Czech Republic

Czech Republic: "Change for Plzeň" to counter-protest neo-Nazis tomorrow

Plzeň, 28.2.2014 21:20, (ROMEA) "Change for Plzeň" (Změna pro Plzeň) will participate in Saturday's civil "Happening for a Society without Prejudice", as it considers it a moral norm characteristic of a mature democracy for a political party to express a clear position against destabilizing tendencies in society. News server Romea.cz publishes the party's statement on tomorrow's march by right-wing extremists in full translation below:  full story

Jarmila Balážová to become spokesperson for Czech Human Rights Minister

Prague, 28.2.2014 20:47, (ROMEA) Jarmila Balážová, the chair of the administrative board of ROMEA, o.p.s. and the editor-in-chief of the monthly Romano voďi, is leaving those positions after 12 years. She will become the spokesperson for Jiří Dienstbier, Minister of Human Rights, Equal Opportunities and Legislation who chairs the Czech Government's Legislative Council, and will also manage a government department.  full story

Czech Gov't Agency for Social Inclusion may get more money and power

Prague, 28.2.2014 19:02, (ROMEA) The Czech Government Agency for Social Inclusion could have a stronger position in the future and perhaps even more money from the state. Czech Human Rights Minister Jiří Dienstbier (Czech Social Democratic Party - ČSSD) is making such plans.  full story

Czech mayor on tomorrow's neo-Nazi march in Plzeň

Plzeň, 28.2.2014 18:16, (ROMEA) On Saturday 1 March at 14:00 a march by right-wing radicals through the center of Plzeň has been scheduled. Mayor Martin Baxa has issued a statement about this event which news server Romea.cz publishes below in full translation:  full story

Czech Labor Ministry responds to misleading article about welfare

Prague, 27.2.2014 19:37, (ROMEA) The Czech Labor and Social Affairs Ministry and the Labor Office have issued a correction today to the inaccurate information reported by the daily Právo in an article about welfare written by staff writer Jiří Ginter. In addition to other claims, Ginter stated that the state has practically given up monitoring whether welfare is disbursed to suitable candidates.  full story

Czech Republic: Romani college women learn how to compete in politics

Prague, 27.2.2014 18:42, (ROMEA) Nine Romani women from all over the country who are attending college traveled to the Czech capital recently for political training. This was the third time that the Slovo 21 NGO has organized the event with financial support from the Heinrich Böll Foundation.  full story

Czech neo-Nazis to hold another demonstration against Roma and the ROMEA organization

Plzeň, 26.2.2014 19:39, (ROMEA) This coming Saturday a march by right-wing radicals is scheduled to begin at 14:00 in the Czech town of Plzeň. A counter-protest by the local initiative Plzeň against Racism (Plzeň proti rasismu) is also scheduled.  full story

Commentary: Czech segregation failing another generation of Roma

Hradec Králové, 26.2.2014 18:08, (ROMEA) Rather a lot has been written about segregation in the Czech schools and about the Romani children who have been (and what is worse, still are) unjustifiably enrolled into the "practical primary schools" (formerly the "special schools"), which are designed to serve children with light mental disability - but apparently not enough has been done about it. At least, not enough to keep many non-Romani parents of first-graders from being horrified by the idea that their child might sit next to a Romani pupil in school.  full story

Czech ultra-right invites militant neo-Nazis from Ukraine's "Right Sector" to visit

Prague, 26.2.2014 16:28, (ROMEA) The right-wing extremist Workers' Social Justice Party (Dělnická strana sociální spravedlnosti - DSSS) has invited a representative of the Ukrainian neo-Nazi group Right Sector to the Czech Republic. In addition to the democratic parties of the All-Ukrainian Union "Fatherland" (representatives: Yulia Tymoshenko, Arseniy Yatsenyuk), the Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform (Vitali Klitschko) and the fascist Freedom party (Oleg Tjagnybok), Right Sector is one of the most significant radical groups participating in the current revolutionary changes in Ukraine.  full story

Czech Republic: Experts testify that police officers caused Romani man's death

Kynšperk nad Ohří/Sokolov , 25.2.2014 20:59, (ROMEA) Yesterday the trial continued of two police officers from the Czech town of Kynšperk nad Ohří charged with the negligent homicide of a local citizen during a routine patrol in May 2012. This second day of the main hearing was a real delicacy for connoisseurs, as the cream of Prague's forensic medical experts gave testimony in the courtroom of this small border town.  full story

