Commentary

Commentary: What can be expected of European Union meetings on Roma?

20.3.2015 21:39, (ROMEA) Will the position of Romani people in the European Union ever improve? Does the EU have the concepts in place and enough tools available to effectively boost the integration of the Romani minority?  full story

Commentary: Embarrassing ministerial games about Romani children and the "special schools"

14.3.2015 19:10, (ROMEA) On 12 March a sad and serious fact about the discrimination of Romani children in the Czech Republic was confirmed: The approach of the Czech Education Ministry continues to show that it does not take seriously the notion that schools should be open to all children and that Romani children should enjoy equal access to education. The ministry's position on this issue is embarrassing at the very least.  full story

Commentary: Czech mayor declares war on "inadaptables" again

11.3.2015 19:12, (ROMEA) Mayor Jiří Čunek (Christian Democrats) has announced to the Czech News Agency that the town hall in Vsetín is establishing a working group on the issue of "inadaptables" and will "seek measures to make the town calm and safe and options for stopping these groups of inhabitants or individuals from causing problems and tensions in town." The Czech News Agency reports that the mayor believes the town hall needs to review whether its position on rent defaulters or other citizens who have repeated problems with maintaining order might be too generous in some cases.  full story

Karel Holomek: The Roma are a nation! That is the key to their integration.

28.2.2015 1:50, (ROMEA) I have several basic comments to make about the opinions recently expressed about Romani people by Roman Krištof in his interview with Romea.cz. Coincidentally, this has become a big issue now, not because of the polemics around Krištof's opinions, but because the Government has just adopted, as a binding document, its Romani Integration Strategy to 2020 and, shortly before that, the lower house adopted an amendment to the Schools Act concerning the education of Romani children in the Czech schools (which has not been very successful to date).  full story

Commentary: Czech Trade Inspection Authority report downplays discrimination against Romani consumers

27.2.2015 19:18, (ROMEA) Last year inspectors with the Czech Trade Inspection Authority (Česká obchodní inspekce - ČOI) proved that Romani consumers had been discriminated against in eight separate cases. The ČOI has reported the findings in a press releae today summarizing the results of the 1 254 audits it conducted in 2014.  full story

Commentary: Boorishness triumphs at Czech Lion ceremony

Prague, 23.2.2015 20:50, (ROMEA) It might seem that this year's Czech Lion awards are a sign of greater maturity, openness, and self-criticism by this country about its culture, film criticism, and society in general. "The Way Out" (Cesta ven), an authentic, challenging drama about impoverished Romani people from a ghetto that viewers might find hard to watch was not only awarded best film, but won in the most categories overall.  full story

Editorial: Insults are preferable to censorship

Prague, 14.2.2015 20:29, (ROMEA) Are Internet discussions facing fundamental restrictions? Will online news servers be forced to close their discussion boards or to strictly regulate them?  full story

Karel Holomek: Who "discovered" the Romani camp at Lety?

Brno, 7.2.2015 0:53, (ROMEA) I was a direct witness to the events written about by Petr Zídek in last Saturday's edition of Lidové noviny (24 January 2015) in his article "A report on the discovery of the Romani camp at Lety by Písek" ("Zpráva o objevu romského tábora v Letech u Písku"). In particular, I was a witness to the participation of the American Paul Polansky, how he has framed the events concerned and how he evaluates his own role.  full story

Commentary: Russian propaganda claims both "Jews" and "Nazis" now rule Ukraine

Prague, 4.2.2015 2:01, (ROMEA) Every kind of propaganda involves various absurdities, and the current propaganda in favor of Russia, as well as the propaganda coming straight from Russia, is no exception. The greatest paradoxes come from the generalizations this propaganda involves.  full story

Commentary: Czech Police biased against anti-racist demonstrators

Prague, 2.2.2015 20:43, (ROMEA) Are you an Islamophobe? If you are, then apparently you can take scissors to the t-shirt you got during the last World Cup in football or hockey, cut out the state symbol of the Czech Republic, take needle and thread and sew it onto the state flag of the Czech Republic.  full story

