A szlovák rendőrség és titkosszolgálat megpróbálja megfélemlíteni a roma aktivistákat:

Local councils refuse to provide running water, install sewerage systems or even collect rubbish. Barely clothed children scamper through mud and ice, and dogs nose around household waste. Councils refuse to register Roma as residents, thus preventing them from voting in local elections. There is even a separate wooden church.

A recent United Nations report on the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania, found that integrating Roma into society was a long-term issue, necessitating a total overhaul of policies.

In this remote corner of Eastern Europe old prejudices thrive. Fearful of visits from vengeful officials and police, Romany women would talk to The Times only if their surnames and the names of their villages were not published.

The Government’s response shows that the mentality of Moscow, not Brussels, flourishes. Peter Miklosi, an official, said: “The police should find out whether any such case happened and, if so, prosecute the offenders. If allegations prove false, those who have spread them might be prosecuted for spreading false alarm.”

Romany human rights activists say that they have been harassed by the Slovak secret service and called into police stations for questioning.

There have also been threats that the activists themselves will be prosecuted for failing to report a crime, that is, the sterilisations, on time to the police. Edmund Muller, of the Roma Rights Centre, said: “It is time for us to fight for our rights. They say we are damaging the image of Slovakia, but this is rubbish. We are fighting for a better Slovakia.”