Czech Republic

Czech Greens: School Act amendment supports segregation, returns us to the past

Prague, 19.9.2014 18:51, (ROMEA) Czech legislators are scheduled to discuss the Government's amendment to the Schoot Act, the aim of which is to make it possible to enroll pupils who would be capable of completing mainstream primary school without assistance and pupils from different cultural or social environments into the "practical schools". The Green Party (Strana zelených - SZ) calls the amendment's approach an unacceptable return to the past.  full story

Czech court acquits German neo-Nazi over 2011 speech

Brno, 19.9.2014 18:14, (ROMEA) Yesterday the Municipal Court in Brno acquitted German neo-Nazi Robin Siener of defamation, which the state prosecutor charged him with committing in 2011 at a 1 May demonstration by the Workers' Youth in Brno. At the right-wing extremist meeting, Siener spoke about "multicultural terrorism" and a cheap workforce flooding Europe, among other matters.  full story

Czech detectives investigate arson against police vehicle, "anarchists" took credit

Ústí nad Labem, 19.9.2014 17:29, (ROMEA) The Czech Republic's Organized Crime Detection Unit (Útvar pro odhalování organizovaného zločinu - ÚOOZ) has taken over from detectives in Ústí nad Labem the investigation of an attack on a police vehicle committed at the end of August. Several confidential police sources have confirmed the transfer and believe the arson attack could be related to left-wing extremism.  full story

Czech Republic: New Holocaust memorial in Brno

Brno, 18.9.2014 19:19, (ROMEA) A cube of black granite down which water streams now decorates a square in Brno. It is a memorial to the victims of the Holocaust, referencing the racial persecution of Jewish and Romani people by the Nazi Third Reich during WWII.  full story

Czech Gov't tender for anti-hate campaign partially cancelled - no takers

Prague, 18.9.2014 0:58, (ROMEA) The Czech Government Agency for Social Inclusion has had to cancel part of its tender for contractors for a campaign against hate violence and racism. Interest in performing some campaign activities was shown by either just one applicant or by no one.  full story

Czech Republic: Romani local candidate looks to EU funds for social exclusion

Brno, 17.9.2014 21:55, (ROMEA) News server Romea.cz has prepared a series of brief interviews with Romani candidates in the upcoming local elections. This interview is with Rastislav Lučanský, who ran for the European Parliament as a Romani Democratic Party candidate and who is now running as an independent in the city of Brno, on the Moravian Party ticket.  full story

Czech Republic: Longterm Romani residents complain about Romani newcomers

Jirkov, 16.9.2014 21:44, (ROMEA) News server iDNES.cz reports that the town hall of Jirkov (Chomutov district) is addressing a problem with newcomers living in commercially rented apartments. The new tenants are often Romani and are being complained about by other Romani people who have lived in the town for decades.  full story

Czech town discusses "inadaptable" residents and planned repression

Jablonec nad Nisou, 16.9.2014 21:13, (ROMEA) "Public meeting with citizens about safety in the town, coexistence with inadaptables and welfare for housing" was the name of an event that took place on the evening of Tuesday, 2 September in the Grand Hall of Jablonec's Eurocenter, attended by roughly 300 people. Those invited included local residents, politicians, representatives of the municipal and state police, representatives of the Regional Hygiene Stations and the Building Works Authority.  full story

Czech sociologist on what the Czech EdMin needs to learn

Prague, 15.9.2014 19:23, (ROMEA) Sociologist Stanislav Biler has published a commentary on iHNED.cz about Czech Education Ministry policy. News server Romea.cz presents excerpts of that commentary here in translation:  full story

Karel Holomek: Inclusive education nowhere in sight in the Czech Republic

Brno, 13.9.2014 0:26, (ROMEA) The beginning of this school year has taken place with the enrollment of the largest number of first-graders in 20 years, as many as 115 000 children starting instruction. Unfortunately, this favorable development will not continue, according to the prognoses of experts on education.  full story