Commentary: Gala at Prague Castle vs. a smelly pig farm

Prague, 29.1.2015 19:40, (ROMEA) It cost the Czech Police CZK 10.5 million to keep an eye on security for the event commemorating the 70th anniversary of the end of the Holocaust that took place on Monday and Tuesday in Prague and at Terezín. How much it might cost to move the pig farm from the site of the former concentration camp for Roma at Lety by Písek is still just being estimated - it could cost dozens of millions, but more likely would cost several hundred million crowns.  full story

Commentary: Invisible Romani victims and an anti-Muslim crusade

Prague, 28.1.2015 21:47, (ROMEA) This year's anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz seemed like a delayed whipping up of a call to arms. The alarm was sounded without a clear enemy.  full story

Commentary: Hitler was the biggest optimist

27.1.2015 17:17, (ROMEA) Within the framework of all of the pathetic, militant, moving, well-intentioned, sincere, intelligent, deep and perhaps even hypocritical and populist theses about the Holocaust, I believe it does no arm to also present ideas that are outrageous - outrageously funny. For example: At the end of last year a book was published here in the Czech Republic by Shalom Auslander called Hope: A Tragedy (Naděje: Tragédie - Argo 2014).  full story

Commentary: Where does "The Way Out" lead if almost no one cares?

Prague, 26.1.2015 19:41, (ROMEA) The success of the film "The Way Out" (Cesta ven) may be having a paradoxical impact. Petr Václav's movie about the life of Romani people in a ghetto has won the Czech Film Critics Award and was selected to represent Czech cinematography at last year's Cannes Film Festival.  full story

Commentary: France is going crazy with the fight against terrorism - what next?

Prague, 25.1.2015 5:03, (ROMEA) "We aren't Charlie and we never will be, you band of whores. You reap what you sow," is what one of four underage students in France posted to Facebook, according to the Czech News Agency, before they were arrested on 22 January by French Police.  full story

Commentary: Disabled children don't have to sit in the corner

Prague, 19.1.2015 18:05, (ROMEA) The recent remarks by Czech President Miloš Zeman about inclusion have sparked a stormy discussion here. "I am not an advocate of the opinion that children who are handicapped in a certain way should be placed into classrooms with non-handicapped pupils, because that is unfortunate for both," the President said at the Rehabilitation Institute in Brandýs nad Orlicí as part of his visit to the Pardubice Region  full story

Commentary: Czech President's remarks supported discrimination against Romani children

Prague, 17.1.2015 23:28, (ROMEA) "Handicapped children should not attend classes together with non-handicapped children" - that is approximately what Czech President Miloš Zeman said last Wednesday during a visit to a Rehabilitation Institute in Brandýs nad Orlicí. His words have sparked a firestorm of criticism from experts and politicians.  full story

Commentary: Multiculturalism has succeeded and is our greatest chance for peaceful coexistence

Prague, 14.1.2015 20:33, (ROMEA) Multiculturalism has succeeded and continues to be our greatest chance for peaceful coexistence, not only in the Euro-Atlantic world, but for the whole planet. Never before has the civilized world, led by intellectual elites of all faiths, been so united in condemning radical Islamists.
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Commentary: European demonstrations for unity give us hope, demagogues take it away

Paris/Prague, 13.1.2015 19:24, (ROMEA) On Sunday 11 January, millions demonstrated in Paris for social unity, with French citizens across all of society taking up a common cause. "We must not create amalgams," the French are saying.  full story

Can Europe maintain hope of a free, open society? Nous sommes Charlie!

Prague, 8.1.2015 19:08, (ROMEA) The aim of the Islamist terrorists who committed murder yesterday in Paris is clear: This is their attempt to contribute toward the introduction of a regime that will decide what we can laugh at, what we must believe, how we are to behave, how we are to dress... and what we are to hate. Such a regime is based on contempt for minorities, on fear, inequality, and punishment.  full story