International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance Chair welcomed the transformation of
the former concentration camp from an industrial pig farm to a
memorial.
It is a real honour to be here today.
I can recall many a heated discussion at IHRA plenaries
about the indignity of having a pig farm on a site near the mass
graves of 300 people from the Roma community who had been
murdered by the Nazis and collaborators.
We have to acknowledge that disregarding the site and unmarked
mass graves in favour of the farm was an attempt by some to
forget this dark chapter in Czechia's history. For others, it
symbolized the persistence of anti-Roma sentiment in Czech
society and in many parts of Europe.
Being here today at the official opening of Lety clearly shows
how far the Czechia has come government has come and its friends
rejoice at the opening of the memorial.
Since 2014 IHRA has
been involved in the transformation of Lety from the pig farm it
once was to the memorial it is today. IHRA have
regularly raised with both the Czech authorities
and IHRA member
countries the need for a respectful place of commemoration at
Lety.
After decades of campaigning by local activists and increased
efforts by the IHRA, the
pig farm was redeemed by the Czech government and acquired by the
Museum of Romani Culture in Brno.
In 2019, the Museum of Romani Culture was awarded
an IHRA grant
to develop a concept for the exhibition for the Lety memorial.
This exhibition not only covers the history of the concentration
camp, but also works to prevent false assumptions on the purpose
of the camp and the conditions of the victims and to counter any
new denial of the genocide of the Roma as well as
antigypsyism/anti-Roma discrimination.
I am pleased that IHRA's
experts remained actively involved as the new memorial
complex was designed. This includes IHRA's
Safeguarding Sites team which visited Lety last June.
IHRA is
immensely proud that all member countries adopted the
Safeguarding Sites Charter and that Lety stands today as a proud
representation of our safeguarding efforts.
It is an honour to see how we have all worked together to ensure
that the victims of the Roma genocide are remembered.
I also wanted to take this opportunity to praise the Czech
government for recently adopting the IHRA working
definition of antigypsyism/anti-Roma discrimination.
I encourage you now to look at further practical steps to address
the long-term discrimination that the Roma community continue to
face in this country. Examples include the difficulty Roma people
face in accessing compensation for forced sterilisation, and
segregation of Roma children in schools. These are legacies of
the genocide which need to be eradicated, and learnt from.
This is an important day for acknowledging the dark moments of
the past but looking towards a brighter future. I look forward to
continued closer co-operation between the IHRA and
Czechia. Thank you, all, for your continued leadership.
