News

Czech Republic: Protest march planned in Brno over eviction of 100+ mostly Romani families

3.12.2016 8:04 More than 110 families with children living on Cejl Street in Brno, Czech Republic are in danger of eviction over the New Year. The "We Want To Live Indoors!" initiative (Chceme bydlet!) is therefore convening a protest march on Tuesday, 6 December, to express support for the at-risk families and draw attention to the practices of those speculating in housing.  full story

Michal Mižigár: Inclusion is an opportunity for a better life

2.12.2016 20:38 Last month we marked the ninth anniversary of the victorious "D.H." judgment at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, in which 18 Romani people from Ostrava who had been unjustifiably reassigned to what were then called "special schools" saw justice done and defended their right to a quality education. I would like to share a story with you about why it is important for all children to have equal access to education.  full story

National Security Audit finds Czech Republic has no concept for preventing extremism and just relies on repression

2.12.2016 19:47 The Czech Republic does not have a clear, functioning concept for preventing extremism. The state relies only on repression and is not able to sufficiently justify
its use of such tactics to the public.  full story

videoCzech Republic: New Human Rights Minister Chvojka officially takes office

2.12.2016 18:47 The Czech Government has two new members: Czech President Miloš Zeman has appointed Jan Chvojka to the post of Human Rights Minister and Miloslav Ludvík to the post of Health Minister. They have replaced outgoing cabinet members Jiří Dienstbier and Svatopluk Němeček respectively.  full story

Czech Republic: 2016 Prize of the Museum of Romani Culture goes to Margita Lázoková

2.12.2016 17:27 The Prize of the Museum of Romani Culture, given annually to an eminent figure whose work has contributed to the development, preservation and promotion of Romani culture, was won this year by Margita Lázoková. The ninth annual awards ceremony took place last week as part of a musical evening commemorating Czechoslovakia's very first Romfest 1990.  full story

Romani women say they do not feel like equal citizens in the Czech Republic and do not feel safe there

2.12.2016 8:18 More than 60 Romani women from all over the Czech Republic met on Monday at a conference called "Transformation of the position of Romani women during the last half-
century", which was organized by the Romani women's group "Manushe" of Slovo 21, z.s. Many interesting topics were covered that inspired the women.  full story

Czech Gov't Council on Romani Affairs calls on public figures to speak out against hate and xenophobia

2.12.2016 7:29 The civil society members of the Czech Government Council on Romani Affairs have called on public figures to take a clear stand against the xenophobic music group Ortel, which is spreading hatred and has received an award as part of a popular music survey. "The prizewinning band has a clear connection to the extreme right and espouses ideas that are incompatible with the basic legal documents of the Czech Republic by supporting hatred against various groups of people. It is not possible to express support of any kind for such performers," reads their declaration, which news server Romea.cz publishes here in full translation:  full story

Deputy Mayor of Prague proposes Romani celebrity receive award from the Czech capital for his brave stance against hate music

2.12.2016 7:00 Deputy Mayor of Prague Petra Kolínská (Green Party) proposed on Tuesday that the Romani singer Radek Banga be given the Award of the Capital City of Prague for his many years of activity aiming to prevent risky behavior in youth and for his open stance against hate music. "The atmosphere in society has become tense recently, the language of hatred is beginning to become more and more the norm, even outside of online social networks," she posted to her Facebook profile.  full story

Slovakia: Study says failure of mainstream parties supports right-wing extremism

2.12.2016 6:34 The success of right-wing extremism in Slovakia consists to a great degree of the fact that standard institutions and political parties are not fulfilling the roles expected of them, the authors of a study analyzing extremism and nationalism in the country warned on Tuesday. The ultra-right in Slovakia unexpectedly succeeded in the March parliamentary elections this year when the LSNS, the party of the Governor of Banská Bystrice Region, Marian Kotleba, won 8 % of the vote and took 14 seats in the 150-seat legislature.  full story

Czech NGO sector creates 0.7 % of GDP - 128 000 nonprofits strong

1.12.2016 14:33 There are 128 000 nonprofit organizations in the Czech Republic. They don't just run hobby circles and recreational activities, but they also provide services to those in need.  full story

EU FRA: 80 % of Roma in Europe at risk of poverty, 85 % of Roma in the Czech Republic are discriminated against

