People in Michalovce commemorate the death of nurse Erika on January 8, 2023. (source: Korzár)
What far-right politician Marian Kotleba did not expect from a gathering in Michalovce, where he called on people via social media to attend, was that it would be members of the Roma minority who would turn up en masse.
The gathering on a square in Michalovce, eastern Slovakia, took place on January 8 to commemorate the death of 46-year-old nurse Erika, who had been stabbed to death by Valentín, an 18-year-old local Roma teenager, on the first day of the new year.
Zemplínska Partia, a local civic organisation, organised the public gathering last Sunday.
Kotleba, leader of the far-right ĽSNS party, and his supporters also showed up at the gathering, at a time when their anti-Roma gathering should have taken place on the square. The party had failed to report its gathering to the local authority.
Zemplínska Partia distanced itself from Kotleba, rejecting a claim it would have organised and coordinated its gathering with ĽSNS.
However, Ľuboš Sabadoš from the organisation is a former ĽSNS member, the Denník N daily noted.
Kotleba is a fascist, people yell
Around 2,000 people went to the gathering, according to the Korzár website.
At least half were local Roma people. Many live in Angi Mlyn, a Roma neighbourhood, a stone's throw from the centre of Michalovce.
Disappointed by Kotleba's presence, a Roma representative, Jozef Sliško, condemned the murder.
Marián Kotleba in Michalovce on January 8, 2023. (source: Korzár)
"We wish for peace in the town, because we live here, we have families, many were born here," he said from stage. "The perpetrator will be convicted by the law enforcement authorities; it's their job," he added.
The peaceful gathering became more intense after Kotleba appeared on stage, though he was not allowed to say much after the crowd booed him.
"Kotleba, Kotleba, fascist!" most people yelled at the politician from the square.
Kotleba's supporters during a gathering in Michalovce on January 8, 2023. (source: Korzár)
The crowd left the square without incident and headed to the crime scene to light a candle in memory of the murdered nurse.
Car with anti-Roma recording
Prior to the gathering, on Facebook Kotleba has recommended to people in eastern Slovakia to form a militia.
"If you don't know how, we're glad to help you" he said, criticising the government for their failure to protect people in eastern Slovakia against Roma people.
Last April, Kotleba was convicted of expressing sympathies with a movement suppressing basic rights and freedoms, losing his mandate in parliament as a result. The Supreme Court imposed a suspended sentence of six months with an 18-month probation as well.
Days before the gathering, a drove around the town. An audio recording was playing loud from the car: "An aggressive Roma sadist literally murdered someone for a few euros. Standard politicians are silent, we will not be silent."
Kotleba's efforts are seen as a political campaign by local people.
Recent polls suggest that his party will not make it to parliament in the next election, which might take place in the coming months after the fall of Eduard Heger's cabinet.
Targeting the Roma population had helped him in the past. He used a 2012 castle fire in Krásna Hôrka, eastern Slovakia, started by two Roma boys, to earn some popularity among the public by verbally attacking the Roma. Earlier on, in 2009, Kotleba used an attack on a pensioner by two young Roma to his advantage.
MEP Peter Pollák, who is Roma himself, filed a criminal complaint against Kotleba during his last weekend visit to Michalovce, suspecting the far-right politician of committing the crime of racial hatred.
Attempt to escape to Czechia
The police detained the murderer thanks to help from Roma people, the Denník N wrote, before he managed to escape to the Czech Republic.
Now in custody, he may be sentenced with up to 25 years in prison if the court finds him guilty.
Despite the murder, Michalovce mayor Miroslav Dufinec has not noticed any tensions between Roma the people and the rest of the citizens. Neither has Roma Jozef Tatár.
"White, Roma, green, red, we all live here…and we love each other," he told Denník N, adding that they do not need Kotleba to tell them how to live in Michalovce.
