Publicly declare the antifa view, leaders and rank fighters of “people’s republics” do everything to differ words from deeds. Riots, looting, violence and bias — it’s the short list of things which met the representatives of Romany’s community of Slavyansk after coming in the city the “militants”. Informator.lg.ua publishes witnesses of local roms and social activists, collected by employees of Anti-Discrimination centre “Memorial” in report “Roma and war. Romany people of Eastern Ukraine”.

Human rights defenders of Anti-Discrimination centre “Memorial” at the end of November 2014 visited town Slavyansk and interviewed roms, who came back home after releasing this places from armed groups of “militants”.

As a result of conducted interviews, it became clear that on April 2014 there were riots of gypsies houses in Slavyansk that were made by representatives of so-called «Self-defense» — armed gangs, commanded by “people’s mayor” of Slavyansk Vyacheslav Ponomarev. The anti-romany statements are closer connected with Ihor Strelkov-Hirkin, commanded “the militia” in Slavyansk.

According to M., roma inhabitant of Slavyansk, who ran out with family in Kharkiv after first riot, the rumours about separatist minded activists interested among the officials of the city administration about incomes of Romanies have already wired on March 2014. “If administration answer that income is unknown for them, militaries later came to such family and destroyed everything. They didn’t ask and disassemble who and how do his job in fact. They simply came, broke the windows, took away money and burned houses” — tells M.

Media reports that first first riots in Slavyansk happened near railway station and in village Cherevkovka, where a lot roms lived.

“19th of April 2014 — It passed less than a week after crime boss and drug dealer Vyacheslav Ponomarev become the “people’s mayor”. Apmed people began to break into Romanies houses. They went away the residents on the street and put them face to the wall, demanding money, gold and other costly things from them. They destroyed property, fired the roofs and beat up the men. Official Conclusions of the fire services were listed that there was ignition of wiring in the houses. Romanies, who addressed subsequently for help in medical institutions, were denied in reception by doctors, fearing the repressions from the side of “militants” — tells the director of Roma Initiative program of the International Fund «Vozrojdenie” (Revival) Olga Zhmurko.

Thus, apparently, gypsies riots were originally connected with reconstruction of criminal market and directed on elimination of competitions of “people’s mayor”, but roms of Slavyansk strongly suffered from them. Vyacheslav Ponomarev, in his turn claimed that “there weren’t attacks se in Slavyansk. We’re defending city from drugs”.

Here is the little story from Slavyansk’s roms activist to “Memorial” about the behaviour of “militants”:

“I have grocery stall in my yard. We were at home that day and we heard a noise on the street. We decided to go out with my wife to look what’s happen. It turns out that customer from stall was crying. The “DPR” bandits came inside and took everything that that was around. All products. I’m sure that if they noticed us, they’d shot us. First time I faced with them when I had gone home. It was in a next way. I was outstripped by “Lada 2110”  and it turned into 1 of gypsies yards. Three man in camouflage with machine enter to the house. There was new jeep Toyota land cruiser of 2008 outside. They said that they’re soldiers of Donetsk Independent Republic and they need his car. Rom refused, they beated him, took away keys and moved away car”

One of the roms from Slavyansk P. explained the situation in a this way: “Slava Ponomarenko our mayor at that time one of the ex-bandits. He is well-known for all city. At 90’s he was member of some gangs and he was a junkie. Of course he knew about all drug-points from firsthand. They was on a railway station and in Cherekovka, the most well-known. There lived gypsy named Pasha. All city knew that he sales drugs for a longtime. The main events happened there. Romanies were removed from their houses. Insurgents took away gold, money all valuable. They closed gypsies in basements”.

According to P words roms were afraid to come out from their houses while “militants” were in the city.

“DPR’s passed by my house a few times, but I really don’t look like traditional rom and they can’t divide gypsies’ houses from another, so they didn’t touch me. Only one time a man with machine gun came into my house. He was alone and wanted to search my house, but suddenly he didn’t do this. If there were a few of them, they’d turn upside down all house and took away something with themselves. At the beginning of the my acquaintance and his family lived on the railway station. It was like this. Somebody called to him and said that militants break into his flat, went away on the street his wife and children. He came to understand what was going on. When he tried to took away his children from militants, they shot his leg. From that day militants began to expel the Romanies from their flats and houses and to occupy their places of living. All valuable that was there were transported out on the cars: gold, ornamentation and other expensive things. A lot of cars were stolen from many roms. A few people were beaten in the town. The gold chains and rings were taken off from them. I was told that doctors refused to beaten people in hospitality, because they were afraid of problems with separatists. This continued nearly one and half a month, while they didn’t live. We were afraid to come out on the street and were hiding at home. God forbid someone from them to catch the eye”.

Prepared for the publication by Denis Matsola for informator.lg.ua