Czech Republic

International conference on Romani homelessness held in Czech Republic

Prague, 21.11.2014 21:52, (ROMEA) On Wednesday 22 October an international conference was held in Prague's Lichtenstein Palace that was interesting both in terms of its focus and in terms of who participated. Organizers wanted to foster an exchange of information about various models of housing for people experiencing social problems and compare them with the options now available in the Czech Republic, especially since the country is on the brink of designing its Social Housing Act.  full story

Czech Police charge man with vote-buying in Litvínov

Litvínov/Litoměřice , 21.11.2014 21:12, (ROMEA) Police have charged a 24-year-old man in Litvínov (Most district) with vote-buying. Regional Police spokesperson Alena Bartošová told the Czech News Agency that detectives say the man offered money and a party with free refreshments to dozens of socially vulnerable people in exchange for their votes.  full story

Does the new Czech reality TV show frame Romani children as ineducable?

Prague, 21.11.2014 18:06, (ROMEA) A new reality show called "Class 8 A" (Třída 8. A) has just been through its fifth Thursday episode before 10 PM on Czech Television's channel 1. The show is a spinoff of the very successful Swedish program "Klass 9 A", where several charismatic teachers arrive to teach a class of immigrants and, after roughly half a year of duelling with cultural models and their pupils' personal deficiencies, reach a happy ending as girls in headscarves and black guys with the crotches of their pants down by their knees fall into the arms of the Nordic-looking intellectuals/teachers.  full story

Analysis of Czech, German and Hungarian trials of terrorist hate attacks

Prague, 21.11.2014 0:33, (ROMEA) In August of this year I reported that the trial of the alleged members of the international neo-Nazi network Blood & Honour here in the Czech Republic would begin in the fall. At the start of 2012 those defendants were charged with various crimes, including an arson attack on a building occupied by Romani families in the West Bohemian town of Aš.  full story

Michal Miko: Czech Deputy Ombud's remarks on Roma in the schools reflect his incompetence

Prague, 20.11.2014 23:31, (ROMEA) According to a statement by Deputy Ombud Stanislav Křeček broadcast on the TV Prima news on 8 November, the level of the entire Czech school system would be lowered if what he called the "special" schools are abolished. What's more, the Deputy Ombud said that this society is "traumatized" by being labeled racist because of this issue.  full story

Czech court decides local elections will repeat in town of Chomutov

Brno/Chomutov, 20.11.2014 22:31, (ROMEA) The municipal elections will be repeated in the Czech town of Chomutov. Even though those who complained to the Ústí Regional Court have failed with their particular request as to why the elections should be invalidated nationwide, the court has ordered that the local elections be repeated, according to court spokesperson Marcela Trejbalová.  full story

NGOs: Czech Republic faces more international embarrassment over unequal access to education

Prague, 20.11.2014 19:29, (ROMEA) Today the Education Committee of the Czech lower house is reviewing an amendment to Section 16 of the School Act. Experts are warning that there is an ongoing effort to preserve the ambiguity of its formulations regarding the assessment of what forms of support are to be provided to vulnerable children.  full story

Czech NGO to run accredited course for educators at Museum of Romani Culture

Brno/Prague, 19.11.2014 20:57, (ROMEA) On 24 and 25 November, an accredited course for educators and others involved in education will take place at the Museum of Romani Culture in Brno that will familiarize those attending with the sociocultural specifics of Romani pupils. The course is being implemented by the R-Mosty organization within the framework of its program supporting inclusive education.  full story

Czech Police charge two men with rioting during neo-Nazi demo

Brno, 19.11.2014 20:09, (ROMEA) Czech Police have charged two men over their participation in a scuffle Monday between supporters of the right-wing extremist Workers' Social Justice Party (Dělnická strana sociální spravedlnosti - DSSS) and students in Brno. Andrea Straková, spokesperson for the South Moravian Regional Police, told the Czech News Agency yesterday that if convicted, the men face up to two years in prison.  full story

Czech court sends anti-Romani rabble rouser to prison for fraud

Děčín, 19.11.2014 19:32, (ROMEA) TV NOVA reported yesterday that the District Court in Děčín has sentenced Lukáš Kohout to seven years in prison for fraud. Kohout and an accomplice established various fictional associations in northern Bohemia and used them to place orders for goods.  full story

