day, the police are trying to bring out of the ring rioters several women (who fled from a pogrom people tried to take away anything from the abandoned house property), view from the uniformed rights defenders and about not less frightened than the harvesting them unhappy gypsy. Local officials say directly,it is necessary to expel the Roma, but to act “in accordance with the law”, without specifying how mayhem may be legitimate. Locals at the word “law” hardened, they have their own concept of justice, which is formulated as: “Gypsies came just three years ago and were not considered those who then lived for two hundred years.”

The reason for the pogrom, which is strongly condemned in a joint statement, Ukrainian and Russian human rights activists, was the tragedy – the murder of a child, an 8- or 9-year-old girl. But this is just an excuse – or, as vividly expressed Odessa television reporters, “the last straw” that caused the “people’s anger.” I do not know what sacrilegious: pogrom called “a manifestation of the people’s wrath” or compare the murder of a child with a drop …

Sami rioters in speeches at meetings, referred to as “the Chamber”, say not so much about the death of the girl, how about drugs, which allegedly in recent years began to sell these houses most of the defeated. About drugs and spoke arrived in Loschinovku governor of Odessa region, Saakashvili, accusing the judges somehow inactive and calling to take immediate steps for a joint fight against drug houses (obviously – for extrajudicial fight?). If the connection between the problem of drug trafficking (a serious problem, of course) and the murder of a girl in Loschinovke and there, it could not be seen from all known material about the tragedy. But it is clear that the Thunder is only the Roma, and the cries of hundreds sip “Gypsies – get out!” leave no doubt that the aggression suffered people of a certain ethnic group – all indiscriminately.

It is much more important to understand how to relate attacks against Roma homes and the death of a girl in Loschinovke. The child disappeared from home at night and in the morning, according to his mother, the dead girl found near her body had numerous stab wounds. The mother even claims that neighbors heard the cries of raped girls, but did not intervene, thinking that perhaps shouting “big girl.”

Suspicion fell on the brutal murder of a close friend of the deceased girl’s stepfather, the suspect (by the name of Michael) was immediately detained. This Michael (son as once it became known to all, the local gypsy and Bulgarians, who lived all his life in Loschinovke) with childhood friends with the victim’s stepfather constantly been in their house, not even time mother left him with the children, she said. The investigators have to figure out how and what happened that night, why other parents of the girl had suddenly become her murderer (if the crime is committed it), what is the evidence of his guilt. So far, the evidence against Michael found his father’s blood-stained clothes. There were no witnesses, the suspect denied his guilt.

So, some recently arrived in Loschinovku Romani families were expelled, pogromleny barely saved their lives by “popular anger” in connection with the crime, which is suspected of native Loschinovki whose father allegedly slept peacefully on the blood-stained clothes, but the father that no one touched (luckily the Bulgarians). Nobody touched the girl and her stepfather, details of which are far apart: it was reported that he was in a fatal drunken night at home, then – that he helped his wife clean the bar, leaving some children (as claimed by the mother of the dead girl).

Suspect already suggested lynch or even executed in the television show “Subjective results” a Maxim Goldarb, and his companion, the former head of the Department for the fight against drug trafficking in Ukraine National Police Ilya Kiva, and all applauded the massacre of Roma houses, likening their acts of civil courage ” both on the Maidan. “

Gypsyism problem exists not only in the Odessa region, and not only in Ukraine. Fear and hatred of “strangers” give rise to aggression, which is often used by politicians. The law enforcement agencies also, alas, regularly go on about the vile passions angry mobs, and even push people to pogroms. Over the past 15 years of history, in many ways reminiscent of the tragedy in Loschinovke not occur again: these were crimes against children, which at once, not understanding, blamed Roma, simply because they are Roma. 10 years ago a little girl was walking under the windows of his house in Krasnoyarsk, then suddenly disappeared, his mother began to look for – find a mutilated body in the woods. Nearby residents rushed to evict the Roma (gypsy camp nearby appeared in Central Asia), were evicted, and the killer is not very much and were looking for. Only after following a similar crime the police “remembered” that in the same house lived recently freed from prison recidivist, have committed crimes against children. If it had not smashed Roma and search for criminals – would have saved the child’s life can be, and not just one.

In the Leningrad region, too, it was a terrible event – the girl disappeared 9 years, found the burnt corpse. The suspects were not, but just then the police got the homeless, formerly dwelt in one of the gypsy town houses, where the family lived the missing girl. Arrested for 15 days, this “witness” suddenly remembered that night heard the two discussed Gypsy, where they would hide the corpse of a girl (investigators were not surprised that the Russian witness understood it Roma – although Roma language did not know). Roma men were arrested, but their friends and relatives claimed that they were home at the time of the crime – but what can be considered evidence of Roma alibi.

In the court case virtually collapsed, evidence against those arrested on charges of destruction of the girls did not, the judge knew it. But there was no other accused, someone had to be condemned, the Roma were given 2 and 3 years – too short a period for an especially grave crime against a child, and too big for a crime committed by someone else, and not found.

The most frightening, in my opinion, the story took place in 2012 in Bryansk. Mother said about the disappearance of the infant. There are reports that they saw the black-haired woman in bright clothes, which is somewhere rolled the stroller. Suspicion, of course, fell on Roma Bryansk and Bryansk several “encampments”, compact Roma settlements. Experts anti-discrimination center “Memorial”, then on the spot were the special operation footage in connection with the search for the child in Romani houses: all the villages surrounded by armed police with dogs, all children under 14 years old (looking thoracic!) Forcibly photographed, instilling fear into the hearts of children and parents.

After a while, the police chief of Bryansk announced that found the offender, whose de suspected from the beginning, but were looking for the gypsies to lull his vigilance. Child killed his stepfather, along with the baby’s mother decided to hide the crime. For this, he dressed up in quasi-gypsy costume (a wig of black hair and bright skirt). In Bryansk, admittedly, in contrast to the tragedies I have described above, the offense really revealed. But at what cost! Hundreds of Roma families have been mortally frightened, feel no guilt guilty, afraid that they will take away children. And all this – only a blind ?! It is unlikely that these measures were so necessary to catch the real culprit. Rather, it was an excuse to illegally break into the house with Roma, all rewrite and photograph. It is fortunate that the riots did not happen …

There are sad in our practices and real case of death of a child at the hands of Roma criminals. But convicted in this case was not the real killer – and the woman at the time of death of a child while in prison. All of them – the Roma people from Western Ukraine, who lived on the outskirts of St. Petersburg in makeshift houses. Eighteen months the baby was in the care Zhanny Lakatosh, and when she was detained for theft in the child remained with her partner. Drunk man in a fit of anger hit a child on the head with a hammer, he saw one of the older children (tell in detail about all the court), for a child clothes found prints men’s shoes. All this does not prevent the court and investigation support the version of the killer and his mother, who said that the baby died of injuries caused by Jeanne him (even though she was at the time in prison). Jeanne was sentenced to 10 years in prison, deprived of her maternal rights, her young daughters were placed in a shelter as an orphan to be adoption. The Case of the numerous violations in the criminal case Zhanny Lakatosh alreadycommunicated the European Court of Human Rights .

It is not that to which ethnic group is the perpetrator, and that it is only necessary to proceed from the principle of the presumption of innocence of anyone whose guilt is not proven. Particularly, it should be attentive to those offenses where guilt most willingly shoulder the some “no such” people on those easier to accuse, expel, pogroms. Terrible when crimes against children are to someone the reason for the opening of the new season of the witch hunt.

Author: Stephanie Kulaeva – Expert Anti-Discrimination Center “Memorial”

Sourse, 05/09/2016