News

Karel Holomek: Our children, Czech and Romani, need to go to school together now more than ever

9.2.2016 21:02 Here in the Czech Republic we have all been talking about the terminology being used to describe the education of children in the primary schools. Of course, it is the impact of these education programs that has such a basic, determining influence on all of society once the children educated in these programs grow up.  full story

František Kostlán: Neo-Nazis and the "optimists" are not equivalents, all democrats should oppose extremism

9.2.2016 3:25 We have made a mistake. We have let a discussion arise in Czech society asserting that the followers of former Czech President Havel, the "optimists" or the "truth-lovers", are just one side of the same coin as the fascists, neo-Nazis and populists of this society.  full story

Arson attack Saturday after Prague demonstrations for and against refugee reception

9.2.2016 2:00 "The moment it happened I said to myself 'This just can't be happening, it's like a bad film'," says Monika Bundžová, one of the witnesses to the attack on the Klinika Autonomous Center in the Žižkov quarter of Prague by a group of approximately 20 right-wing extremists. What happened on Saturday evening at Klinka was an attempt at an action organized in a military way - and if the assailants themselves were not assumed to be Czechs, the media and politicians would certainly be calling it "terrorism" now.  full story

Czech Justice Minister says police work failed during demonstrations in Prague

9.2.2016 1:40 The police, according to Czech Justice Minister Robert Pelikán, failed on Saturday when they did not intervene against masked rioters attacking the procession of the "No to Racism" initiative as it was heading to Prague Castle. He believes the commanders of the police maneuvers should be disciplined.  full story

Czech Police say man with no mask at scene of masked neo-Nazi attack was an anti-conflict officer

9.2.2016 1:02 The Prague Police have responded to numerous discrepancies and questions raised by the media about Saturday's demonstrations and have officially explained some of the moments that transpired. News server Romea.cz is publishing the police press release in full translation here.  full story

Czech Republic: Xenophobic populists criticize Merkel and migration, neo-Nazis throw Molotov cocktails and rocks

8.2.2016 23:46 On Saturday more than 1 000 people attended a demonstration against Islam on Hradčanské Square in Prague convened by the "Bloc against Islam" and the "Dawn of Direct Democracy" (Úsvit) movement. Speakers at the event criticized those advocating for refugees and politicians in both the Czech Republic and the EU  full story

Bulgaria: Romani "imam" arrested last year for allegedly joining the so-called Islamic State

5.2.2016 23:05 Islamist fundamentalists are attempting to exploit the situation of impoverished Romani people in the Balkans and the radical movement of the so-called Islamic State is actively recruiting them into its service. Darko Trifunović, the Serbian representative of the International Strategic Studies Association told news server setimes.com that the radicals want Romani people living in settlements in Bulgaria to replace their national minority identity with a religious one.  full story

Czech anti-racism initiative says assault on Syrian man caused by xenophobic atmosphere

4.2.2016 19:35 According to the anti-Fascists in the "No to Racism" Initiative, which is convening a demonstration in Prague this coming Saturday against hatred, the recently-reported assault on a Syrian man there is one consequence of the atmosphere being created by xenophobic movements in Czech society. "No to Racism" will be assembling to denounce such hatred.  full story

Czech Justice Minister wants judge whose writing insults gays, refugees and Roma to resign

3.2.2016 18:38 News server Aktuálně.cz reports that Miloš Zbránek, a judge with the Liberec branch of the Ústí nad Labem Regional Court, is facing disciplinary action over articles he has authored and published online in which he has criticized Czech Public Defender of Rights Anna Šabatová, ethnic minorities, gay people and refugees. Zbránek considers his writings to be satire.  full story

Intentional misdiagnosis of intellectual disability in the Czech Republic - a case study

2.2.2016 23:36 During the past year, the Otevřená společnost, o.p.s. organization has performed a survey of lower primary education in the Czech Republic. That survey especially emphasized the way instructors view the education of majority-society boys and girls as compared to Romani boys and girls.  full story

