News

Czech media regulator says Prima TV incites fear of Roma, station disagrees

Prague, 6.7.2014 23:10, (ROMEA) News server TÝDEN.cz reports that the Prima television station's recent newscasts in the Czech Republic have confirmed viewers' prejudices against Romani people in at least six cases. The Czech Council for Radio and Television Broadcasting (Rada pro rozhlasové a televizní vysílání - RRTV) has warned the station's operators of the incidents.  full story

Czech Jewish community protests film award to Mel Gibson

Prague, 5.7.2014 17:53, (ROMEA) On Thursday 3 July the Federation of Jewish Communities in the Czech Republic issued a statement addressed to Jiří Bartoška, president of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. The statement expresses their concern and regret over the decision to award the festival's Crystal Globe (Křišťálový globus) award this year to the American actor and director Mel Gibson.  full story

Hate violence and Romani people in the Czech Republic

Prague, 4.7.2014 16:34, (ROMANO VOĎI) According to research by the European Commission, 32 % of Romani people living in the Czech Republic have been physically assaulted or threatened with such an attack because of their nationality. Almost two-thirds of Romani assault victims never reported the attack.  full story

Adoption and foster care: "We had room at the table"

Czech Republic, 4.7.2014 0:46, (ROMANO VOĎI) "My children used ask me, when they were little and we were out shopping, 'Mom, why does that weird man keep walking behind us?' The minute we entered a department store, the security was on our backs. By adopting Romani children, we had become a Czech-Romani family. I used to tell them: 'Well, you know, we are important customers, so we have our own VIP protection.' Today we just laugh when it happens - sometimes I repeat my explanation out loud, and if the security guards are even a bit decent, they leave us alone and stop following us, but of course we encounter greater mistrust everywhere we go," says Martina Vančáková, a mother of four children - two Romani- of her experience in the Czech Republic.  full story

Czech Gov't approves restricting housing subsidies to stop trafficking in poverty

Prague, 2.7.2014 19:27, (ROMEA) The housing supplement provided by the Czech state to tenants in residential hotels should now be provided on the basis of the physical space being used, not per person. Rents should also be limited to the amount usually paid in a particular local area.  full story

Czech Police arrest family gang for allegedly trafficking in heroin

Brno, 2.7.2014 18:50, (ROMEA) Detectives have arrested three people in Brno on suspicion of selling heroin. An 18-year-old girl, her 40-year-old mother-in-law and her 54-year-old uncle are all being prosecuted.  full story

Czech ombud: Towns need state financial aid and active employment policy

Ústí nad Labem, 2.7.2014 18:20, (ROMEA) Today the Czech Public Defender of Rights (ombud) Anna Šabatová visited Předlice, the largest ghetto in Ústí nad Labem, and said the state should aid towns grappling with problems in socially excluded localities. She also said building works authorities should have greater powers and that in necessary cases, properties should be expropriated.  full story

Czech Interior Minister visits ghetto, says housing must improve

Olomouc Region, Czech Republic, 2.7.2014 17:42, (ROMEA) Socially excluded localities and the situation with firefighters and police were the main topics of a visit paid by Czech Interior Minister Milan Chovanec to the Olomouc Region today. The visit was part of the minister's ongoing series of trips to the regions.  full story

Greece now prosecuting all MPs of neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party

Athens, 1.7.2014 18:43, (ROMEA) The Greek justice system has initiated the criminal prosecution of the last of the 16 MPs from the neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn. Charges including membership in a criminal organization have been filed against all of the party's legislators.  full story

Czech Gov't Agency for Social Inclusion ends one three-year cycle, new one begins

Prague, 1.7.2014 18:23, (ROMEA) Yesterday the Czech Government Agency for Social Inclusion concluded eight of its three-year collaborations with local governments to address the issue of social exclusion. Thanks to these agreements, many new services, jobs and other support activities are now being run by these towns and local organizations.  full story

Czech project on local politics shows importance of discussing Roma issues with students

