Commentary

Norman L. Eisen: 2012 Human Rights Award Ceremony Remarks

Praha, 13.12.2012 6:30, (ROMEA) Ladies and Gentlemen, I am honored to welcome you to the Human Rights Award Ceremony at the US Embassy in Prague.  full story

Czech Senator Gajdůšková: Everyone must receive the same opportunity!

Prague, 28.11.2012 17:16, (ROMEA) I recently convened a round table in the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the European Court of Human Rights handing down its judgment in the case of D.H. and others versus the Czech Republic. In November 2007, the court ruled that the "practical primary schools" (previously called the "special schools") in our country were disadvantaging Romani children.  full story

Commentary: "Yuck, the gypsies touched that!"

Prague, 27.11.2012 0:31, (ROMEA) "Yuck, the gypsies touched that!“ The cry came from the mother of a two-year-old infant. Startled, he burst into tears. He had taken an interest in something on top of a concrete trashcan on the square of a North Bohemian town. The first instruction to leave the trashcan alone didn't end his fascination - he seemed not to have understood it.  full story

Commentary: Sleeping Czech HR Commissioner wakes up too late

Prague, 23.11.2012 22:16, (ROMEA) In the most recent issue of the Insider weekly, Czech Government Human Rights Commissioner Monika Šimůnková has overcome her own limits and decided to take the unusual step of publicly speaking out against planned cuts to the state administration. Surprisingly, what is at issue is criticism of the Human Rights Section, which the Commissioner manages, not a more systemic critique of the mindless cuts across the entire public sphere, as one might expect.  full story

Czech tabloid's skewed reporting almost launches anti-Romani protests

Prague, 20.11.2012 16:57, (ROMEA) The Prostějovský Večerník, a real local tabloid, has published a news item that manipulates its facts so as to instigate anti-Romani sentiment as much as possible. According to the report, Romani assailants allegedly attacked Robert Jedlička, a hockey player for the Prostějov team (the Jestřáby) near the Varna discotheque in the town of Olomouc. Jedlička ended up with a broken nose and brain concussion. The brawl was allegedly preceded by several Romani people shouting foul insults and making vulgar gestures at Jedlička's girlfriend and an acquaintance of hers.  full story

Nils Muižnieks: States must take resolute measures to end school segregation of Roma

Strasbourg , 16.11.2012 10:31, (ROMEA) Roma children are experiencing segregated and substandard education in the school systems in the majority of the 47 Council of Europe member states. The consequences are devastating. It makes it very hard for these children to escape poverty and marginalisation later on in life. Non-integration also generates large – and unnecessary – costs for society at large.  full story

Marksová-Tominová: Czech PM, let human rights alone!

Prague, 14.11.2012 23:53, (ROMEA) The Czech Government is quietly preparing a plan to disperse its human rights agenda among various ministries under the pretext of saving money. It is absurd to even consider cutting the state's budget for human rights. Right now there are already a bare minimum of bureaucrats working on that agenda, most of them at the Agency for Social Inclusion. While the Agency's activities can be criticized, we do not for the time being have a better institution attempting to resolve the desperate situation of people in excluded localities and those living in their vicinity.  full story

Commentary: How to learn hatred for poor Romani people

Prague, 1.11.2012 18:04, (ROMEA) The title of this article might make some readers angry. Why not - for years we have been hearing all around us how Romani people drive their Mercedes to get their welfare money - which can be any amount they like, as much as they are able to shout down the authorities for - how their purchases in pharmacies are free of charge, how non-Romani people who commit the same crimes get stricter punishments than Romani people do, etc. Imagination knows no limits.  full story

Commentary: Czech domestic intelligence reports short on intelligence

Prague, 1.11.2012 0:50, (ROMEA) The activities of the Security Information Services (Bezpečnostní informační služby - BIS) here in the Czech Republic and their reports to the public are truly amazing. More than once, without exaggeration, I have compared their "reports" on extremism to ninth-grade composition exercises. The "information" their latest report provides us about developments on the extremist scene during the third quarter of 2012 unfortunately just confirms my previous descriptions (the report is available in Czech only at http://bis.cz/2012-3q-zprava-extremismus.html).  full story

Commentary: How should Romani representatives be appointed?

