News

European NGOs protest nominee for Education Commissioner

Brussels, 26.9.2014 23:13, (ROMEA) In an open letter to President-elect of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker, a coalition of European civil society networks and organizations say they consider the nomination of Tibor Navracsicsas as Commissioner for Education, Youth, Culture and Citizenship to be completely unacceptable. The NGOs say Navracsics was a proponent of policies implemented by Hungarian Prime Minister Orbán that contravene EU treaties, policies such as the constitutional reform process last year and media reforms in 2011 that Brussels itself criticized.  full story

International civil society welcomes EU action against Czech Republic over Roma educational segregation

Brussels/Budapest/London, 26.9.2014 22:11, (ROMEA) International civil society organizations have applauded Brussels' announcement that it is initiating infringement proceedings against the Czech Republic over its discrimination against Romani children in their access to education. The Open Society Foundations in London, the European Roma Rights Centre in Budapest, and the European Roma Information Office in Brussels all welcomed the decision.  full story

Romania: Yet another vulnerable Roma community evicted in the capital

Bucharest, Romania, 26.9.2014 21:41, (ROMEA) On 15 September 2014, over 100 Roma women, men, and children were evicted from their homes on Vulturilor Street in Bucharest. Demolition of the buildings began that same day.  full story

ROMEA holding training to improve image of Roma in the media

Prague, 26.9.2014 20:31, (ROMEA) ROMEA, o.p.s., in collaboration with the College of Media and Journalism in Prague (Vyšší odborná škola publicistiky), is holding a media training focused on practical skills for communicating with various kinds of media. The training will be given by professional journalists Roman Bradáč and Václav Sochor.  full story

Czech town's bulletin intentionally racist in runup to local elections

Albrechtice, 26.9.2014 19:33, (ROMEA) Albrechtice in the Jizerský Mountains may just be a small community, but we too have a municipal bulletin. If it were to be read by someone impartial, he or she would probably see it as a cross between a 1950's magazine promoting the "building of socialism" and a tabloid paper.  full story

Czech EdMin protests Brussels' criticism, AI confirms Roma are discriminated

Brussels/Prague, 26.9.2014 18:35, (ROMEA) New requirements from the European Commission regarding the education of Romani children in the Czech Republic have prompted a great outcry. Both the Czech Education Ministry and several NGOs that have long been involved in the problem have responded to the news.  full story

Czech Roma Holocaust victims and their relatives file criminal charges against MP

Prague, 26.9.2014 0:28, (ROMEA) The chair of the Committee for the Redress of the Roma Holocaust (Výbor pro odškodnění romského holocaustu - VPORH), Mr Čeněk Růžička, the ROMEA, o.p.s. organization, Mr Miroslav Kováč of the Equal Opportunities Party and Mr Michal Miko of the Slovo 21 association filed criminal charges against Czech MP Tomio Okamura on 2 September for the statements he made on the eve of the Roma Holocaust Remembrance Day doubting the existence of the so-called "gypsy camp" at Lety by Písek and downplaying the deaths of the hundreds imprisoned there, including children. The charges were filed by Mr Kováč and Mr Růžička in person at the District State Prosecutor for Prague 5 and included extensive appendices documenting the merits of their submission and the publicly available historical information that Okamura either ignored or even lied about in his public statement.  full story

Czech NGO says new law will force preschool clubs for impoverished children to close

Prague, 25.9.2014 23:33, (ROMEA) On 23 September the Czech lower house approved a ministerial draft of a law on children's groups. The terms of that legislation, according to the Czech NGO People in Need, establish insurmountable barriers to the operation of preschool clubs that provide a chance for at-risk children to succeed in the Czech education system and find skilled employment as adults.  full story

Czech town that repeated elections three times may see vote-buying again

Krupka, 25.9.2014 19:13, (ROMEA) News server iDNES.cz reports that in the town of Krupka (Teplice district), where the most recent local elections had to be repeated three times because of vote-buying, locals are again receiving reports that parties are planning to offer to buy votes. Some local political associations are training members of the local electoral commission on how to spot vote-buying and are planning to patrol the streets during the elections.  full story

AI: EU action against Czech Republic for discrimination in schools is a victory for rights, justice, and Roma

