Czech Republic

Czech Republic: Law should prevent xenophobia online but will be hard to enforce

Prague, 4.6.2014 20:54, (ROMEA) The clogging of virtual space with vulgarities, xenophobic outbursts and identity theft is a problem not just for online social networks, but also for all kinds of online discussion forums beneath articles and videos. Laws are now being developed in the Czech Republic to prevent such excesses on Facebook and in other corners of the digital world.  full story

Czech NGOs write to FinMin over co-financing of EU-funded social projects

Prague, 4.6.2014 16:48, (ROMEA) Nonprofit organizations in the Czech Republic have written an open letter to Czech Finance Minister Andrej Babiš responding to materials published by the ministry entitled "Rules for co-financing of European Structural and Investment Funds for 2014-2020", which establish binding rules for the financing of projects from the ESIF and have recently undergone an inter-ministerial commenting process. The organizations criticize the ministry's proposal that responsibility for up to 15 % of co-financing be mandatory for participation in ESIF projects.  full story

OSCE conference on equal access to quality education for Roma children in the Czech Republic

Prague, 3.6.2014 20:24, (ROMEA) In the Czech Republic, Romani children comprise 28 % of the pupils attending what were once called the "special schools", according to the most recent research on the issue produced by the Czech Social Inspectorate. Czech Deputy Education Minister Jindřich Fryč presented the results of that research at an international conference on the education of Romani children on 30 May in Prague.  full story

Czech High Court refuses usual compensation to family of murdered Romani man

Prague, 3.6.2014 19:52, (ROMEA) On 28 May the High Court in Prague rejected an appeal regarding the amount of damages to be paid to the surviving relatives of a Romani man from Teplice who was stabbed to death. Stanislav Sýkora, who injured two other Romani men with a knife during the same incident, has been sentenced to five years in prison for involvement in a felony affray.  full story

Czech Govt Inter-ministerial Commission has new vice-chair, David Beňák

Prague, 31.5.2014 8:40, (ROMEA) On 27 May 2014, the first session of the newly-appointed Czech Government Inter-ministerial Commission for Roma Community Affairs was convened. Its members were appointed by a government resolution on 12 May 2014 that also changed the advisory body's statutes.  full story

Czech dramaturg resigns after moderators humiliate Romani musicians on live tv

Brno, 28.5.2014 9:47, (ROMEA) The legendary Czech-Romani funk band Gulo Čar and the Slovak reggae-punk band Smola a Hrušky issued a joint press release yesterday protesting the way in which the moderators of the "Tečka páteční noci" program on Czech Television handled their appearance last Friday just before midnight. The bands say moderator Martin Dušek made humiliating, xenophobic remarks to them during the broadcast.  full story

Czech EP elections won by ANO, TOP 09, SocDems, Romani parties failed

Prague, 26.5.2014 1:41, (ROMEA) The EP elections have been won in the Czech Republic by the ANO movement with 16.3 % of the vote. The TOP 09 party came in second with 15.95 %, the Czech Social Democrats (ČSSD) third at 14.17 %, the Communists (KSČM) fourth at 10.98 %, the Christian Democrats (KDU-ČSL) fifth at 9.95 % and the Civic Democrats (ODS) sixth at 7.67 % of the vote.  full story

Czech Foreign Ministry says police raid on mosques was in order

Prague, 24.5.2014 21:33, (ROMEA) The Czech Foreign Ministry has told the Czech News Agency that a recent police raid on mosques in Prague did not violate the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. The Indonesian Embassy sent a diplomatic note to the Czech authorities complaining that the police approach violated the convention's stipulation that diplomats may not be arrested or detained in any way.  full story

Czech EP vote turnout very low

Prague, 24.5.2014 20:28, (ROMEA) The Czech News Agency reports that interest in the elections to the European Parliament in the Czech Republic is very low, with election commissioners reporting on Saturday afternoon that less than 15 % of the electorate had turned out on average. This could ultimately be a record-low level of participation.  full story

Czech NGOs thank EdMin for proposing amendment to improve education of the disadvantaged

Prague, 23.5.2014 16:41, (ROMEA) The Czech Education Ministry intends to propose an amendment to the School Act, and 16 figures from educational organizations and NGOs have written an open letter in support of the idea, saying it will greatly "contribute toward improving the situation in the education of children with medical or social disadvantage whom the existing system has not yet managed to satisfactorily support. In practice, this should improve prevention of school failure, long-term school failure in particular, which the current education system does not know how to effectively address."  full story