Czech TV defends serial's depiction of Roma

Prague, 25.2.2014 19:46, (ROMEA) News server Lidovky.cz reports that Czech Television and its inspection board have closed their discussion of the depiction of minorities in the serial "Ambulance 2" (Sanitka 2). Czech TV claims that all of the situations filmed for the serial are in order because they are based on the actual experiences of ambulance workers and contemporary reality.  full story

Czech ombud wants to help social housing, win greater respect

Prague, 24.2.2014 18:05, (ROMEA) In her role as ombud, Anna Šabatová wants to contribute to the creation of a functional social housing system in the Czech Republic and to win more respect from politicians for the Final Statements issued by the Office of the Public Defender of Rights. Speaking on the Czech Television (ČT) program "Questions with Václav Moravec", she said her predecessor, Pavel Varvařovský, may sometimes have relied too much on written communications with politicians, and when that wasn't effective, he may have reconciled himself to failure "a bit early".  full story

Czech police officers testify about 2012 death of Romani man

Sokolov, 23.2.2014 19:26, (ROMEA) Last week two police officers from the Czech town of Kynšperk nad Ohří began giving testimony before the District Court in Sokolov in the trial of a negligent homicide. The indictment charges them with having committed the offense in May 2012 while they were attempting to arrest Ludovít Kašpar, a Romani suspect who collapsed during the intervention and died in hospital two days later.  full story

Czech trial of incident that sparked anti-Romani unrest to resume 7 March

Ústí nad Labem, 22.2.2014 19:34, (ROMEA) Markéta Morkusová, spokesperson for the Regional Court in Ústí nad Labem, has informed the Czech News Agency that the main hearing in the trial of a brutal assault committed in Duchcov (Teplice district) last year has been postponed. The indictment charges five people with perpetrating the attack, one of whom is a juvenile.  full story

Romani athletes at the Olympics

Brno, 21.2.2014 19:18, (ROMEA) Boxing and gymnastics are the main disciplines in which Romani athletes excel. Some have even represented the Czech Republic at the Olympic games.  full story

Czech NGO: If you don't open the schools to Roma, how can they get jobs?

Brno, 21.2.2014 18:54, (ROMEA) IQ Roma servis, an NGO based in Brno, Czech Republic, sees its main task as convincing Romani people that it is important to attend better schools and convincing Czech parents that the presence of Romani pupils is no reason to enroll their own children elsewhere. The 45 staff and 50 volunteers with the organization help Romani people find jobs, get educations, and reduce their indebtedness.  full story

Hindus want withdrawal of Roma-stereotyping Czech police coloring book

Nevada/Prague, 21.2.2014 10:45, (ROMEA) Hindus want immediate withdrawal of Czech Police coloring book POLDOVY OMALOVANKY, reportedly meant for distribution in kindergartens and primary schools.  full story

Czech Republic: Number of victims of hate violence rose in 2013

Prague, 20.2.2014 19:07, (ROMEA) Last year in the Czech Republic the number of victims of hate violence motivated by nationality, religion, sexual orientation or skin color rose year-on-year from 38 to 211 cases. Those numbers are based on police statistics acquired by the In IUSITITIA organization, which helps the victims of violence motivated by prejudice.  full story

Czech Human Rights Minister drafting law to compensate illegally sterilized women

Prague, 19.2.2014 18:55, (ROMEA) News server iDNES.cz reports that illegally sterilized women in the Czech Republic have not yet been compensated. Two years ago the Czech Government Human Rights Council recommended the cabinet compensate them, but it has not yet happened.  full story

Czech Police coloring book shows a Romani man as a dangerous pedophile

Prague, 18.2.2014 22:00, (ROMEA) When trying to prevent crime, it is definitely good to think of all possible variations of dangerous situations, especially where children are concerned. However, when a coloring book intended for children in nursery school and the lower grades of primary school features a figure whose face is prominently reminiscent of a representative of the Romani minority, and when such a figure plays only one role - evidently that of a dangerous pedophile - that really does call for some reflection.  full story