News

Mattel causes uproar with use of term "Nazi Poland" in card game

27.4.2015 21:57 Poland has been outraged by the use of the phrase "Nazi Poland" in a popular card game produced by Mattel, the largest toy producer in the USA. Polish Foreign Minister Grzegorz Schetyna has threatened to take the maker of the Barbie and Ken dolls to court unless the game concerned is removed from the market.  full story

Czech Interior Ministry says DSSS still in crisis, Islamophobia stronger than antigypsyism

27.4.2015 20:59 Extremists in the Czech Republic convened 44 events during the first quarter of this year, 32 fewer than during the same period last year. The number of crimes related to extremism during the same period rose slightly year-on-year, from 46 in 2014 to 50 this year.  full story

75th anniversary of decision to create the Auschwitz concentration camp

27.4.2015 17:58 Seventy-five years ago, on 27 April 1940, Reichsfuhrer-SS Heinrich Himmler issued the decision that formed the basis for the establishment of a concentration and extermination camp in the Polish town of Oświęcim. In the infamous "death factory", called Auschwitz in German, more than 1.1 million human beings lost their lives, the vast majority of them Jewish.  full story

Analysis: Czech PM must clarify Government's stance on discrimination in education

27.4.2015 16:37 A report by Amnesty International (AI) released last week reminded us of more than the fact that the discrimination of Romani children persists in the Czech schools. The differing reactions to the report from Czech Education Minister Marcel Chládek and Czech Human Rights Minister Jiří Dienstbier once again showed that despite declarations of unity, the approaches taken by governing politicians to the future of inclusive education and the "practical schools" are very different.  full story

Czech court commissions evidence review in response to convicted neo-Nazi murderer's request for retrial

Hradec Králové, 27.4.2015 0:30 On 22 April, the Regional Court in Hradec Králové did not reach a decision on a motion filed by Vlastimil Pechanec to reopen the proceedings in the case of the racially motivated murder of a Romani man, Otto Absolon, at a discotheque in the Czech town of Svitavy in 2001. The court postponed the proceedings until it has received the results of its newly-commissioned expert evaluation of whether there is evidence on the murder weapon.  full story

Czech Republic: Commemorative ceremony 13 May at Romani Holocaust site at Lety

26.4.2015 20:07 On Wednesday, 13 May, a commemorative ceremony honoring the Romani victims of Nazism will take place at the site of the Lety Memorial. The ceremony is traditionally organized by the Committee for the Redress of the Roma Holocaust in the Czech Republic (Výbor pro odškodnění romského holocaustu v České republice - VPORH v ČR), which brings together Romani former prisoners of the Nazi concentration camps and relatives of the victims of those camps.  full story

Commentary: Dismissal of Czech Gov't Agency for Social Inclusion director is bad news, and not just for impoverished Roma

26.4.2015 5:30 At the end of last week, most of those "involved with Roma" were startled by the news that Martin Šimáček had been dismissed as director of the Czech Government Agency for Social Inclusion. Voices were immediately raised in support of him by more than 50 employees of the Agency.  full story

Czech media outlet puts unnecessary emphasis on ethnicity in reporting public transport incident

26.4.2015 3:30 On Thursday 23 April, online news server iDNES.cz wrote about an incident that took place on 22 April on public transport in Jihlava using the headline "Gypsies fight on trolleybus". After the obcasnik.eu website drew attention to this interesting headline, the iDNES.cz editors quietly and rapidly erased the content.  full story

EU tripling funds for Mediterranean Sea rescue, Czech Republic providing experts, funds and a plane

25.4.2015 22:51 Speaking after an extraordinary summit on migration in Brussels on 24 April, German Chancellor Angela Merkel told journalists the European Union will triple its funding for the Frontex agency's operations in the Mediterranean Sea. President of the EU Council Donald Tusk added that presidents and prime ministers have already promised airplanes, boats, experts and money.  full story

Czech Human Rights Minister: Schools must educate Czech and Romani children together