Czech annual report on extremism: Anti-Roma sentiment remains the main threat

Prague, 22.5.2014 18:33, (ROMEA) Last year extremists in the Czech Republic held 272 events, 135 fewer than in 2012. However, the number of extremist crimes rose from 173 to 211, mainly due to a series of demonstrations linked to socially excluded localities.  full story

Czech intelligence service: Ultra-right using anti-Romani protests for publicity

Prague, 21.5.2014 19:31, (ROMEA) Jan Šubrt, spokesperson for the Security Information Service (Bezpečnostní informační služba - BIS) said yesterday that the service did not note any extremist activity that might represent any kind of immediate, real threat to the democratic foundations of the Czech Republic last year. However, the number of crimes related to extremism did rise slightly last year.  full story

Cyril Koky: We must solve our own problems - Brussels won't solve them for us

Prague, 20.5.2014 23:51, (ROMEA) When we talk about the European Union in the Czech Republic, it is often linked mainly to the Schengen area, but how does the EU help the socially disadvantaged? The Kolín daily recently conducted the following interview with Cyril Koky, the Central Bohemian Coordinator for Minority Affairs, about this issue.  full story

Czech Republic: ANO to win EP vote, Úsvit down to 1 %

Prague, 20.5.2014 22:40, (ROMEA) One-fourth of the voters in the Czech Republic, according to the Center for Public Opinion Research (Centrum pro výzkum veřejného mínění - CVVM) say they would vote for the ANO movement in the EP elections if they were held today. Support for the Czech Social Democrats (ČSSD) has risen to 23 % since April and the Communists (KSČM) have improved their standing as well.  full story

Czech Republic: "Hating the Roma won't make your life better"

Czech Republic, 20.5.2014 19:31, (ROMEA) The following the story of a man who was brutally beaten because he is Roma, and it is worth publishing for several reasons. As a supervisor, he was responsible for evaluating the work of a colleague, which makes this a fairly banal story - except that he is Romani and the man he supervises is a member of the ultra-right.  full story

Czech Republic: Sir Nicholas Winton to receive the Order of the White Lion

London, 19.5.2014 23:14, (ROMEA) Sir Nicholas Winton, the man who saved hundreds of Jewish children in Czechoslovakia from the Holocaust, will be awarded the Order of the White Lion later this year. Czech President Miloš Zeman has decided to award him the country's highest state honor.  full story

Czech Human Rights Minister: Communication not working in Duchcov

Duchcov, 19.5.2014 22:13, (ROMEA) Czech Minister for Human Rights, Equal Opportunities and Legislation Jiří Dienstbier (Czech Social Democrats - ČSSD) says the problem of the northern Bohemian town of Duchcov, where last year's attack on a married couple sparked anti-Romani sentiment, is the difficult communication between a local nonprofit organization and the town hall. The minister is scheduled to visit the towns of Kadaň and Krupka today as well.  full story

Czech Human Rights Minister visiting Duchcov, Kadaň and Krupka today

Prague, 19.5.2014 19:59, (ROMEA) The Czech Minister for Human Rights, Equal Opportunities and Legislation, Jiří Dientsbier, who is also responsible for the Human Rights Section at the Office of the Government, will be visiting more towns in northern Bohemia on Monday 19 May 2014, specifically, Duchcov, Kadaň and Krupka. The minister and his team will be meeting the mayors of these three towns and representatives of the non-governmental sector focusing on the issues of human rights and social exclusion.  full story

Czech Republic: Blockade of pig farm on Roma Holocaust site ends, activists meet with farm owners

Lety u Písku, 19.5.2014 18:24, (ROMEA) On Saturday, 17 May, activists ended the blockade of the pig farm at Lety by Písek through which they had launched a campaign for its closure. The farm is partially located on the site of a former WWII-era concentration camp for Romani people.  full story

Czech PM at Terezín: It is important to stand up to anti-Semitism

Terezín (Litoměřice district), 19.5.2014 3:33, (ROMEA) Jaroslav Vodička, the chair of the Czech Freedom Fighters' Union, said today that German President Joachim Gauch's recent visit to the former Jewish ghetto at Terezín was a courageous step and a gesture of partnership. Hundreds of people remembered the victims of Nazism during WWII today at a commemoration ceremony in Terezín.  full story