Czech regulator finds TV NOVA broadcast false report about murdered Romani man

Teplice/Prague, 12.9.2014 20:28, (ROMEA) At the start of April, the In IUSTITIA and ROMEA organizations filed a complaint with the Czech Council for Radio and Television Broadcasting (Rada pro rozhlasové a televizní vysílání - RRTV) over a reportage broadcast by TV NOVA, the country's most-watched commerical television station. The piece, called "He killed over a sausage and got five years" was filmed by reporter Martin Kočárek.  full story

Czech Republic: Romani girlfriend of assault victim speaks out

Prague, 11.9.2014 23:12, (ROMEA) A 17-year-old boy who may have committed a brutal assault on a 15-year-old boy at a bus stop in the Malešice quarter of Prague has identified himself to police. The boy claims the entire event took place differently than has been described in the media and says his actions were committed to defend a friend.  full story

Czech Republic: Racist graffiti on Romani candidate's election poster

Prostějov, 11.9.2014 19:02, (ROMEA) News server iDNES.cz reports that racist slogans such as "Black mug" and "Don't vote for niggers" have recently turned up on election posters for the ANO movement in the Czech town of Prostějov. Ondřej Provazník, a local 18-year-old Romani candidate for the movement, is the target.  full story

Czech Republic: Campaign offers young Roma a guide to the world of finance

Prague, 11.9.2014 17:12, (ROMEA) "Got what it takes?" ("Máš na to?") is the name of a new campaign from the ROMEA organization aiming to assist young Romani people with taking responsibility for themselves and their financial situations. The campaign familiarizes them with the basics of money management and the dangers of the debt trap, offering them useful tips and helping them solve problems.  full story

Czech Republic: Equal Opportunities Party files charges against ultra-right party leaders

Děčín/Prague, 11.9.2014 0:18, (ROMEA) Miroslav Kováč, chair of the Equal Opportunities Party (Strana rovných příležitostí - SRP), has announced that his party has filed criminal charges against DSSS chair Tomáš Vandas and vice-chair Jiří Štěpánek. News server Romea.cz is publishing this article by Kováč about those charges in full translation:  full story

Czech court acquits editor, publisher of Hitler's speeches of approving genocide

Brno, 10.9.2014 23:18, (ROMEA) Today the Municipal Court in Brno acquitted Pavel Kamas and Lukáš Novák, the owners of the Guidemedia publishing house, and publicist Stanislav Beer of approving genocide by publishing a book entitled "Adolf Hitler: Speeches" (Adolf Hitler: Projevy). The court found that publishing the book did not constitute a crime.  full story

Czech Police charge man with producing clothing with neo-Nazi symbols

Nový Jičín, 10.9.2014 17:11, (ROMEA) Police in the Czech Republic have charged a 23-year-old man from the Nový Jičín area with advertising, producing and selling clothing featuring neo-Nazi symbols. He ran the enterprise for almost a year using his father's business license.  full story

Czech youth brutally assaulted for defending Romani girlfriend

Prague, 8.9.2014 22:49, (ROMEA) Police officers are looking for the young perpetrators of a racially motivated assault that occurred on 19 August at the Plaňanská bus stop in Prague 10 and would like anyone who witnessed the incident to call 158. The young man who was targeted fell unconscious to the ground during the attack.  full story

Czech regulator finds radio station broke law with anti-Romani broadcasts

Prague, 8.9.2014 21:35, (ROMEA) The Council for Radio and Television Broadcasting (Rada pro rozhlasové a televizní vysílání - RRTV) is asking the Impuls radio station in the Czech Republic to correct its broadcasting of opinions about Romani people that the regulator has indicated are prejudicial. According to Impuls's PR manager, the station will not appeal the RRTV decision and will uphold the deadline by which to make the corrections.  full story

Former Czech EdMin to become Education Ombud, defends segregation

Prague, 27.8.2014 22:05, (ROMEA) The new position of Education Ombud in the Czech Republic will be taken up by former Czech Education Minister Eduard Zeman in mid-September. In an interview for Czech Radio regarding Roma access to education, Zeman said he considers the country's "practical schools" to be uniquely Czech and sees nothing wrong with them.  full story