1.12.2016 11:09 The lives of Romani people throughout the European Union (EU) are being destroyed by omnipresent deprivation. A new report by the Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) of the EU has found that Romani families are living excluded from society in shocking conditions and Romani children with low educational attainment do not have much hope of a better future.  full story

Slovak Roma Spirit awards for 2016 go to antiracist campaigner and Mayor of the Luník IX housing estate

1.12.2016 9:11 On Sunday, 27 November, the 2016 Roma Spirit Awards were given out to express appreciation for those individuals, municipalities and organizations that are helping improve the position, quality of life, and social conditions for the Romani community in Slovakia through their work. In 2016 there were 147 nominations in seven categories for the competition.  full story

Czech Police charge Romani youth with threatening to burn down pizzeria where another Romani man died in October

1.12.2016 7:45 A 19-year-old Romani man has been accused of using his personal Facebook profile to make threats against the employees of the Panamera Pizzeria in the Czech town of Žatec, saying he would burn the business down after another young Romani man died there in mid-October following a scuffle with other customers and a police intervention. The man who made the threats is in custody and faces prison time if convicted.  full story

Outgoing Czech Human Rights Minister claims successes

1.12.2016 7:21 The adoption of Government strategies on equality of women and men or on social inclusion, enforcement of measures against corruption, and the publicizing of planned legislation are all considered successes by outgoing Czech Minister for Human Rights and Legislation Jiří Dienstbier (Czech Social Democratic Party - ČSSD). He told the Czech News Agency that he believes his successor must see through the adoption of the amendment to expand the ombudsman's powers and the negotiations to buy the pig farm located on the site of a former concentration camp for Romani people in Lety before next year's elections.  full story

Romani celebrity faces racist comments, death threats from fans of xenophobic band Ortel

29.11.2016 15:21 Radek Banga, the lead singer for the band Gipsy.cz, is facing racist commentaries and threats from fans of the xenophobic music group Ortel after publishing a statement about the results of the Czech Nightingale (Český Slavík) 2016 audience poll. The disinformation and right-wing extremist news servers in the Czech Republic have also begun to wage a campaign against him.  full story

Czech Republic: More musicians criticize popularity of xenophobic band

28.11.2016 16:01 Criticism of the Czech Nightingale (Český slavík) popular music survey has begun to increase after the xenophobic band Ortel came in second place. Romani musician Radek Banga, whose stage name is Gipsy, is being joined by other performers who are criticizing the results of the survey.  full story

Radoslav Banga: I walked out of the Czech music awards because Nazism does not belong in public life

28.11.2016 7:58 On Saturday night I left the hall of the theater in Karlín very, very indignantly. Yes, it's true, my wife and I got up during the "Czech Nightingale" awards ceremony, began to whistle, and then left to protest against the award won by the band Ortel.  full story

Romani women gather in Czech capital to discuss how their position has changed during the last 50 years

28.11.2016 6:59 More than 60 Romani women from all over the Czech Republic will gather today in the Hotel Amarilis in Prague for a conference of the JILEHA 2016 project, which is run by the Manushe Romani women's group. "These women are aiding other women to come out from the shadows, to overcome the obstacles in their lives and to improve the way they view themselves. Women's solidarity is the motor of the entire project, which supports the initiative of these extraordinary ordinary women and makes it possible for them to contribute to changing the lives of those around them," said project coordinator Martina Horváthová.  full story

Romani celebrity walks out in protest after neo-Nazi singer and his band win second place in Czech music awards

28.11.2016 6:16 The results of the "Czech Nightingale" (Český slavík) audience appreciation poll were announced Saturday night in a live broadcast from the Karlín Musical Theater in Prague. Tomáš Ortel of the xenophobic band Ortel won two "silver nightingales", the second-place award in two categories..  full story

Tabloid interview with son of former Czech President about inclusive education features untruths

26.11.2016 10:10 The Czech tabloid Blesk has published an interview with Václav Klaus, Jr., the son of the former Czech President who was once the principal of a private high school in Prague, featuring the headline "Inclusion is a crime against disabled children". Tomáš Hečko, who is the parent of a child with Down Sydrome and a media professional, has reviewed the piece.  full story