Unresolved New Year’s Eve death increases division in North Bohemia

Tanvald, north Bohemia

For the Roma minority of Tanvald, a quiet town of 10,000 in north Bohemia’s Jizerské Mountains, the Jan. 7 burial of 22-year-old Ladislav Tatár required by-the-books organization. Observed by a population fearing retribution for a mysterious New Year’s Eve shooting that left Tatár dead and his older brother injured, community leaders sought to ensure no clashes marred the funeral and memorial march, despite a martial atmosphere that has pervaded the town since the incident.

Tanvald Mayor Petr Polák had summoned national anti-conflict police to prevent the type of ethnic clashes that erupted elsewhere in north Bohemia during the late summer of 2011. These officers looked on as a crowd of 300-plus accompanied Tatár’s coffin to the hilltop cemetery, somberly observing traditional Roma rituals. Six men bore Tatár’s coffin out of the church, knocking it superstitiously against the threshold to ensure the deceased’s soul would not return. Others navigated mourners and supported devastated family members, some of whom lost consciousness during the ceremony.

„A Roma funeral is a serious thing,“ Tatár’s older cousin, Ladislav Husák, later commented. „They thought it might turn into a demonstration, but it was absolutely impossible that anyone’s behavior would be out of line at such an important event, even if what we are dealing with here was basically an execution.“

That word, „execution,“ was a term Tanvald’s Roma community used frequently to describe Tatár’s death, raising the hairs of local officials who fear the tragedy may cause regional ethnic violence to spill over into their small towns.

Though police have withheld information about the shooting, enough details have emerged to cause uproar among Roma communities nationwide. In the early morning hours Jan. 1, 63-year-old Tanvald resident Jan S. fired his legally held handgun at Ladislav Tatár and his older brother Patrik, 23, at a railway crossing some 500 meters from his home. Patrik survived with exit wounds, while Ladislav, a married father of two, died on the spot. Though detained by police, Jan. S was released shortly after questioning. His current whereabouts are unknown.

North Bohemia is a region of high unemployment that has seen an influx of Roma migrants in recent years, a combination that has proved explosive for poor neighborhoods. In summer 2011, tit-for-tat ethnic skirmishes in the township of Šluknov, some 80 kilometers from Tanvald, escalated into a violent clash between Roma demonstrators and right-wing extremists, decimating the delicate fiber that held this community together.

Polák now fears the same may happen in Tanvald. Tensions have grown in recent years upon the arrival of more than 100 poor Roma migrants, drawn by housing opportunities.

„There is high unemployment here, which means there are empty houses,“ Polák said. „White families do not want to live with Roma, so these poor migrants end up renting derelict houses from overcharging owners who take their state housing benefits.“

Police had to intervene against a small group of right-wing extremist that gathered in the city center on the day of the burial. A Facebook group called „For a safe Tanvald“ was rife with racist comments from non-Roma residents.

„That week before the funeral was tense,“ Polák said. „Some of the Roma wanted to turn the ceremony into a demonstration, and we didn’t know if skinheads would come.“

Despite the heightened tension, the shooting has not resulted in further violence thus far. After the funeral, when the media dispersed, friends and family members gathered for a wake inside the Tatárs‘ state-subsidized apartment.

Unlike the migrants who now make up a majority of Tanvald’s Roma, the Tatár family has lived in the town for nearly a half-century. Through the window of their modest living room, father Ladislav Tatár can see the shooter’s home, as well as the spot where the tragedy took place.

„The man had a license to carry, which means he should have known what to do,“ he said. „Even if he felt threatened, he could have fired into the air or at the boys‘ feet, if it was necessary. But he just opened fire.“

In the days following the shooting, a lack of information from police led to speculative media reports. According to the most popular version, the Tatár brothers had set off Jan. S’s security alarm. The man then ran outside, to a forest-flanked area near the railway crossing, and began shooting.

Speculations have also emerged that the Tatár brothers had been trying to rob the shooter. Lenka Bradáčová, the prosecutor in charge of the case, has ruled out the crime was racially motivated. She confirmed Patrik had been convicted of robbery in the past.

The Roma community is incredulous that Jan. S was not taken into police custody. Initial media reports indicated he had been allowed to escape to Germany on account of connections to local law enforcement. However, Bradáčová told The Prague Post the police handling of the situation was „exemplary.“

The Tatárs disagree. According to Patrik, he and his brother had been celebrating New Year’s and were on their way home to pick up their ID cards. Ladislav walked in front of his brother when they spotted the outline of a man’s figure walking toward them.

„Out of nowhere, he started shooting,“ said Patrik Tatár. „I saw my brother on the ground, covered in blood. I knelt beside him, tried to get him to answer me. He didn’t.“

Patrik said he lost consciousness soon after crawling home, when he began vomiting blood. He recovered in the hospital and was interrogated by police. His father and grandmother, who witnessed his return that night, say they have yet to be questioned by law enforcement, though they have been invited for a Jan. 12 crime-scene reconstruction. Information has surfaced that the shooter suffered a knife slash wound to his forehead, and witnesses have come forward, but Bradáčová said this information did not emerge until several days after the shooting.

Ladislav Tátar’s family and neighbors describe him as having been good-natured.

„He was always willing to help his aunt or grandmother,“ Husák said. „He didn’t even like to cuss.“

The Tatárs, whom Polák called a „problem-free family,“ say they have faced hostility from neighbors in the days following the shooting. Patrik Tatár is wary of going to the corner store, and other family members say others have been driving by and making gunshot gestures with their hands. Father Ladislav Tatár is even considering seeking asylum in England.

„I lost one son, and I am afraid for the rest of my children,“ he said. „It’s just not safe here anymore.“

A local civic group, Roma Tanvald, which organized the Jan. 7 memorial ceremony, is working with the family to cover the cost of Ladislav Tatár’s funeral and find legal representation.

„The Roma community is outraged, because he was a young person with two children,“ spokeswoman Eva Gáborová said. „Neither the police nor prosecutor Bradáčová are telling us anything.“

Gáborová and other activists have been meeting at a neighbor’s apartment just above the Tatárs‘ since the fatal night. She insisted none of the Tanvald Roma would seek retribution and called on police to clarify the circumstances of the crime.

One floor below, Ladislav Tatár’s cousin Husák shook his head as he looked out of the window, in the direction of Jan. S’s apartment.

„If we’re going to be a lawful, democratic state, we cannot just let people shoot each other,“ he said.

Quelle: The Prague Post
Stand: 11.01.2012