Czech Republic

Czech Republic: NGOs call for dismissal after director of Lidice Memorial collectively blames Roma as "inadaptables"

Kladno, 20.8.2013 0:26, (ROMEA) Individuals and NGOs defending human rights, the integration of the Romani community, and the memory of the Romani victims of the Holocaust have turned to Deputy Culture Minister Anna Matoušková with a complaint regarding the director of the Lidice Memorial, Milouš Červencl, who is also responsible for the memorial to the Roma Holocaust at Lety by Písek. Their complaint is that Červencl has collectively blamed all Romani people as "inadaptables" and has made other inappropriate remarks as well.  full story

videoCzech Republic: Neo-Nazi anti-Roma event in Duchcov a debacle

Duchcov, 17.8.2013 21:51, (ROMEA) Approximately 40 neo-Nazis gathered today in the Czech town of Duchcov for an anti-Roma assembly there. Shortly after 15:00, those participating set out from the train station down Husova Street in the direction of Republika Square.  full story

Czech Republic: Ostrava town hall bans one neo-Nazi march, another will go forward

Ostrava, 16.8.2013 21:50, (ROMEA) The Municipal Department of Moravská Ostrava a Přívoz has banned an assembly and march planned for Saturday, 24 August by neo-Nazis because an assembly of Romani people was previously announced for the same places at the same time. Municipal department spokesperson Jana Pondělíčková informed the Czech News Agency of the decision today.Another assembly by right-wing radicals will evidently go forward in Ostrava on that same day, as it was announced for different locations than the Romani march.  full story

Czech Republic: Residential hotels in Příbram fail inspection, are a "time bomb"

Příbram, 14.8.2013 17:49, (ROMEA) The residential hotels in the Czech town of Příbram have become a topic for public discussion there. They are run by the Stavus firm, which is providing shelter to roughly 500 people in the facilities.  full story

Czech Republic: Yet another person commits self-harm, tells police a "dark-skinned male" did it

České Budějovice, 14.8.2013 17:21, (ROMEA) Detectives in České Budějovice have quickly solved yet another case of an alleged hold-up in which the assailant was said to have been a "dark-skinned male". The story was invented by a 30-year-old man trying to resolve his personal problems through the fabricated incident.  full story

Exhibition of Czech-Roma flags on embankment in Prague targeted with graffiti

Prague, 13.8.2013 21:27, (ROMEA) Some time during the late night hours of 11 August and the early morning hours of 12 August, the exhibition entitled "Selection Procedure for Czech-Roma Flag" in the outdoor space of the Artwall gallery was damaged. The project, by Slovak artist Tomáš Rafa, presents seven designs for a Czech-Roma flag. It is his critical response to the fact that Romani people are not considered Czech by the majority society and therefore find themselves in forced isolation in the Czech Republic  full story

Analysis: Two towns in one - where is Duchcov heading?

Duchcov, 13.8.2013 0:19, (ROMEA) The town of Duchcov in the Czech Republic today is running as if it were two separate municipalities with different administrations. The northern, wealthier section is well-financed from public resources, with well-maintained buildings, services and shops, a new sports field, and publicly subsidized activities for adults, children, and youth. Most of the practical resolutions adopted by the municipal council focus on that part of town.  full story

Czech Police Inspector-General doesn't know who released video of assault in Duchcov, but DSSS seems to

Prague, 10.8.2013 2:09, (ROMEA) According to a report published by news server iDNES.cz, the Inspector-General of the Security Forces has shelved its investigation into the release of a video capturing an assault committed by several Romani people against a non-Romani married couple in the town of Duchcov earlier this year. Police say they did not succeed in determining who was behind the release of the footage to the media.  full story

Czech Republic: Neo-Nazis repeatedly assault Romani social worker in Duchcov

Duchcov, 10.8.2013 1:22, (ROMEA) Jan Dufek and Jindřich "Pinďa" Svoboda, two antigypsyists known for having said they want Romani people to be murdered off, have been targeting Štefan Horvát of Duchcov, who works for the Květina (Flower) civic association as a field social worker. Horvát says these men have been the protagonists in two incidents of both physical and verbal assault against him.  full story

Czech Republic: Projectiles fired at Romani people at the Máj housing estate

České Budějovice, 7.8.2013 22:52, (ROMEA) Last Saturday evening at the Máj housing estate in České Budějovice, someone used either a popgun or a slingshot to fire projectiles at a small group of Romani people. Fortunately, no one was physically injured.  full story

Commentary: Are Czech academics and politicians giving cover to neo-Nazis?

