Slovakian gypsies riot for food, welfare


BRATISLAVA, Slovakia, Feb. 26 (UPI) --
Slovakian army troops have been deployed to put down rioting and looting by Roma gypsies protesting unemployment in the impoverished eastern regions.
Thousands of police backed by 2,000 soldiers in the towns around Trebisov appeared to have temporarily ended attacks by mobs forcing their way into food shops, The Telegraph reported Thursday.
The unrest is rooted in nearly 100 percent unemployment in the region, and the Jan. 1 cuts in welfare.
The troop deployment was the first since the fall of communism in 1989.
At least 70 gypsies have been arrested and some were injured, the newspaper said.
Border guards in the neighboring Czech Republic were put on increased alert in case the unrest encouraged gypsies to flee, but there were no signs of an exodus.
Bratislava says the welfare reforms are a necessary part of its economic program to prepare for joining the euro and increasing Slovakia's appeal to foreign investors.
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