“This will be everyone’s business,” said Pásztor, who was previously Miskolc’s police chief. In 2009, Pásztor caused uproar by quoting statistics on burglaries committed in his police district, saying the robberies had been “committed by people of Gypsy origin.”

The leftist opposition parties have been criticised for backing a perceived racist. People who “stick their heads in the sand for an ideological reasons” or “brand people who call things by their name racist” would also be affected, Pásztor warned. Asked by Népszabadság to define the “Roma problem”, Pásztor said most Roma lacked any chance of integrating into society or gaining employment due to their lack of education.

They have been segregated in many places and “have unfortunately become criminals,” he said. “There may be hunger riots in places very soon. Because there are people starving and they therefore will end up robbing shops to seize what they need,” said Pásztor.

He said the “voivod” system - in a Roma context, a clan leader -- had functioned well for centuries, adding that mainstream society should tolerate to a certain degree the internal rules of the Roma community.

Source www.hungarymatters.hu

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