Prague, 7.8.2013 15:44, (ROMEA) Prior to this past weekend's neo-Nazi demonstration in Vítkov, sociologist Jan Keller participated in a press briefing convened by the Moravian-Silesian Regional Police on the issue. His controversial comments there have prompted a great deal of response (video of the briefing, in Czech only, is available at http://www.romea.cz/cz/zpravodajstvi/martin-fafejta-dava-jan-keller-kryti-ceskym-nackum-a-kryji-je-cesti-politici).  full story

Czech Republic: Director of Lidice Memorial rejects criticism from relatives of Lety victims

Prague, 6.8.2013 22:30, (ROMEA) The relatives of the victims of the Romani Holocaust and several other Romani organizations believe the Lidice Memorial is not administering the remembrance site at Lety by Písek in an appropriate, sensitive way. They are bothered by the online presentation of the memorial and the information placards at the site of the former Nazi concentration camp for Romani people, none of which mentions the ongoing presence of a pig farm at the site.  full story

Statement on management of the Lety memorial from Committee for the Redress of the Roma Holocaust

Prague, 6.8.2013 20:39, (ROMEA) The relatives of the Romani victims of the Holocaust and several Romani organizations have issued a statement expressing their opinion that the Lidice Memorial (Památník Lidice) is not administering the remembrance site at Lety by Písek in an appropriate, sensitive manner. News server Romea.cz publishes the statement here in full translation.  full story

videoCzech Republic: Police detain three people, confiscate 22 weapons during neo-Nazi event in Vítkov

Vítkov, 3.8.2013 22:42, (ROMEA) Speaking to journalists after today's anti-Romani march was over, Tomáš Kužel, director of the Moravian-Silesian Regional Police, told journalists that during today's demonstration in Vítkov (Opava district) police officers detained three people and confiscated 22 weapons, but there were no clashes of a more serious nature. About 200 people attended the right-wing extremist assembly, but not all of them participated in the march. Around 200 police officers supervised public order during the event.  full story

Open letter from expatriate Roma in England and international organizations to the Government of the Czech Republic

London, 3.8.2013 21:35, (ROMEA) On the occasion of the International Day of the Roma Holocaust, Romani associations and initiatives based in England and elsewhere have sent the following letter to the Government of the Czech Republic in response to growing anti-Romani sentiment there. News server Romea.cz publishes the letter in full translation below:  full story

videoCzech Republic: 200 people at neo-Nazi assembly in Vítkov, minimal police intervention needed

Vítkov, 3.8.2013 20:25, (ROMEA) The 6 000-strong town of Vítkov (Opava district) has experienced only two of the three assemblies that had been announced as taking place there today. Neo-Nazis came to the town and marched through its streets, including past the site of one of the worst racist attacks in the Czech Republic ever.  full story

Czech Republic: Blokujeme! platform says it is blocking racist ideas, not people

Vítkov, 3.8.2013 18:44, (ROMEA) The Blokujeme! platform has issued the following press release:  full story

Czech Republic: Religious service against hatred in Prague 3 August

Prague, 3.8.2013 1:23, (ROMEA) On Saturday 3 August at 19:30 in the Saint Martin in the Wall Church (Martinská 8) in Prague there will be a religious service in support of the people in Vítkov and everywhere else in the Czech Republic who are suffering from increasing intolerance and racism. The service will be led by Magdaléna Šipková, a student of the Protestant Theological Faculty, Charles University.  full story

Czech Republic: Non-Roma and Roma from Ostrava express solidarity but will not go to Vítkov tomorrow

Ostrava, 2.8.2013 23:57, (ROMEA) A group of non-Roma and Roma from Ostrava has issued a press release expressing their solidarity with the Romani community in Vítkov and their support for coexistence there, but have decided not to attend the protest events against the neo-Nazis that are scheduled to take place there tomorrow (Saturday 3 August). "We want to prevent conflicts and incidents. We will not play the radicals' game, and therefore we will not participate in their actions in Vítkov," the press release reads. News server Romea.cz publishes it in full translation below.  full story

Amnesty International and ERRC call on Czech Government to protect Romani people

Budapest/Prague, 2.8.2013 23:07, (ROMEA) Human rights organizations Amnesty International (AI) and the European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) have called on the Czech Republic to protect Romani people from terror and violence. The organizations published their joint declaration in response to the planned anti-Romani demonstrations that await the Czech Republic in the coming days.  full story