Czech Republic

Czech lower house approves residency ban for misdemeanors

ROMEA, 19.12.2012 17:23, (ROMEA) News server iDNES.cz reports that local authorities in the Czech Republic will now be able to ban people from residency for up to three months as a punishment for selected repeated misdemeanors. The lower house overturned a previous veto of the bill by Czech President Václav Klaus today. Klaus called the bill, initiated by Czech MP Ivana Řápková (Civic Democrats - ODS), rash, obviously populist, and possibly unconstitutional.  full story

ROMEA acceptance speeches at Alice Garrigue Masaryk Award ceremony

Prague, 13.12.2012 6:24, (ROMEA) Today US Ambassador Norman Eisen gave the 2012 Alice Garrigue Masaryk Award to representatives of the ROMEA civic association at the American Center in Prague on the occasion of International Human Rights Day.  full story

videoROMEA receives award from U.S. Ambassador to the Czech Republic

Prague, 13.12.2012 5:11, (ROMEA) The ROMEA civic association has become the most recent recipient of the Alice Garrigue Masaryk Award, named after the oldest daughter of the first president of Czechoslovakia. The award, which was given to representatives of the association by the US ambassador on Wednesday, 12 December 2012, is announced annually on the occasion of International Human Rights Day, which has been marked on 10 December world wide since 1950.  full story

Czech town, Romani residents want playground, other residents object

Neškaredice, Kutná Hora, 12.12.2012 17:49, (ROMEA) News server Deník.cz reports that the Kutná Hora town hall and a local Romani civic association called Čercheň want to renovate a sports field in the quarter of Neškaredice. Other local residents are not in favor of the idea.  full story

Romani activist not chosen for Czech Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes

Prague, 12.12.2012 16:38, (ROMEA) The board of the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes (Ústav pro studium totalitních režimů - ÚSTR) has seated its new members: Archivist Emílie Benešová, political scientist Lukáš Jelínek, sociologist and municipal politician Michal Uhl (Green Party), and the chair of the Confederation of Political Prisoners (Konfederace politických vězňů), Naděžda Kavalírová. Čeněk Růžička was one of more than 30 candidates considered, but was not ultimately appointed.  full story

Czech Republic: Alice Garrigue Masaryk Award goes to ROMEA this year

Prague, 10.12.2012 16:25, (ROMEA) On the occasion of the anniversary of International Human Rights Day, US Ambassador Norman Eisen will present the Alice Garrigue Masaryk Award to representatives of the ROMEA civic association on Wednesday, 12 December 2012 at 18:00 CET in the American Center in Prague. The US Embassy in Prague is giving the Alice Garrigue Masaryk Award for 2012 to the ROMEA association for its longtime promotion of human rights matters of concern to Romani people in the Czech Republic.  full story

AI calls on Czech Republic to halt segregation of Romani children

Prague, 11.12.2012 16:47, (ROMEA) The human rights organization Amnesty International (AI) is criticizing the Czech Government for continuing to take a discriminatory approach toward the education of Romani children. Last week the Council of Europe also called on the Czech Republic to rapidly abolish the segregation of Romani children in education.  full story

Czech Govt compensates another woman over illegal sterilization

Prague, 11.12.2012 16:15, (ROMEA) The Czech Government has settled out of court with a woman who complained to the European Court of Human Rights that she had been illegally sterilized. In addition to compensation of EUR 10 000, the agreement includes the concession that the government was at fault. The League of Human Rights is calling on the Government to face up to the controversial history of illegal sterilizations in the Czech lands and to compensate other such women who cannot sue because of statutes of limitations.  full story

Czech town says local "militia" is not useful

Chomutov, 11.12.2012 15:53, (ROMEA) The mayor of Chomutov has announced that after a half a year of activity, the town's local militia has not measured up. Former municipal police officer Petr Kubaczka established the militia this past summer to great media fanfare after his daughter was assaulted in a park there.  full story

Council of Europe supports Czech measures to implement D. H. judgment

Prague, 10.12.2012 23:13, (ROMEA) The Czech Education Ministry has issued the following press release, which news server Romea.cz presents in translation:  full story