Czech Republic: 73 % believe labor discrimination exists

Prague, 19.11.2014 19:16, (ROMEA) The results of a recent survey by the STEM agency, performed from 13 to 20 October among 1 049 respondents aged 18 and older, found that almost three-quarters (73 %) of Czechs believe labor discrimination exists in their country. However, the proportion of people sharing that opinion has significantly fallen over the past two years and is the lowest in the last decade.  full story

Romani politicans as part of the November 1989 Velvet Revolution

Prague, 17.11.2014 20:49, (ROMEA) A quarter of a century ago, the totalitarian regime under the leadership of the Communist Party fell in what was then Czechoslovakia - but how were Romani people involved in the so-called Velvet Revolution? Did you know that on 25 November 1989, 800 000 people gathered on Letná Plain in Prague chanted "Long live the Roma"?  full story

Czechs mark Velvet Revolution by asking President to resign, neo-Nazis harass ROMEA

Prague, 17.11.2014 18:13, (ROMEA) People marked the 25th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution on Národní třída in Prague with a demonstration there this morning that was attended by thousands. Demonstrators protested against Czech President Miloš Zeman and called for him to resign.  full story

Czech police intervene against neo-Nazi march, students counter-protest

Brno, 17.11.2014 16:50, (ROMEA) Approximately 70 neo-Nazis gathered on Malinovský Square in Brno today for an assembly and march convened by the neo-Nazi Workers' Youth (Dělnická mládež - DM). Those opposed to neo-Nazism, including students, demonstrated against them.  full story

Romani children's choir joins Czech Philharmonic for 17 November celebration

Prague, 17.11.2014 5:53, (ROMEA) The Czech Philharmonic is commemorating the events connected with 17 November through a grand concert in the Dvořák Hall of Prague's Rudolfinum on International Students' Day. Young musicians in the Czech Student Philharmonic, under the baton of Marko Ivanović, will perform Czech and international works inspired by heroism.  full story

Romani college students hold discussion in the Czech Parliament

Prague, 14.11.2014 22:07, (ROMEA) Yesterday a breakfast meeting was convened between Romani college students and women members of the Czech lower house. The meeting took place on the occasion of the seventh anniversary of the announcement of the infamous European Court of Human Rights judgment of 2007 in the case of D.H. and Others vs. the Czech Republic.  full story

Czech Republic: More than 40 % of Romani children do not attend preschool

Prague, 14.11.2014 20:14, (ROMEA) A large proportion of children from socially excluded localities do not attend preschool, which has a fundamental influence on their lack of success in primary school. This increases the probability that these children will be recommended for placement into special education, newly termed the "practical schools", where their chances at education and at finding good jobs as adults come to an end.  full story

Activists lament Czech Police response to MP's denial of Romani genocide

Prague, 14.11.2014 18:46, (ROMEA) All of the people involved in filing a criminal report against Czech MP Tomio Okamura, chair of the "Dawn of Direct Democracy" (Úsvit) movement, over his lying remarks about the Romani genocide have spoken with news server Romea.cz about the response to their criminal report from the Police of the Czech Republic. Čeněk Růžička, chair of the Committee for the Redress of the Romani Holocaust in the Czech Republic, disagrees with the police findings, as do the others who reported Okamura's wrongdoing, and considers the brief argument presented by the police to be absurd.  full story

Czech Police say MP's remarks about concentration camp for Roma not criminal

Prague, 13.11.2014 23:51, (ROMEA) Czech MP Tomio Okamura, the chair of the "Dawn of Direct Democracy" (Úsvit) movement, did not commit a crime when he made his recent statements about the former concentration camp for Roma at Lety by Písek. News server Romea.cz has received a notification from the Police of the Czech Republic to that effect.  full story

Czech Republic: Fans of neo-Nazi band Ortel attack foreign-born food servers

Plzeň, 13.11.2014 22:31, (ROMEA) Last Saturday evening several fans of the neo-Nazi band Ortel decided to visit the Wei Wei restaurant in the Czech town of Plzeň, which serves Vietnamese cuisine. The fans were heading to a concert taking place 100 meters away at the Restaurace Alfa, and before leaving Wei Wei, they assaulted the people who served them.  full story