Analysis: Czech court convicts neo-Nazis as an organized group for the first time in history

1.2.2016 20:36 Over the past three years we have regularly reported on the case of neo-Nazis from the Czech faction of the Blood & Honour organization who have been indicted for that activity (see here, here and here). This analysis is a summary of the development of this case so far, which has just produced its first verdict: Most of those indicted have been convicted as members of an organized group.
 full story

Czech Public Defender of Rights says municipal bans on sitting in public are unconstitutional

1.2.2016 0:45 News server iDNES.cz reports that Czech Public Defender of Rights Anna Šabatová is asking the Constitutional Court to overturn some parts of ordinances adopted by the northern Bohemian towns of Litvínov and Varnsdorf banning people from sitting down outdoors on low walls or steps. Similar ordinances have multiplied in recent years, but Šabatová believes they violate freedom of movement and are unconstitutional.  full story

Czech parent group in favor of inclusion says the state's approach is the biggest obstacle

29.1.2016 20:26 In the Czech Republic, the Alliance of Parents for Inclusion (Aliance Rodiče za inkluzi) has been striving for more than a year to bolster the role played by parents in the process of including children with disabilities into mainstream schools so they can be accepted by schools as their partners. These parents are requiring that the state do all it can to fulfill their children's lawful right to a quality education and are drawing attention to the current systemic deficiencies preventing the development of inclusive education.  full story

As politicians mark International Holocaust Remembrance day, Czech extremists deny it

28.1.2016 18:02 Yesterday, 27 January, was International Holocaust Remembrance Day. In 2005 the General Assembly of the United Nations proclaimed it as such, a motion supported by a total of 91 of its member states.  full story

EXCLUSIVE: Romani figure skater Ivan Righini, three-time Italian champion, competes for the European Championship

27.1.2016 19:59 The 2016 European Figure Skating Championships begin today in Bratislava, Slovakia. At 17:30 CET, Ivan Righini, a figure skater with Italian, Romani and Russian roots, will compete for Italy in the men's short program with the starting number of 28.  full story

Mensur Haliti on the International Holocaust Remembrance Day: A Way Forward from “Never Again”

27.1.2016 10:26, (ROMEA) January 27 is International Holocaust Remembrance Day Today, humanity will pay tribute to the millions of people who were murdered in Europe under the Nazi regime.

Commemorations are necessary to understand the demons of human nature and to make us realize what we are “capable of”, and how “good people” can sometimes contribute to mass murders, surrendering their morals to the group in power.  full story

New Czech website focuses on the Romani Holocaust

26.1.2016 19:28 On Wednesday, 27 January, the world will honor the memory of the millions of victims of the Holocaust. On this occasion the In IUSTITIA public benefit corporation, the only group in the Czech Republic comprehensively dedicated to the issue of hate violence, is launching an educational website focused on the topic of the Romani Holocaust, sometimes referred to as the Porajmos.  full story

Slovakia: Three children burn to death in Romani settlement

25.1.2016 18:18 Three children died around in the early morning hours of Sunday in the Romani settlement in the municipality of Lomnička (Stará Ľubovňa district) in eastern Slovakia. A two-year-old boy, four-year-old boy and five-year-old girl tragically burned to death.  full story

Czech town of Kladno: 40 private residential hotels and no other alternative for the poor

23.1.2016 20:08 The shabby building has been wrapped in tape ever since it was condemned. Formerly an infamous residential hotel called the "Meat Factory" (Masokombinát), it is still standing in the Czech town of Kladno despite four-year-old plans by the town to either demolish or sell it.  full story

Czech Public Defender of Rights says 11 % of the population encounters discrimination

22.1.2016 22:48 The Office of the Public Defender of Rights issued a press release today reporting that discrimination is directly experienced by 11 % of the population of the Czech Republic, usually when seeking work or directly in the workplace. The most frequent problem is discrimination due to advanced age.  full story