Governor speaks out against EU demands to move pig farm from site of former concentration camp

The regional governor for Southern Bohemia, Jan Zahradník, has responded to EU demands that a pig farm on the site of a wartime concentration camp for Romanies in the region be relocated. Mr Zahradník said the European Parliament’s calls to relocate the pig-farm ‘complicate ongoing negotiations’ and are ‘counterproductive’. A spokesperson for the regional governor added that the relocation of the pig-farm would cause job-losses and financial difficulties for farmers in the area. The region had previously agreed with the Czech government and Romanies living in the region to erect a memorial to the Romany Holocaust nearby the original site. But last week, the European Parliament reprimanded Czech authorities for not moving the pig-farm to another location and, on Monday, the Czech Committee for the Redress of the Roma Holocaust followed suit.