Roma rights activists to sue Cunek over statements about Roma

Czech Roma rights activists have decided to file a lawsuit against Deputy Prime Minister and Christian Democrat leader Jiri Cunek over his comments regarding the Roma community. They say his statements might amount to inciting hatred against the ethnic group. In a recent interview for the popular tabloid Blesk, Mr Cunek said that in order to be entitled to state subsidies like Romanies, other people would need to get a suntan, behave in a disorderly way and light fires on town squares before politicians would regard them as badly off.

Roma rights activists are calling for Mr Cunek's departure from government. They are planning to stage a protest outside the government headquarters in Prague on Wednesday.