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Czech firm only rents ghetto apartments to Romani tenants

Litvínov, 5.6.2014 19:39, (ROMEA) Romani people belong in the ghetto, not among "normal people". According to the testimony of several Romani residents of the Czech town of Litvínov, that seems to be the motto of the private real estate firm CPI BYTY these days.  full story

Czech political prisoners of communism say the Jáchymov concentration camp must be remembered

Jáchymov, 4.6.2014 22:18, (ROMEA) Former political prisoners in the Czech Republic have gathered for the 25th time to commemorate the horrors undergone during the 1950s in the concentration camps at Jáchymov and other uranium mines by thousands of people considered subversives by the communist regime. Speaking in front of the Church of St. Jáchym, Vladimír Chlupáč, who was imprisoned for 9.5 years in Jáchymov, said young people must be constantly reminded of the hell of what went on there, as it is a national disgrace.  full story

Czech Republic: Law should prevent xenophobia online but will be hard to enforce

Prague, 4.6.2014 20:54, (ROMEA) The clogging of virtual space with vulgarities, xenophobic outbursts and identity theft is a problem not just for online social networks, but also for all kinds of online discussion forums beneath articles and videos. Laws are now being developed in the Czech Republic to prevent such excesses on Facebook and in other corners of the digital world.  full story

Greek court refuses repatriation to Bulgarian Romani child

Athens, 4.6.2014 20:10, (ROMEA) A five-year-old Bulgarian Romani girl who was found last year by Greek police in a Romani settlement will continue to be raised by the Greek charity organization Smile of the Child. A court has now rejected a request from the Bulgarian authorities to return the girl to her native country  full story

Czech and Slovak mayors and school directors present social inclusion successes

Prague, 4.6.2014 19:25, (ROMEA) On Monday, 2 June, mayors, school directors and people from the NNO sector in the Czech Republic and Slovakia who have experience with including socially excluded residents of their communities gathered in the Lichtenstein Palace in Prague for a conference under the auspices of Czech Human Rights Minister Jiří Dienstbier. Czech Labor and Social Affairs Minister Michaela Marksová Tominová also addressed the conference.  full story

Czech Republic: Khamoro World Roma Festival closes with gala concert in Prague

Prague, 4.6.2014 17:51, (ROMEA) Dozens of people watched on Saturday as a painting of a Romani angel was created outside before their eyes on náměstí Republiky (Square of the Republic) in Prague. Romani artist Zoran Tairovic produced the work live as part of the Khamoro World Roma Festival.  full story

Czech NGOs write to FinMin over co-financing of EU-funded social projects

Prague, 4.6.2014 16:48, (ROMEA) Nonprofit organizations in the Czech Republic have written an open letter to Czech Finance Minister Andrej Babiš responding to materials published by the ministry entitled "Rules for co-financing of European Structural and Investment Funds for 2014-2020", which establish binding rules for the financing of projects from the ESIF and have recently undergone an inter-ministerial commenting process. The organizations criticize the ministry's proposal that responsibility for up to 15 % of co-financing be mandatory for participation in ESIF projects.  full story

Germany: Schäuble calls the French FN a fascist party

3.6.2014 22:53, (ROMEA) The ultra-right Front National (FN), which has won the EP elections in France, was called extremist and fascist on Tuesday, 27 May by German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble. FN vice-chair Florian Philippot then responded by demanding that French President François Hollande summon the German ambassador to Paris to demand an explanation.  full story

France: Thousands of students demonstrate against ultra-right

3.6.2014 21:02 The BBC reports that thousands of students have demonstrated in France against the ultra-right party the Front National (FN) led by Marine Le Pen, which won the recent EP elections there. Approximately 4 000 young people gathered in Paris while others protested in Bordeaux, Nantes, in front of the EP in Strasbourg, and in Toulouse.  full story

OSCE conference on equal access to quality education for Roma children in the Czech Republic

