News

videoVIDEO: Commemorative ceremony at Lety by Písek

13.5.2016 19:43 The traditional commemorative ceremony honoring the Romani victims of Nazism took place today at the Lety Memorial. The commemoration was organized, as it is every year, by the Committee for the Redress of the Romani Holocaust in the Czech Republic (Výbor pro odškodnění romského holocaustu v České republice - VPORH), which brings together the former Romani prisoners of the Nazi concentration camps and the surviving relatives of the victims.  full story

Speech by Miroslav Brož at Lety by Písek

13.5.2016 13:56 It is mid-May and we have assembled, as we do every year, to honor the memory of the Romani victims of the Holocaust, to remember the victims of the Lety concentration camp, and to remember the victims of the genocide perpetrated against the Romani people.  full story

Czech Republic: "Romani Resistance Days" to involve symbolic blockade of Lety pig farm, protest in Prague

12.5.2016 14:14 The Konexe association is preparing a program to honor the memories of the victims of the Romani Holocaust and the heroic uprising of Romani people at the Auschwitz concentration camp. The events will take place from 13-16 May in the Czech Republic.  full story

DG Justice seminar series on improving media coverage of Romani people comes to the Czech Republic

11.5.2016 7:58 A two-day international media seminar began in Brno yesterday, attended by representatives of the Czech Government Inter-ministerial Commission for Roma Community Affairs, nonprofit organizations, the Romani community, and domestic and international journalists. Organizers say the aim of the seminar is to develop closer communication between journalists, municipalities, local authorities and organizations in order to support more balanced, precise coverage of Romani issues in both alternative and mainstream media throughout Europe.  full story

Czech report on extremism for last year: 307 events, anti-refugee protests replaced anti-Romani ones

8.5.2016 16:59 Czech extremists held 307 events last year, 16 more than in 2014. They assembled most frequently in Prague, and police reported protests outside of facilities for foreign nationals as a new phenomenon.  full story

Hundreds protest border closure between Austria and Italy and demand a border-free Europe

8.5.2016 15:32 Hundreds of demonstrators clashed with police yesterday at the Brenner Pass in the Alps that connects Austria with Italy. The demonstrators were mostly young left-wing radicals from Italy who attempted to cross the border, which Austria is preparing to establish checkpoints at to stop any eventual flow of migrants into the country.  full story

Bulgaria: Anti-Romani protests in southern town of Radnevo

8.5.2016 9:14 Anti-Romani unrest broke out last Wednesday in the southern Bulgarian town of Radnevo. Approximately 2 000 Bulgarians demonstrated for a fair investigation of a brawl on Monday between three ethnic Bulgarians and four men from a local Romani family that resulted in serious injuries.  full story

Czech Republic: Traditional commemoration of the Romani victims of Nazism next week at Lety by Písek

6.5.2016 14:11 The traditional commemorative ceremony honoring the Romani victims of Nazism at the site of the Lety Memorial will take place this year on Friday, 13 May. The ceremony is being held, as it has been every year, by the Committee for the Redress of the Roma Holocaust in the Czech Republic (VPORH), which brings together the former Romani prisoners of the Nazi concentration camps and the surviving relatives of the victims of those camps.  full story

Prague City Hall joins Czech Government's "HateFree" campaign despite Prague City Assembly vote against it

6.5.2016 13:22 Prague City Hall has decided to join the "HateFree Culture" campaign calling for tolerance of minorities and refugees despite a decision by the Prague City Assembly not to do so. The decision to join the campaign was taken on 3 May by the Prague City Council.  full story

Academic research finds no differences between Czech and Romani pupils' delinquent behavior

6.5.2016 9:39 According to a new study performed by the University of Kentucky in collaboration with the Institute for Psychology at the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic and published in the prestigious Journal of Criminal Justice, no differences were found between Czech and Romani pupils attending the same schools when it came to alcohol use, school misconduct, or theft. The website of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic reported the publication on 2 May.  full story

Czech Republic: Terezín Commission refuses NGO request to officially fly the LGBTQ and Romani flags during commemoration

