News

Czech town's "zero tolerance" policy generates police abuse

1.9.2015 1:12 A reporter for news server Romea.cz is mapping the current situation at the Janov housing estate in the town of Litvínov. The estate is an excluded locality that experienced one of the first big anti-Romani actions organized in the Czech Republic by right-wing extremists seven years ago.  full story

Austrian Interior Minister: Countries that reject refugee redistribution should lose EU money

31.8.2015 20:04 Austrian Interior Minister Johanna Mikl-Leitner said today she is in favor of increasing the pressure on EU Member States that disagree with a fair redistribution of refugees among the EU-28. In an interview for ZDF, German public television, she said she would cut off financial aid to such countries if she could.  full story

Commentary: Czech media mock UN recommendations on racism and Roma

31.8.2015 1:24 The UN Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination issued its reports on the situation in several countries from around the world last week. The otherwise serious news server Aktuálně.cz reported the news with the headline "UN: Czechs should stop Romani ghettos, the Dutch should stop Black Pete", and I think that by so doing they quite knowingly indicated to the reader that all of the Committee's recommendations are to be seen as absurd.  full story

Hungary arrests five over refugee deaths, Austrian authorities save intercepted children

30.8.2015 23:06 A court in the Hungarian city of Kecskemét remanded four men into custody on 28 August who are suspected of having contributed to the deaths of the 71 refugees in a refrigerator truck that was discovered in eastern Austria last week. Agence France-Presse reports that those arrested will remain in custody until 29 September at the request of Hungarian prosecutors.  full story

Czech Constitutional Court says verdict in housing discrimination lawsuit must be reviewed

29.8.2015 2:30 The Czech Constitutional Court instructed the High Court in Prague on 14 August to review a lawsuit filed by a Romani couple against the town of Kladno and the Czech state over alleged discrimination in the allocation of housing. Originally the Regional Court in Prague awarded the plaintiffs an apology and CZK 40 000 (EUR 1500 ) from Kladno, especially because the property owner had never addressed the poor state of the couple's apartment.  full story

French authorities complete razing of Romani camp near Paris, not everyone rehoused

29.8.2015 1:08 Yesterday French authorities razed one of the largest Romani camps on the outskirts of Paris and police forced between 200 - 300 people to evacuate the site. The Associated Press reports that the local authority of the municipality of La Courneuve promised to provide substitute accommodation for the displaced, but only a few individuals received it, namely, mothers with children and persons with illnesses.  full story

Czech gathering commemorates 72 years since Roma prisoners transported from Hodonín to Auschwitz

29.8.2015 0:18 On Sunday, 23 August 2015, people gathered in Hodonín by Kunštát to commemorate 72 years since Romani inmates were transported from the concentration camp there to the death camp at Auschwitz. On that day 72 years ago the Nazis sent the largest transport of Romani prisoners from the so-called "Gypsy camp" to Auschwitz.  full story

Germany criticizes Facebook for fomenting xenophobia, says Europe is rich and can deal with refugees

28.8.2015 22:41 The Berlin-based daily Tagesspiegel reported yesterday that German Justice Minister Heiko Maas said Facebook is not acting strongly enough against users who disseminate hatred of refugees through the social networking site. Maas has contacted the leadership of Facebook's European division and wants to discuss rectifying the situation with them.  full story

UN Committee criticizes Czech Republic over Roma discrimination and xenophobia

28.8.2015 21:50 The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) published a report today on its review of the Czech Republic, which took place on 12 and 13 August in Geneva. Its report begins with an overview of positive steps, including the adoption of the Romani Integration Strategy and an amendment to the Schools Act that promotes inclusive education.  full story

Austria reports 71 refugees died in refrigerator truck, four of them children

28.8.2015 19:37 A truck found yesterday in the east of Austria turned out to contain 71 dead refugees, four of them children. Hans Peter Doskozil, Chief of Police in the Austrian state of Burgenland, announced the number at a press conference today.  full story

Czech event brings atheists, Christians, Jews and Muslims to the same table

28.8.2015 6:06 On 18 August, 30 people of various minority and religious backgrounds gathered in Prague to eat breakfast together. Those participating in the event wanted to show that people from different backgrounds, cultures and religions are able to understand one another.  full story

Serbian PM: We will never build a wall to keep out refugees

28.8.2015 5:26 Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić told the Reuters news agency on 27 August that Serbia will never close its borders to refugees. He added that EU leaders must aid the creation of a plan for how to deal with the tens of thousands of refugees flowing to the Balkans.  full story

Czech PM and Deputy PM warn against the "fascisization of society“

28.8.2015 0:20 Czech Finance Minister and Deputy PM Andrej Babiše (ANO) remarked on Tuesday that the external borders of the Schengen area must be immediately closed, prompting a reaction from his fellow cabinet members. Pavel Bělobrádek, Deputy PM for Science, Research and Innovation, who chairs the Christian Democratic Party, called the Finance Minister's remarks irrational and populist.  full story

Austrian Police discover as many as 50 dead refugees in refrigerator truck

27.8.2015 22:43 Austrian Police have found what may be as many as 50 dead refugees in a parked truck in the east of the country near the border with Hungary. The exact number of dead refugees found in the refrigerator truck and other details will be announced tomorrow at 11:00 CET.  full story

Commentary: Correct language in the USA isn't sparing anyone's life

27.8.2015 19:48 Neither a correct nor a "hypercorrect" vocabulary, in and of itself, is enough to get rid of any problem. Petra Gelbart, who has commented on her shock that the Prague Transit Authority is telling its passengers "amusing" anecdotes about the history of the slang expressions used by drivers, certainly knows this.  full story

Petra Gelbart: "Black Mugs" in the Prague metro

27.8.2015 18:53 I was on my way home from a successful Romani event here recently at the Prague Pride festival, full of impressions, feeling happy and proud. My own children and some others whom I had taken there, including a girlfriend in a long colorful skirt, had participated in a program organized by the ARA ART association.  full story

German ultra-right exploits refugee reception issue to foment domestic unrest and violence

27.8.2015 1:52 Deutsche Welle (DW) reports that Germany is expecting a record high number of people to apply for asylum there this year. According to DW, the German Government is determined to only grant asylum to people actually fleeing ongoing wars, not to those whom they have termed "bogus" refugees from the Balkans.  full story

Canada now accepting more Roma asylum-seekers from Hungary as evidence of persecution accumulates

26.8.2015 20:50 Canadian newspaper The National Post reported on 23 August that Canada is beginning to accept more Romani asylum-seekers from Hungary after all but rejecting them across the board just a few years ago. The Conservative-led Government launched a much-criticized crackdown on allegedly "bogus" refugees in 2009-2010.  full story

Czech research finds teachers support educating all children together

26.8.2015 18:42 Research performed as part of a project called "Systemic Support for Inclusive Education in the Czech Republic" has found that teachers are inclined towards educating children with disabilities together with healthy children. However, they condition that agreement on receiving more support for their work.  full story

France: Fatal shooting at Romani camp, six-month-old among the dead

25.8.2015 20:26 A shooting in northern France today at a Romani camp in Roy resulted in four dead and three seriously injured. The dead include an infant and a woman.  full story