News

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

Czech EP vote turnout very low

Prague, 24.5.2014 20:28, (ROMEA) The Czech News Agency reports that interest in the elections to the European Parliament in the Czech Republic is very low, with election commissioners reporting on Saturday afternoon that less than 15 % of the electorate had turned out on average. This could ultimately be a record-low level of participation.  full story

Meet the EU Parliament’s (Likely) First-Elected Feminist Party Member

Stockholm, 24.5.2014 17:36, (ROMEA) Europe's parliamentary elections are expected to end this weekend with a surprising first: The first-ever member elected from a feminist party to the European Parliament. Less surprising is the likely MEP’s country of origin, Sweden. The bastion of gender equality has a nine-year-old feminist political party, the Feminist Initiative (which also has outposts in Germany and France), and it is on track to secure the 4 percent of the country’s vote necessary to send a representative to the EU’s legislative body. At the top of the party’s batting order is Soraya Post, 57, a longtime human rights activist who spoke to the Cut from Stockholm, where she’s wrapping up her campaign.  full story

Czech director: Roma are fighting mistrust and prejudice, they don't have much chance for a better life

Cannes, 23.5.2014 21:28, (ROMEA) Czech filmmakers have waited 16 years for a production from their country to be invited to the world's most prestigious international film festival at Cannes. In 1998, the film "The Bed" ("Postel") was screened there and then, with the exception of a few student films during special screenings, Czech films have only been presented to the domestic film market.  full story

Switzerland: Hitler salute in public not always a crime

Lausanne, Switzerland, 23.5.2014 20:37, (ROMEA) According to the Swiss Supreme Court, giving the Nazi salute is not an unpermitted act of racist discrimination if the gesture is meant solely as an expression of personal conviction. The Associated Press reports that the court has released a ruling entitled "Hitler salute in public not always punishable".  full story

Slovakia: Renowned Hollywood composer supports Romani EP candidate

Bratislava, Slovakia, 23.5.2014 19:45, (ROMEA) Hans Zimmer, a composer of music for big Hollywood films such as "Batman", "The Da Vinci Code", "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "Gladiator" has launched a video supporting Stanislav Daniel, a Romani candidate for the European Parliament running for the OĽaNO movement. "At first I was surprised that it actually happened and that the video in which the famous Hans Zimmer recommends voting for Stano Daniel made it into the world. Another great surprise was that the media picked it up. Thousands of people have seen the video and the article about it. This isn't just about publicizing Stano Daniel as an MEP candidate, but about publicizing him as Romani without negative imagery or unnecessary sensationalism," Daniel told news server Romea.cz on 21 May, several hours before voting began in Slovakia.  full story

Czech Republic: "Slaves of Justice", about Hungarian hate crime trial, performed this Sunday

Prague, 23.5.2014 19:06, (ROMEA) "Slaves of Justice" is a musical cabaret show based on a 1 200-page transcript of an actual trial and more than 100 hours of testimony, in which 12 laypersons rule on a case from real life. This third documentary project by the PanoDrama group examines the judiciary with a special emphasis on minorities.  full story

Hungary: Town offers impoverished Roma money to move away

Miskolc, Hungary, 23.5.2014 18:17, (ROMEA) Czech Radio reports that municipal councilors in the northern Hungarian town of Miskolc have resolved to make a controversial offer to the residents of impoverished neighborhoods predominantly inhabited by Romani people. On the pretext of razing ghettos, they are planning to dedicate up to 2 million Hungarian forints (EUR 6 600) to every family that moves away from the town and promises not to move back there for at least the next five years.  full story

video Let's stop hate online! New campaign called "I don't masturhate" is launched

Prague, 23.5.2014 17:44, (ROMEA) The internet is becoming more and more flooded with displays of hate bothering everyone who wants to go online, whether it be for entertainment, to seek information, or to work, and such hatred has a dangerous influence on children and youth. Now the ROMEA NGO is bringing to the Czech Republic an international campaign called "I don't masturhate", the aim of which is to create a friendly, tolerant online environment and eliminate hate on the internet.  full story

Czech NGOs thank EdMin for proposing amendment to improve education of the disadvantaged

Prague, 23.5.2014 16:41, (ROMEA) The Czech Education Ministry intends to propose an amendment to the School Act, and 16 figures from educational organizations and NGOs have written an open letter in support of the idea, saying it will greatly "contribute toward improving the situation in the education of children with medical or social disadvantage whom the existing system has not yet managed to satisfactorily support. In practice, this should improve prevention of school failure, long-term school failure in particular, which the current education system does not know how to effectively address."  full story

Slovakia: Rapper Rytmus condemns TV moderator - "Hitler would be proud of her"

Bratislava, Slovakia, 22.5.2014 22:06, (ROMEA) The popular rapper named Rytmus has harshly criticized Slovak TV anchor Kristína Kormúthová for publishing a racist status update tartgeting Romani people on her Facebook profile. Kormúthová has had to leave public broadcaster RTVS because of the message and will no longer be the face of a fashion show to be held in Bratislava as part of the International Gypsy Fest there.  full story

EP elections underway, Mr Le Pen says Ebola virus would "solve" the "population explosion"

EU, 22.5.2014 21:06, (ROMEA) Elections to the European Parliament have begun throughout the EU. The first to vote today as of 7:30 AM CET were the Dutch, with Britons opening the polls at 8:00 AM.  full story