Paul
Goble
Staunton, June 17 – The presidential
plenipotentiary for Volga District of which Penza oblast is a part and the
governor of that region say that fake news put out by US-backed groups was
behind the clash between Roma and local Russians in the city of Chemodanovka,
but local residents, Roma and Russian alike, blame local police for failing to
intervene quickly.
The charges of fake news originating
with the Americans have been repeated on central Russian television; the
complaints of local people have not gotten similar attention, although they are
beginning to percolate on Facebook and in some Russian news services. (For a
useful summary with good sources, see newsru.com/russia/17jun2019/gypsy_penz.html.)
At present, the several hundred Roma
have left their encampment, except for 15 who remain in jail. Some say their
departure was orchestrated by officials. Others say they simply fled in order
to escape further violence and arrests. And still a third group says they will be
back as soon as things calm down.
Police continue to patrol the entire
city under what officials call “the Vulcan Plan,” and the city administration has
promised to open a police office in what had been the Roma encampment, something
that the Roma had long asked for but hadn’t received, as a result of which
police seldom have come when called.
Despite these actions, anti-Roma passions
remain high in the Penza Oblast; and official suggestions that the Roma are in
league with the ultimate outside agitator, the US and its “information diversionists,”
is unlikely to calm things. Indeed, by playing up this angle, Moscow television
may very well spark more attacks on Roma elsewhere in the Russian
Federation.
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