News

Czech con artist Kohout lies about support from famous figures

Prague, 20.8.2014 22:19, (ROMEA) Lukáš Kohout, who says he is running for mayor of the Czech town of Varnsdorf, has perpetrated yet another trick. His website lists the names of famous figures from cultural and political life along with quotes that supposedly express their appreciation and support of him.  full story

Hungary: Jewish Nobel laureate not "Hungarian enough" for the ultra-right

Budapest, 20.8.2014 16:00, (ROMEA) Imre Kertész, a Hungarian author with Jewish roots who is a Nobel laureate, will receive the Order of St. Stephen, Hungary's highest state honor, today. The Fascist party "Movement for a Better Hungary" (Jobbik), is opposed to his receiving it and has written an open letter on the subject to Hungarian President János Áder.  full story

Gwendolyn Albert: Seven UN agencies issue joint statement on stopping forced, coercive, and involuntary sterilization

Imperial Beach, California (USA), 20.8.2014 15:20, (ROMEA) In May 2014, seven UN agencies - the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, UNAIDS, the United Nations Development Programme, UNICEF, the United Nations Population Fund, UN Women and the World Health Organization – jointly issued an interagency statement on eliminating forced, coercive and involuntary sterilization. The document reviews the many circumstances under which children, men and women have been sterilized against their will around the world and provides clear guidance to governments and the medical profession on how to bring these human rights abuses to an end.  full story

Allison Brown: Understanding Ferguson

New York, 20.8.2014 15:10, (ROMEA) The fire in Ferguson, Missouri continues to burn. More than a week after an unarmed black teenager was fatally shot in the street by a white police officer, the situation in the suburban St. Louis community remains tense. Attempts to mourn the passing of Michael Brown and protest his death have been complicated by looters and the presence of a militarized police force, outfitted with tear gas and rubber bullets. Local law enforcement has been supplanted by state troopers; early Monday morning, Gov. Jay Nixon called in the Missouri National Guard, even as the Justice Department and the FBI moved in to further investigate the shooting. By day’s end, President Obama had weighed in, and dispatched Attorney General Eric Holder to the scene.  full story

Czech trial of eight charged with promoting neo-Nazism to resume

Prague, 20.8.2014 2:14, (ROMEA) The District Court for Prague 1 will be returning on 6 October to the case of the former members of the now-defunct Workers' Party (Dělnická strana - DS) and other right-wing extremists who have been charged with promoting neo-Nazism. The scheduling was announced by www.justice.cz, which is the official website of the Czech judiciary.  full story

Czech trial of two Romani men charged with throwing paving stones at their neighbors

Plzeň, 20.8.2014 1:45, (ROMEA) Yesterday the Regional Court in Plzeň began reviewing the case of 20-year-old David Matuš and his 34-year-old uncle, Radek Matuš, who have been charged with attacking their neighbors this past March in the town of Strýčkovice (Domažlice district). The two Romani men, who according to the indictment attacked their neighbors with paving stones and rocks and threatened to kill them, face up to five years in prison if convicted.  full story

Czech hospitals refuse medical records to women sterilized against their will

Prague, 19.8.2014 18:35, (ROMEA) Several hospitals in the Czech Republic are reportedly refusing to give women who were sterilized in their facilities without their informed consent the medical records of those procedures. In some cases records are said to no longer exist because they were destroyed during recent floods.  full story

Markus Pape: What brings Europe's Roma together

Auschwitz/Prague, 18.8.2014 19:54, (ROMEA) The annual assemblies of Romani people that are Europe-wide in scope can be counted on the fingers of one hand. One such gathering is for the commemoration of the largest single massacre of Romani people during the Nazi era.  full story

Czech con artist who organized anti-Romani protest to serve 10 months in prison

Česká Lípa, 18.8.2014 18:17, (ROMEA) The notorious con artist Lukáš Kohout must serve the remaining 10 months of the 28-month prison sentence he received after he was convicted of having impersonated an assistant to then-Czech Foreign Minister Jan Kavan, also the chair of the UN General Assembly, and flying to exotic countries during 2002 with state money. The decision of the District Court in Česká Lípa has taken effect.  full story

