CZECH Deputy PM for Human Rights Petr Mareš said that the migration of Slovak Roma to the Czech Republic was not critical, the daily SME reported on December 16.
Over the past 11 months, 1,046 Roma have applied for political asylum in the Czech Republic, but no application has gone through.
However, the Czech media have been reporting Czech concerns that thousands of Slovak Roma are moving to the Czech Republic. Recently, Czech Interior Minister Stanislav Gross estimated the number of Slovak Roma in the Czech Republic at 14,000 and called for preventive steps.
Slovak Deputy PM for National Minorities Pál Csáky promised that the Slovak government would continue trying to eliminate the causes of Roma migration. He listed sewer systems, support, and house-building programs as possible solutions.
