Interior Minister and Deputy Premier Matteo Salvini on Friday dismissed an alarm sounded by European Justice Commissioner Věra Jourová about hate speech against Roma people in Italy.
"Nonsense again from Brussels," Salvini said. "Why doesn't the lady come and visit a Roma camp in Rome or Milan and see the weapons, the illegality, the exploited children and the stolen goods? "Then she might wake up and change her mind.
"I want order and rules".
Jourová said Friday that some people were "playing with fire" in Italy in relation to hate speech against Roma.
"In the past we have seen these categorizations of some parts of society," Jurova said, expressing "concern" about the situation.
"In some Nazi documents they wrote that they were mouths that it was pointless feeding. "These are strange days that recall a dark past. If we don't remember the lesson, this could happen again. "This is why it is necessary to combat hate speech with deeds and warnings and dialogue".
Salvini earlier this year made a controversial proposal to have a census of the people of Roma ethnicity in Italy. He has also called for Italy's Roma camps to be razed.
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