Evicted Romany families should receive money, minister says

Ten Roma families that were evicted from the North Moravian town of Vsetin last autumn as rent-defaulters and moved to rundown buildings in the Moravian Jeseniky region may be given some subsidies for basic repairs to their dwellings, Czech Minister without Portfolio Dzamila Stehlikova told journalists on Monday. The Green Party minister said she wanted wanted to obtain a total of 1.5 million crowns for this purpose and would be submitting a proposal to the government in about a month. The Roma families were evicted from a dilapidated tenant house in the centre of Vsetin last October by the then mayor Jiri Cunek, who is now Deputy Prime Minister and head of the Christian Democrats. Ms Stehlikova said that the conditions in which the Roma are living in Jeseniky are miserable. Some of their houses don't have any drinking water or proper sewerage.