Prague, 30.6.2014 20:10, (ROMANO VOĎI) As part of a project called the "Local Politics Role-Playing Game", we have once again been encountering anti-Romani sentiment among students in Czech high schools. Are these genuinely racist attitudes these students hold, or is this about a lack of communication?  full story

Czech Republic: Arrested neo-Nazi also sought by Austria

Karlovy Vary Region, Czech Republic, 30.6.2014 19:05, (ROMEA) Detectives in the Karlovy Vary Region have begun criminal proceedings against a 41-year-old foreign national for misdemeanor disorderly conduct and expressing sympathy for a movement aimed at suppressing human rights and freedoms. The man charged is said to have committed this behavior this past weekend around midnight in a local restaurant in the town of Hroznětín.  full story

FARE: Homophobia, neo-Nazi symbols going unpunished at World Cup

Brazil, 30.6.2014 18:43, (ROMEA) Eurofotbal.cz reports that despite the fact that FIFA President Sepp Blatter promised discrimination would not be tolerated at the World Cup in Brazil, several fans in the stadiums have been insulting LGBT people or promoting neo-Nazi symbols. FIFA said on Saturday that its disciplinary commission is not currently addressing any of those incidents.  full story

Czech Human Rights Minister: I don't comment on extremists

Prague, 30.6.2014 18:13, (ROMEA) Czech MP Tomio Okamura, the chair of the Úsvit ("Dawn of Direct Democracy") movement, has said he would abolish the post of Minister for Human Rights, Equal Opportunities and Legislation. He believes it is a waste of money.  full story

Czech court says former MP may be sued for inciting anti-Roma hatred

Brno, 30.6.2014 17:40, (ROMEA) Former Czech legislator Otto Chaloupka, who is facing a lawsuit over statements he made about Romani people on the Facebook social networking site, has failed with a request for the case to be exempted from the jurisdiction of law enforcement. The Supreme Court has decided in closed session that the District Court for Prague 1 may hear the case.  full story

Czech-French film about Roma wins main prize at Slovak festival

Bratislava, 30.6.2014 16:43, (ROMEA) The film "Cesta ven" ("The Way Out") by director and screenwriter Petr Václav has won the main prize for Best Film at the Art Film Fest in Slovakia, according to the festival organizers. The story of a young Romani mother refusing to accept her adverse social position was one of 11 films competing in the feature film category.  full story

Slovak Plenipotentiary for Romani Community to run own journal - is it unfair competition?

Bratislava, Slovakia, 28.6.2014 0:21, (ROMEA) The Office of the Slovak Government Plenipotentiary for the Romani Community (Úřad zmocněnce vlády SR pro romskou komunitu - ÚSVRK) will be publishing its own journal under the title Romane Nevipena. The aim of the periodical is get more information to municipalities and field workers participating in projects for the Romani community.  full story

Czech mayor says he hopes Roma newcomers will leave his town soon

Dolní Poustevna, 27.6.2014 23:38, (ROMEA) The mayors of villages throughout the Šluknov foothills recently sent a letter to the Czech Prime Minister asking the state for help and warning that last year's hate marches against Romani people could be repeated again this summer. During the summer of 2011, neo-Nazis convened a series of marches in towns throughout northern Bohemia and outraged citizens from the region, which is afflicted with high unemployment, threatening to lynch Romani people there.  full story

History of an excluded Romani locality in a rich Czech town

České Budějovice, 27.6.2014 22:43, (ROMEA) Exactly one year ago, the town of České Budějovice became proof that social unrest wasn't only happening in troubled areas in the north of the Czech Republic. Czech Radio reports that a study released by the Czech Government Agency for Social Inclusion now shows how this town, one of the wealthiest in the country, became the scene of violent street clashes last year.  full story

Czech court conditionally releases racist murderer of Romani man

Pardubice, 27.6.2014 22:02, (ROMEA) A Czech court has released Vlastimil Pechanec, who was sentenced to 17 years in prison in 2003 for racially motivated murder in the town of Svitavy. Pechanec is leaving prison in Pardubice after serving almost 13 years of his sentence.  full story