London, 25.9.2014 19:05, (ROMEA) Amnesty International today welcomed the European Commission’s announcement that it would use its powers to initiate infringement proceedings against the Czech Republic for breaching European Union (EU) anti-discrimination legislation.  full story

Czech Foundation against Corruption: Vote-buying has begun

Prague, 25.9.2014 18:31, (ROMEA) Purely by accident, I ran into two homeless people sitting on a bench who were very grateful for the twenty crowns I gave them. After conversing for some time, they admitted that they are usually exploited during elections here, as it is impossible for them to refuse an offer of CZK 500 for their vote.  full story

Czech legislation to curb housing benefit abuses by residential hotel landlords

Prague, 25.9.2014 17:56, (ROMEA) The disbursal of housing benefits to tenants of residential hotels is evidently about to be limited. According to an amendment to the law on aid to those in material distress drafted by the Government, the state would calculate such benefits provided directly to the operators of residential hotels based on the space being rented, not on the number of people living in a unit.  full story

Interview with REF grantee Filip Sivák: The world is not a story of good and evil

Prague, 25.9.2014 0:06, (ROMEA) This year Filip Sivák represented the Czech Republic in the Social Enterprise Summer School in the USA as part of a scholarship program funded by the American and Czech governments. This winter he will resume his Bachelor's studies at the Electrical Engineering Faculty of the Czech Technical University in Prague.  full story

Alica Heráková: Local elections and the Romani political scene - who will succeed?

Brno, 24.9.2014 21:18, (ROMEA) A year ago we were voting for the Czech Parliament, this past May we voted for the European Parliament, and ahead of us, in this superelectoral year of 2014, we now have elections to municipal councils and the Senate. In addition to victories by the left and the success of Andrej Babiš, the current results point to one more fact: The Romani political scene is forming and rearranging itself, but it has not yet succeeded in earning success.  full story

Czech Republic: NGOs say vote-buying will repeat this year in excluded localities

Prague, 24.9.2014 19:48, (ROMEA) The NGOs Foundation against Corruption (Nadační fond proti korupci - NFPK), Our Politicians (Naši politici - NP), Oživení (Renewal) and Transparency International are monitoring the manipulation of the upcoming local and Senate elections. "We have clear indications that both vote-buying and the intentional relocation of voters will be taking place in the upcoming elections," representatives of these organizations said today.  full story

Europol rescues 30 Romani children from traffickers in continent-wide raid

The Hague, 24.9.2014 19:19, (ROMEA) The European Union's law enforcement agency, Europol, has intervened in 34 countries including the Czech Republic and arrested 1 027 people in the biggest raid against organized crime in its history. Under the leadership of Europol, the operation, called Archimedes, lasted nine days and focused primarily on drugs, fraud, human trafficking, tax evasion and theft.  full story

Czech NGO says most women ever running in local elections

Prague, 23.9.2014 22:13, (ROMEA) The representation of women in local politics is expected to slightly rise after the elections. The most women ever in the history of the Czech Republic - 32.23 % - are candidates.  full story

Czech Republic: EU citizens from abroad may vote in local elections

Prague, 23.9.2014 21:36, (ROMEA) Foreigners in the Czech Republic who are citizens of EU Member States may participate in the municipal elections this year even if they only have temporary residency and not statutory permanent residency, according to the State Election Commission (SEC). The recommendation was made in accordance with last Friday's verdict handed down by the Regional Court in Brno.  full story

Analysis: Trial of violent death of Romani man at hands of Czech Police involves witness suicide attempt

Kynšperk/Sokolov, 23.9.2014 19:29, (ROMEA) In mid-September the trial of police officers from the town of Kynšperk resumed at the District Court in Sokolov. The Plzeň Regional State Prosecutor charged them with negligently causing the 2012 death of Mr Ľudovít Kašpar, a Romani man also from Kynšperk.  full story

Czech Trade Inspection Authority finds 19 cases of discrimination, five against Roma

Prague, 23.9.2014 17:41, (ROMEA) The Czech Trade Inspection Authority (CTIA) has announced that it discovered 19 cases of consumer discrimination during its monitoring in the first half of this year. In addition to discrimination against Romani people, inspectors also found problems with behavior toward Russians.  full story