A true pogrom, a burned down camp and Roma men, women and children forced to flee at the hand of Ukrainian neo-Nazi paramilitary group, C14. This happened just last week, in the Goloseevky district of Kiev.
A horrific and terrifying crime by a group that is an official civil society organization and legally registered by the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine.
A horrific and terrifying crime so far gone unchecked and unpunished by Ukrainian authorities.
We stand in solidarity and support with the Roma community of Ukraine and our Roma friends all throughout Europe, who suffer unthinkable discrimination on a daily basis and call for the in depth investigation and prosecution of the perpetrators of this attack.
Furthermore we call for the revocation of the official status as CSO of C14, who have on repeated terms been accused and found guilty of hate crimes and hate speech as well as their public condemnation by Ukrainian authorities.
As far-right extremism is on the rise throughout Europe we must become increasingly vigilant, we must act as watch-dogs, we must continue our coalition-building work and promote inclusion, social solidarity and empathy between minority communities as well as within civil society as a whole.