Prague, 3.6.2014 20:24, (ROMEA) In the Czech Republic, Romani children comprise 28 % of the pupils attending what were once called the "special schools", according to the most recent research on the issue produced by the Czech Social Inspectorate. Czech Deputy Education Minister Jindřich Fryč presented the results of that research at an international conference on the education of Romani children on 30 May in Prague.  full story

Czech High Court refuses usual compensation to family of murdered Romani man

Prague, 3.6.2014 19:52, (ROMEA) On 28 May the High Court in Prague rejected an appeal regarding the amount of damages to be paid to the surviving relatives of a Romani man from Teplice who was stabbed to death. Stanislav Sýkora, who injured two other Romani men with a knife during the same incident, has been sentenced to five years in prison for involvement in a felony affray.  full story

Czech Govt Inter-ministerial Commission has new vice-chair, David Beňák

Prague, 31.5.2014 8:40, (ROMEA) On 27 May 2014, the first session of the newly-appointed Czech Government Inter-ministerial Commission for Roma Community Affairs was convened. Its members were appointed by a government resolution on 12 May 2014 that also changed the advisory body's statutes.  full story

Czech dramaturg resigns after moderators humiliate Romani musicians on live tv

Brno, 28.5.2014 9:47, (ROMEA) The legendary Czech-Romani funk band Gulo Čar and the Slovak reggae-punk band Smola a Hrušky issued a joint press release yesterday protesting the way in which the moderators of the "Tečka páteční noci" program on Czech Television handled their appearance last Friday just before midnight. The bands say moderator Martin Dušek made humiliating, xenophobic remarks to them during the broadcast.  full story

German President: Diversity must not be destroyed, violence must not triumph

Prague, 27.5.2014 2:01, (ROMEA) On 6 May 2014, German President Joachim Gauck was awarded a gold medal by the Rector of Charles University in Prague, Tomáš Zima. The prize was awarded for his service to the development of cooperation and understanding between nations.  full story

Analysis: Extremists, nationalists, and populists score big gains at EP

European Union, 26.5.2014 22:27, (ROMEA) The elections to the European Parliament have brought the greatest success to date to a wide variety of extremists, nationalists and populists whose popularity has grown. Such groups were particularly victorious in Britain, Denmark and France.  full story

EP: Two Roma MEPs elected

Strasbourg, France, 26.5.2014 17:32, (ROMEA) Roma people will occupy a total of two seats in the newly-elected European Parliament (EP). Soraya Post, a Roma activist and human rights fighter from Sweden, led the candidate list of the Feminist Initiative to victory yesterday.  full story

Britain: Parents from Slovakia sue to halt adoption of their children by gay couple

Britain, 26.5.2014 16:54, (ROMEA) The BBC reports that the parents of two-year-old and four-year-old sons, originally from Slovakia, have been unable to prevent them from being adopted by a British same-sex couple. The children were offered for adoption over concerns about the way their parents were raising them.  full story

Czech EP elections won by ANO, TOP 09, SocDems, Romani parties failed

Prague, 26.5.2014 1:41, (ROMEA) The EP elections have been won in the Czech Republic by the ANO movement with 16.3 % of the vote. The TOP 09 party came in second with 15.95 %, the Czech Social Democrats (ČSSD) third at 14.17 %, the Communists (KSČM) fourth at 10.98 %, the Christian Democrats (KDU-ČSL) fifth at 9.95 % and the Civic Democrats (ODS) sixth at 7.67 % of the vote.  full story

Czech Foreign Ministry says police raid on mosques was in order

Prague, 24.5.2014 21:33, (ROMEA) The Czech Foreign Ministry has told the Czech News Agency that a recent police raid on mosques in Prague did not violate the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. The Indonesian Embassy sent a diplomatic note to the Czech authorities complaining that the police approach violated the convention's stipulation that diplomats may not be arrested or detained in any way.  full story

Netherlands: Wilders' Party for Freedom in fourth place

The Hague, 24.5.2014 21:00, (ROMEA) The eurosceptic right-wing Party for Freedomg (PVV) of Dutch politician Geert Wilders came in a surprising fourth place in the Dutch EP elections yesterday. The preliminary results were reported by state television.  full story