Ukraine: Neo-Nazis from Right Sector threaten armed march on Kiev

Kiev, 18.8.2014 16:17, (ROMEA) A sharp conflict has broken out between the leadership of the Ukrainian Interior Ministry and the commander of the neo-Nazi group Right Sector, Dmytro Yarosh. The Ukrainian press reports that Yarosh has accused Interior Minister Arsen Avakov of "counter-revolution" and has threatened an armed march on Kiev.  full story

Interview with Romani American William Bila about the Roma Holocaust

Kraków, Poland, 17.8.2014 20:11, (ROMEA) Slovak news server SME.sk published an interview on 12 August with William Bila, a Romani man living in New York whose parents fled Slovakia after Warsaw Pact troops invaded Czechoslovakia in 1968. Bila (45) studied management and has worked for auditing companies.  full story

videoCzech Republic: Prague Pride attended by 17 000, including Roma

Prague, 17.8.2014 2:34, (ROMEA) The LGBT pride parade that marched through Prague from Wenceslas Square to the Letná Park on Saturday, 16 August was attended by anywhere between 15 000 and 17 000 well-wishers of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual community, a slight decline from last year's numbers. Bohdana Rambousková, speaking on behalf of the organizers, told the Czech News Agency that the lower attendance was evidently influenced by the weather.  full story

UK PM may lose next elections because he neglects minorities, critic says

London, 16.8.2014 21:29, (ROMEA) In an interview last weekend published by the Independent and The Sunday Times, former Deputy Foreign Secretary Sayeeda Warsi, who was once a co-chair of the governing Conservative Party, said British PM David Cameron's party could lose the next elections because he neglects voters from ethnic minorities. Warsi had just resigned over her disagreement with the UK government's policy on Gaza.  full story

Czech Republic: Romani film festival Čačikano coming to Prague

Prague, 16.8.2014 0:11, (ROMEA) This fall the Světozor cinema in Prague will be welcoming the first-ever year of the Čačikano film festival (www.cacikano.cz), which focuses on Romani themes. The festival will take place on 26 and 27 September 2014.  full story

videoHungary: Second annual BUVERO camp for young Romani women underway

Dunavarsány, Hungary, 15.8.2014 23:35, (ROMEA) The second year of BUVERO, the Romedia Foundation's summer camp for young Romani women is underway from 9-23 August in Dunavarsány, Hungary. This year the number of participants has doubled and24 young Romani women are attending what the foundation calls an "intense and rewarding learning experience".  full story

videoVIDEO: Assembly against racism in front of the residential hotel in Děčín

Děčín, 15.8.2014 18:50, (ROMEA) In Děčín an anti-Romani demonstration took place on 13 August 2014 that was convened by Lukáš Kohout, who has been convicted of fraud several times. About 200 people turned up on the town square for that event, while in front of a residential hotel in Zelená Street about 50 people gathered for an assembly against racism.  full story

Czech conservatives, neo-Nazis to protest LGBT pride event tomorrow

Prague, 15.8.2014 18:42, (ROMEA) Conservatives and neo-Nazis are planning to protest the pride march by the LGBT community that will be the final event tomorrow of the Prague Pride festivals. The protesters are planning to meet at the statue of St. Václav on Wenceslas Square in Prague, where the parade participants will also be lining up.  full story

Slovakia: Roma plan to demonstrate for better conditions

Bratislava, Slovakia, 15.8.2014 0:44, (ROMEA) Romani people in Slovakia are planning to organize a series of demonstrations this fall to draw attention to the longstanding oppressive social situation of the members of this large minority. František Tanko, head of the Romani Union Party in Slovakia, which is not in Parliament, informed the press of the plans on 11 August.  full story

Come help us with Romea.cz! ROMEA seeks journalists

Prague, 15.8.2014 0:04, (ROMEA) We are looking for journalists who would like to help us improve the contant of news server Romea.cz and contribute to the magazine Romano voďi. Applicants should also be able to place pieces with other media outlets as well.  full story

Romania: Cif ad campaign gets rid of offensive, racist graffiti

Romania, 14.8.2014 21:54, (ROMEA) The Unilever company, which owns the Cif brand, has contributed to the removal of offensive, racist graffiti in Romania through a new ad campaign. Through a simple mobile application for smart phones, many people have become involved in the effort.  full story