Czech NGOs lobby to preserve human rights agenda on international day

Prague, 10.12.2012 17:41, (ROMEA) Human rights defenders are demanding that the Czech Prime Minister instruct his cabinet not to go through with budget cuts to the Office of the Government and not to transfer its advisory boards to various ministries. They are concerned that human rights protections in the Czech Republic will deteriorate as a result.  full story

Czech Senator Čunek chairing Senate Subcommittee on Human Rights

Prague, 10.12.2012 16:58, (ROMEA) Czech Senator Jiří Čunek has been appointed chair of the Senate Subcommittee on Human Rights and Equal Opportunity, which some may find a surprising choice. The appointment took place on 6 December when the Senate approved the change. Čunek will now take over the subcommittee, replacing former chair Miluše Horská, who has been elected Vice-Chair of the Senate.  full story

Czech Govt Agency for Social Inclusion: Field social work in Sokolov a success

Sokolov, 8.12.2012 18:38, (ROMEA) The Czech Government Agency for Social Inclusion has issued the following press release, which Romea.cz is providing in translation:  full story

Hitler's selected speeches published in Czech translation

Brno, 8.12.2012 18:04, (ROMEA) A selection of speeches made by the Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler between 1939 and 1942 has been released in the Czech language. Publisher and translator Pavel Kamas told the Czech Press Agency that he wanted to provide people with these speeches, which have been practically unavailable before now, so they could freely form their own opinions of them. Experts contacted by the Czech Press Agency have pointed out that the speeches are propaganda tools and could be misleading if not accompanied by expert commentary.  full story

Czech Govt Agency for Social Inclusion: Housing system in Litvínov a success

Litvínov, 7.12.2012 17:22, (ROMEA) The Czech Government Agency for Social Inclusion has issued the following press release:  full story

Czech police errors result in acquittal of neo-Nazis who assaulted Romani men

Hradec Králové, 6.12.2012 22:33, (ROMEA) An appeals court in Hradec Králové has rejected the appeal of state prosecutor Alexandr Pumprla in the case of Romani men who were beaten up in Nový Bydžov last year and has left intact the acquittal handed down by the district court. "The reason was lack of evidence. The blame primarily lies with police, who performed the suspect identification procedure poorly," David Oplatek of the In IUSTITIA organization, told news server Romea.cz.  full story

Romani scholar: Czech press reports on Romani origins oversimplify, promote stereotypes

Prague, 5.12.2012 17:57, (ROMEA) The Czech Press Agency has published an article on the genetic origins of Romani people in Europe which seems to be very imprecise. According to the wire service, Romani people in Europe are descended from the "Dalit caste" in India, which reportedly represents the lowest level in the professional caste hierarchy there. The ancestors of today's Romani people are said to have left the Indian subcontinent 1 000 years ago. The British newspaper The Daily Telegraph has also reported that these claims have been proven by a new genetic study.  full story

Czech Hockey Fans' Fair Play Charter now addresses racism

Czech Republic, 5.12.2012 16:30, (ROMEA) Hockey clubs in the Czech Extraliga have published the Hockey Fans' Fair Play Charter (Charta fair play hokejového fanouška) on their web pages condemning racism at stadiums and in everyday life. Hockey fans now have the opportunity to sign the charter as well.  full story

videoCzech Govt Agency for Social Inclusion reports positive results

Most, 4.12.2012 16:34, (ROMEA) The Czech Government Agency for Social Inclusion has issued the following press release:  full story

videoCzech Republic: How Ústí nad Labem treats the poorest of the poor

Ústí nad Labem, Předlice, 4.12.2012 0:26, (ROMEA) Ústí nad Labem: An inversion layer hangs over the streets. I remember one like it from the days when there was mining in this north Bohemian region, and when much more brown coal was burned there than is today. Now the hard-to-breathe gases are returning to the region, reportedly because local chemical factories are starting up again. The town is grey, with few colors, and even fewer smiles among the passers-by.  full story