Internal Affairs Directorate of the Brest Regional Executive Committee believes that the materials in the media with headlines such as "Beware of Roma!" are not discriminative

Ales Yauseenka and Maria Klimovich - Homel human rights defenders received responses from representatives of the police department of the Brest Regional Executive Committee, Hantsavichy police department and the Deputy Chairman of the Brest Regional Executive Committee to the letters with a request to conduct lectures with the police and the editor of the regional newspaper "Hancavicky chas" on the prohibiting of stirring of animosity toward Roma in the media. The reason for addressing was the publication in the local newspaper "Hancavicky chas " under the headline "When Roma come to your house - call the police." The author of the article is the deputy chief of the Hantsavichy police department S.Tarasevich.

The deputy chairman of the Brest Regional Executive Committee Leanid Tsupryk gave such a response to human rights defenders: "There were incorrect changes by the editorial body of newspaper in the case of this publication "Hancavicky chas ". They changed the headline and the editor of the newspaper is said about it." Deputy Chairman of the Executive Committee explained that the police initially gave to the local newspaper information with the title "Be careful!" And the editorial body changed the title to “When Roma come to your house - call the police." Leanid Tsupryk adds that "the information presented in the article is true, has the preventive character and is not aimed stirring interethnic hostility."
Internal Affairs Directorate of the Brest Regional Executive Committee gave the following answer: "the article in the media had a preventive character, in order to prevent elderly people of becoming a victim of fraud and theft." "The article in the media didn’t provide any interethnic hostility towards the Roma ethnic group" - assured administration of the Internal Affairs Directorate represented ​​by the Deputy Chief V.P. Uglianitsa.

Police department of the Hantsavichy district isalso surethat thearticle does not contain anyinformation that canbe the reason ofrace hatred. "The article has a preventive characterand aimed to prevention ofthefts,that are usually madeby the representatives of Roma," - said in his letter the head ofthe police departmentA.H.Yaromenka. Head of the departmentnotes thatduring 2014 there were 20thefts committed by Roma in the Brest region.

In connection with this figure is worth noting the following data: during 5 months of 2014 in the Brest region registered more than 4.7 thousand crimes. For 2013 there were more than 11.4 thousand crimes in this region. Who committed all these crimes when according to police data the main "criminals" are Roma with 20 thefts?

Head of the Hantsavichy police department added that "the officers of the department will continue to implement organizational and preventive measures for the prevention of crimes and offenses, which are made by Roma."

"I don’t understand the tenacity with which officials are contrary ideology in the usage of ethnonyms on crime. Is disclosure of crime is increasing because the police, instead of describing the specific features of the suspects referring the national signs? "- commented the answers Maria Klimovich.
According to her, editor of “Hancavicky chas” called her and tried to persuade that he has no intention stirring interethnic hostility.
Homel human rights activists have repeatedly drawn attention of the ideologues administrations of police on media publications that bring discredit on Roma.