25.4.2015 19:52 Czech Minister for Human Rights, Equal Opportunities and Legislation Jiří Dienstbier has expressed appreciation for the activities of Amnesty International (AI) in pointing out problem areas and weak spots in the education of Romani children in the country's schools. "Understandably we are aware of the vast majority of the problem areas mentioned and we see this report as a confirmation of the fact that it is necessary to find appropriate measures to correct them," he said in his reaction to the AI report.  full story

Council of Europe: Refugees and violence against Romani people are current problems

25.4.2015 1:24 Last year was a bad year for fundamental human rights in the 47 member countries of the Council of Europe (CoE). CoE Human Rights Commissioner Nils Muižnieks says in his regular report that the reasons for this are the crisis around refugees in the Mediterranean Sea, the conflict in Ukraine, and attacks on media freedom.  full story

Amnesty International condemns Czech EdMin's response to its report on discrimination of Roma

25.4.2015 0:18 On 24 April, Amnesty International (AI) sharply criticized the reaction of Czech Education Minister Marcel Chládek (Czech Social Democratic Party - ČSSD) to its recent report on discrimination against Roma in the Czech education system. AI says the minister's remarks that the report is not based on the true facts were counterproductive and prejudiced.  full story

Czech EdMin says Amnesty International report is not based on true facts

24.4.2015 23:45 A recent report by Amnesty International (AI) criticizing the discrimination of Romani people in the Czech education system is not based on true facts, according to Czech Education Minister Marcel Chládek (Czech Social Democratic Party - ČSSD). The minister alleges that AI staffers learned from the Czech School Inspectorate that one of their suspicions was not confirmed but failed to inform Secretary-General Salil Shetty of that fact.  full story

Renata Berkyová: Should the Czech Gov't Agency for Social Inclusion have been more "Romani"?

24.4.2015 21:33 Over the last few days, Martin Šimáček has become a popular face in the media in connection with his dismissal from the post of director of the Agency for Social Inclusion. The entire Agency staff and a noticeable portion of the public have protested the decision of Czech Human Rights Minister Jiří Dienstbier to remove him.  full story

Czech Republic: OSF Prague agrees with ombud that "preparatory classes" are not the same as nursery schools

Czech Republic, 24.4.2015 6:05 The Open Society Fund Prague, which focuses on inclusive education, among other things, does not agree with the option of allowing children to complete their mandatory final year of preschool education by attending "preparatory classes". Like the Czech Public Defender of Rights (the ombud), Anna Šabatová, the foundation sees the threat that socially disadvantaged children will be segregated into such classes, according to the spokesperson for the foundation, Jitka Rabitsch Adamčíková.  full story

Czech Republic: Romani actor and musician Milan Šenki ("Korytár") has passed away

24.4.2015 5:11 On Tuesday, 21 April 2015, Milan Šenki, known by the nickname "Korytár", passed away at 14:15 at the age of 70. His son Milan announced his passing on Facebook.  full story

Czech Republic: Hundreds protest anti-Semitism in Prague

24.4.2015 4:07 On Sunday, 19 April, hundreds of people participated in the 12th annual Good Will March (Pochod dobré vůle) in Prague. The event took place under the slogan of "Culture against Anti-Semitism" in the center of the capital.  full story

Petr Torák: "I'm proud to be the first Romani man from the Czech Republic to receive the MBE"

24.4.2015 3:31 Petr Torák, a Romani émigré from the Czech Republic who serves with the British police, will be receiving an MBE (Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) . Queen Elizabeth II will present him with the high civilian honor next month for his service to the Romani community.  full story

Karel Holomek: Why might the director of the Czech Agency for Social Inclusion have been dismissed?

Brno, 24.4.2015 2:36 Czech Human Rights Minister Dienstbier has completely unexpectedly dismissed the director of the Czech Government Agency for Social Inclusion, Bc. Martin Šimáček. While he did not initially state the reasons for the dismissal on 17 April, he did so in a follow-up on 22 April.  full story

UK: Roma police officer receives MBE from Queen Elizabeth II

24.4.2015 1:38 Petr Torák a Romani émigré from the Czech Republic who serves with the British police, will be receiving an MBE (Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire). Queen Elizabeth II will present him with the high civilian honor next month for his service to the Romani community.
 full story