Prague, 29.10.2012 21:42, (ROMEA/Romano hangos) During discussions on the website of the Romea news server (www.romea.cz), the debates between pro-Romani and Romani activists have often returned on various occasions to the topic of legitimacy - who can and should "speak on behalf of Romani people" or "represent Romani people" in the Czech Republic? The Editor-in-Chief of the Romano hangos periodical, Pavel Pečínka, has reached out to a circle of his regular contributors with questions that can all be summarized under the basic question of: Who can speak "for Romani people"? News server Romea.cz is gradually publishing the responses submitted to him by selected authors. Below is the translation of the response submitted by Ondřej Klípa, who has been entrusted with representing the management of the Office of the Czech Government Inter-ministerial Commission for Roma Community Affairs.  full story

Commentary: Czech organizations leech off of "gypsy subsidies"

Liberec, 28.10.2012 0:24, (ROMEA/Romano hangos) During discussions on the website of the Romea news server (www.romea.cz), the debates between pro-Romani and Romani activists have often returned on various occasions to the topic of legitimacy - who can and should "speak on behalf of Romani people" or "represent Romani people" in the Czech Republic? The Editor-in-Chief of the Romano hangos periodical, Pavel Pečínka, has reached out to a circle of his regular contributors with questions that can all be summarized under the basic question of: Who can speak "for Romani people"? News server Romea.cz is gradually publishing the responses submitted to him by selected authors. Below is the translation of the response submitted by Dušan Kotlár, a staffer with the Romský život (Romani Life) association in Liberec.  full story

Commentary: Romani ideologies include radical nationalism

Děčín, 27.10.2012 22:53, (ROMEA/Romano hangos) During discussions on the website of the Romea news server (www.romea.cz), the debates between pro-Romani and Romani activists have often returned on various occasions to the topic of legitimacy - who can and should "speak on behalf of Romani people" or "represent Romani people" in the Czech Republic? The Editor-in-Chief of the Romano hangos periodical, Pavel Pečínka, has reached out to a circle of his regular contributors with questions that can all be summarized under the basic question of: Who can speak "for Romani people"? News server Romea.cz is gradually publishing the responses submitted to him by selected authors. Below is the translation of the response submitted by the head of the Děčín branch of the Counseling Center for Citizenship and Civil and Human Rights (Poradna pro občanství, občanská a lidská práva), Drahomír Radek Horváth.  full story

Commentary: Romani people who won't take a look at themselves harm everyone

Prague, 27.10.2012 21:00, (ROMEA/Romano hangos) During discussions on the website of the Romea news server (www.romea.cz), the debates between pro-Romani and Romani activists have often returned on various occasions to the topic of legitimacy - who can and should "speak on behalf of Romani people" or "represent Romani people" in the Czech Republic? The Editor-in-Chief of the Romano hangos periodical, Pavel Pečínka, has reached out to a circle of his regular contributors with questions that can all be summarized under the basic question of: Who can speak "for Romani people"? News server Romea.cz is gradually publishing the responses submitted to him by selected authors. Below is the translation of the response submitted by iDNES.cz editor Patrik Banga.  full story

Commentary: What kind of people should Romani representatives be?

Brno, 27.10.2012 0:14, (ROMEA/Romano hangos) During discussions on the website of the Romea news server (www.romea.cz), the debates between pro-Romani and Romani activists have often returned on various occasions to the topic of legitimacy - who can and should "speak on behalf of Romani people" or "represent Romani people" in the Czech Republic? The Editor-in-Chief of the Romano hangos periodical, Pavel Pečínka, has reached out to a circle of his regular contributors with questions that can all be summarized under the basic question of: Who can speak "for Romani people"? News server Romea.cz is gradually publishing the responses submitted to him by selected authors. Below is the translation of the response submitted by Alica Heráková.  full story

Commentary: Romani representatives will only be legitimate when actually elected

Prague, 26.10.2012 23:15, (ROMEA/Romano hangos) During discussions on the website of the Romea news server (www.romea.cz), the debates between pro-Romani and Romani activists have often returned on various occasions to the topic of legitimacy - who can and should "speak on behalf of Romani people" or "represent Romani people" in the Czech Republic? The Editor-in-Chief of the Romano hangos periodical, Pavel Pečínka, has reached out to a circle of his regular contributors with questions that can all be summarized under the basic question of: Who can speak "for Romani people"? News server Romea.cz is gradually publishing the responses submitted to him by selected authors. Below is the translation of the response submitted by musician Gyulla Banga.  full story

Commentary: Schools - tools for change or the status quo?

Prague, 25.10.2012 20:59, (Romano vod'i) A general comparison of the situation of the Romani minorities in five new EU Member States is now underway in which education is of central importance, viewed as the motor of inter-generational change and a tool for turning segregation into integration. The comparison will produce both an analysis of the state of affairs and of developments, as well as an analysis of barriers to progress, at a minimum because the accent on desegregation policy which has been the backbone of EU documents and the declaratory commitments made by the governments of these five new EU Member States (Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia) has not produced the desired results, nor has it reversed any of the current adverse developments in this area.  full story