5.5.2016 22:26 Jan Munk, the director of the Terezín Memorial who also chairs the Commission for the Preparation of the Terezín Commemoration, has refused a request from 14 organizations that the LGBTQ (rainbow) and Romani flags be flown next to the flags of various states during the 15 May event. "At the national cemetery in Terezín where this commemoration takes place, the flags of all the nations whose members fell victim to Nazi persecution and who passed through the concentration camps are flown during the commemoration ceremony. For many of those people, their distressing journey began by being transported to Terezín. To our great surprise, there is no Romani flag flown at Terezín even though, together with Jewish people, it is the Roma as a group who were affected most by Nazi persecution in the Czech lands," the organizations said in an open letter.  full story

Czech President says he vetoed education amendment because of inclusion

5.5.2016 8:53 Czech President Miloš Zeman has vetoed an amendment to the Schools Act that would introduce mandatory school-leaving examinations in mathematics and places in preschools for two-year-old children. Jiří Ovčáček, spokesperson for the Office of the President, communicated the news to the Czech News Agency yesterday.  full story

Commentary: Czech tabloid quotes Romani man as opposing inclusive education, other Romani representatives respond

3.5.2016 7:52 The Czech tabloid Blesk.cz has been engaged in a campaign to prevent the closure of the separate special needs schools and to prevent the abolition of the "Appendix to the Framework Education Program on Mild Mental Disability". As part of that campaign, the tabloid chose to contact Andrej Lučka, the regional chair of the Romani Democratic Party in Rokycany and the chair of the "Help Roma" organization (and apparently a special school graduate himself), who told the tabloid, among other things, that he will "Defend [his] practical and special school at any cost, even with pitchforks".  full story

Czech Republic's quarterly report on extremism: Ultra-right trend is anti-immigration, ultra-left is unable to unify

2.5.2016 9:46 The main topics taken up by Czech extremist groups during the first quarter of 2016 were a critique and rejection of the European Union and migration. The Czech Interior Ministry published its Summary Situation Report on Extremism on 26 April.  full story

Slovak appeals court tells first-instance court to revise its verdict on police abuse of Romani boys from Košice

2.5.2016 8:48 The shameful scandal of the police abuse of Romani juveniles living at the Luník IX housing estate in the town of Košice has been dragging through the courts since March 2009. According to a report published by news server Romovia.sme.sk on 29 April, the Regional Appeals Court has now overturned the first-instance court verdict in the case of police officers charged with being accomplices to felony abuse of the powers of a public official and other crimes.  full story

Czech Republic: Neo-Nazis try to provoke local Roma in Přerov during 1 May protest

2.5.2016 7:20 An assembly and march by about 30 neo-Nazis from the National Regeneration (Národní obroda - NO) group took place yesterday in Přerov. The leader of the NO, Pavel Matějný, gave a speech very similar to those he has given to previous such assemblies.
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Slovakia: Neo-Fascist party being investigated by Prosecutor-General, could be banned

1.5.2016 19:32 The Slovak ultra-right party called "Kotleba-Lidová strana Naše Slovensko" (Kotleba-People's Party Our Slovakia or K-LSNS), which was responsible for the biggest surprise result in the country's recent Parliamentary elections, is now facing a possible ban. The Prosecutor-General has begun to investigate its activity after being called upon to do so by the Human Rights Institute, which filed a motion for the party, which now holds 11 seats in the legislature, to be dissolved.  full story

videoCzech Republic: 1 May assemblies against refugee reception and against xenophobia, right-wing extremists verbally assault journalists

1.5.2016 17:22 Since the early morning hours of 1 May there have been peaceful demonstrations, marches, and traditional assemblies throughout the entire Czech Republic. One demonstration against tax havens and xenophobia was attended by 250 people and began on the Square of the Republic in Prague.  full story

Czech lower house committee recommends not expanding ombudsman's powers

1.5.2016 15:04 The Czech lower house may not decide to expand the powers of the Public Defender of Rights (ombudsman) after all, as on 29 April its Constitutional Law Committee recommended supporting amendments that would remove from a proposed Government bill the option for the ombudsman to ask the Constitutional Court to repeal legislation in whole or in part and the option for the ombudsman to bring public interest lawsuits in cases of discrimination. The plenary could decide on the bill this month.  full story

Prague council members for ODS say Government's EU-funded "HateFree" campaign is an example of left-wing "extremism"

1.5.2016 13:53 Prague City council member Matěj Stropnický (Green Party/Trojkoalice) proposed earlier this week that City Hall become a "HateFree Zone", but his motion did not receive enough votes to pass. In a resolution that did pass, however, the City Council rejected violence no matter what political ideology inspires it.  full story