The Sunday Show: Roma Camp Attacks, Anti-Migrant Law in Hungary, OSCE Rep on Journalism

✅ A Surge In Violence Against Roma People in Ukraine

On June 23, an attack on a Roma camp on the outskirts of Lviv left one person dead and three injured. This was the fifth widely reported attack on the Roma community in Ukraine within the last two months. Police have classified the majority of these attacks as hooliganism. Human rights groups have criticized this approach, calling for authorities to take more serious measures in response to this rise in far-right violence. Hromadske spoke to Deputy Chief of the Patrol Police Department Oleksiy Biloshytskiy and human rights activist Zola Kondur about whether police are adequately responding to hate crime in Ukraine.

Oleksiy Biloshytskiy
First Deputy Chief of the Patrol Police Department

Zola Kondur

Human rights activist, representative of Roma Coalition

✅ Is Russia Trying To Annex The Azov Sea?

No shots have been fired and no major incidents have occurred but the appearance of Russian vessels and the FSB border service has heightened tensions over the Azov Sea - a possible new battlefront in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Russia’s heightened presence in the internal waters and combined with construction of the Kerch Bridge connecting mainland Russia and annexed Crimea is also affecting the local economy in Ukraine, as access to the ports is now restricted. Hromadske spoke to Maidan of Foreign Affairs expert Oleksandr Khara about tensions on the Azov Sea.

Oleksandr Khara

Deputy Chair, Black Sea Institute of Strategic Studies

✅ Hungary Passes Anti-Migrant Law

The Hungarian parliament has adopted a package of laws that criminalizes the work of NGOs helping undocumented immigrants seek asylum. Pushed by Prime Minister Viktor Orban, the “Stop Soros’ law, named after US-born Hungarian billionaire philanthropist George Soros who Orban accuses of supporting Muslim migrants, is touted as an attempt to crackdown on illegal immigration by the government. But the legislation has prompted backlash from both the European Union and international communities, who say the new laws violate EU policy. Hromadske spoke via Skype to Gergely Marton, an editor at Hungary's largest current affairs weekly HVG to find out what this means for Hungary’s position in Europe and how the country’s population has reacted to the new legislation.

Marton Gergely

Editor, Hungarian publication HVG

✅ OSCE on Babchenko’s Staged Murder and Ukrainian Journalists Detained in Russia

From the murder of Belarusian journalist Pavel Sheremet to the staged death of Russian journalist Arkady Babchenko, it’s clear that being a journalist in Ukraine is not without risks.
The rising number of cases where journalists in Ukraine and Russia have been targeted or persecuted for their work, as well as the way in which the authorities deal with them, raises serious questions about media freedom in the region. This was the subject of a recent conference held by the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Kyiv, which focused on the strengthening of media freedom and pluralism in Ukraine. Hromadske caught up with OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir at the OSCE conference to discuss some of the high-profile cases involving Ukrainian and Russian journalists.

Harlem Désir

OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media

✅ How Russia Fuels War in Syria

The wars in Syria and Ukraine may be different in nature but they share one significant commonality. Both are fuelled by Russian forces. But President Vladimir Putin isn’t the only Russian leader interfering in Syria. Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has been splurging millions of dollars on constructing and reconstructing projects in the Middle Eastern country. Earlier Hromadske journalist Ostap Yarysh sat down with Salam Kawakibi, director at the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies to discuss Russia’s involvement in Syria.

Salam Kawakibi

director, Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies