News

Czech court: 2.5 years for arson attempt on Romani-occupied building

České Budějovice, 25.4.2014 23:38, (ROMEA) The District Court in České Budějovice has announced its verdict in an attempted arson case from last year. The perpetrator was sentenced to 2.5 years in prison without the possibility of parole for intending to commit felony intimidation.  full story

Domenico "Volcano" Spada: The boxer who fights under the Roma flag

Naples, Italy, 25.4.2014 19:27, (ROMEA) "I will climb into the ring with the Roma flag, no Italian flag and no national anthem," said Domenico "Volcano“ Spada, a Romani boxer from Italy, just before the 5 April match in which he challenged Marco Antonio Rubio for the World Middleweight title. "I will have them play the Romani song 'Cintia' by Santino Spinelli."  full story

Czech Police mobilizing: 500 neo-Nazis heading to Ústí nad Labem

Prague, 24.4.2014 15:38, (ROMEA) Czech Police units from Liberec Region and Prague will beef up the Ústí Regional Police on 1 May for a march by hundreds of supporters of the Workers' Social Justice Party (Dělnická strana sociální spravedlnosti - DSSS). Football hooligans are evidently planning to attend the event as well.  full story

Czech Republic: Neo-Nazis to gather 1 May in Ústí, civic initiatives protecting ghettos

Ústí nad Labem, 19.4.2014 21:11, (ROMEA) Civic initiatives have announced that they have reserved the streets leading to the socially excluded localities in the Czech town of Ústí nad Labem for 1 May. The initiatives want to prevent local occupants from being targeted by the neo-Nazis who are planning to march through the center of town that same day.  full story

videoPro-Russian radicals target Roma for assault in eastern Ukraine

Slavyansk, Ukraine, 19.4.2014 20:25, (ROMEA) News server Novosti Donbasu reports that pro-Russian radicals in eastern Ukraine have assaulted several Romani families in Slavyansk, allegedly for racial reasons. Armed pro-Russian separatists broke into their apartments, where they attacked and robbed them.  full story

Czech Republic: Five years on, Romani arson victims still live in fear

Praha/Budišov, 19.4.2014 19:12, (ROMEA) News server ČT24.cz reports that 19 April marks five years from the moment when four right-wing extremists used Molotov cocktails to attack a home occupied by a Romani family in the Czech town of Vítkov. The perpetrators of the attack are behind bars for now.  full story

International Renaissance Foundation: Stop Ethnic Violance in Slovyansk!

Slovyansk, 19.4.2014 16:46, (ROMEA) In Slovyansk, the Eastern Ukraine, separatists began riots targeted at Roma residing in the city. The armed separatists burst into houses inhabited by Roma, beaten and robbed them regardless of gender or age, UNIAN reports. According to this report, they have beaten even women and children. Separatists said that they operate under the direct order of their "people's mayor Vyacheslav Ponomarev". The armed men loaded the property of Roma families in the truck, eyewitnesses say.  full story

Do the Czech courts believe "black swine" is not a racist insult?

České Budějovice, 19.4.2014 2:18, (ROMEA) News server 5plus2.cz reports that a court has sentenced 23 people for perpetrating last year's anti-Romani violence at the Máj housing estate in České Budějovice. Not one person was charged with or convicted of racial motivation.  full story

Commentary: Is Roma unemployment a cause or an effect?

Prague, 19.4.2014 0:24, (ROMEA) I find myself in complete agreement with representatives of the Czech Labor Office when it comes to the dead-end position of the Romani community here. They have said they consider Romani integration into society insufficient, and also that they fear further deterioration of the situation and the growth of right-wing extremism.  full story

Czech prosecutor says 2013 arson attempt not racially motivated

České Budějovice, 18.4.2014 22:46, (ROMEA) A man who attempted to set fire to a building occupied by Romani families in České Budějovice on 14 July last year is evidently facing a punishment on the lower end of the scale. The state prosecutor does not believe his crime to have been racially motivated and has instead called it "the behavior of a drunkard".  full story

Czech senator racially insults Roma with fake 15th-century quote

Prague, 17.4.2014 0:05, (ROMEA) Czech Senator Jozef Regec believes "gypsies" are an "unclean race". On his Facebook profile he has referenced words allegedly written by Czech religious reformer Jan Hus in the 15th century condemning members of that ethnicity.  full story

Czech ombud: What threats do minorities face and why does the majority feel at risk?

Brno, 16.4.2014 22:45, (ROMEA) Czech ombud Anna Šabatová recently gave a speech to open the 23rd annual "Dialogue in the Center of Europe" symposium, the topic of which was "People on the Margins", organized by the Bernard Bolzano Society and the Munich-based Ackermann-Gemeinde. News server Romea.cz publishes the speech in full translation below.  full story

European Commission critiques fact that non-Czech EU citizens cannot establish parties in the Czech Republic

Brussels, 16.4.2014 21:39, (ROMEA) The European Commission says the fact that the opportunity to join a political party and the right to establish a political party in the Czech Republic are restricted to Czech citizens only contravenes EU rules. The critique was included in a recently-published compilation of various offenses committed by the Member States against EU legislation.  full story

Are these "gypsies" or Roma, rumors vs. real life?

Brno, 16.4.2014 21:09, (ROMEA) You can tell a public discussion in the Czech Republic is about Romani people by one particular feature: There are always more "experts" sitting in the hall than on the panel, and they unfortunately never have enough of an opportunity to speak. All of their time is usurped by the "pseudo-humanists" who are invited to address them.  full story

France: Document urges Paris police to "cleanse" city of Roma

Paris, 16.4.2014 17:52, (ROMEA) An internal document evidently issued by City Hall in Paris to police stations in the wealthy neighborhoods of the capital has been leaked to the public. In the edict, City Hall urges police officers to count the number of Romani people in their areas and to "systematically displace" them from the streets.  full story

New Czech Police Commissioner wants to fight extremism, hooligans and tax crime

14.4.2014 23:27, (ROMEA) Czech Police Commissioner Tomáš Tuhý, appointed this past Saturday, is including the fight against drugs and street crime, extremism, and violence at stadium events among his priorities. He also wants to focus on tax crime and is supposed to be preparing a special unit called Cobra for that purpose.  full story

Will Brussels consider creating the post of EU Commissioner for Roma?

Slovakia, 14.4.2014 22:38, (ROMEA) News server Romovia.sme.sk reports that Petr Pollák, the Slovak Government Plenipotentiary for the Romani minority, has said that the European Commission should lead by example when it comes to integrating Romani communities. The Third European Roma Summit, which took place recently in Brussels, focused on the integration of Romani communities into majority societies throughout the EU.  full story

One Czech Facebook page calling for the killing of "gypsies" shut down, one still open

Prague, 12.4.2014 6:27, (ROMEA) For the past several days the Facebook social networking site has hosted an openly hateful, racist page in the Czech language called "We demand impunity for shooting gypsies" (Požadujeme beztrestné vystřílení cikánů). On 11 April at 11:08 AM, news server Romea.cz published an article about the fact that according to communications with those who reported the page, Facebook did not find that it violated its "community principles".  full story

Is Equally Entertaining Enough? Diversity on American Television

Prague, 11.4.2014 0:03, (ROMANO VOĎI) American TV embodies social norms while diverting viewers with situations that are amusing, terrifying, or both. The representation of ethnic and sexual identities on TV has been and continues to be a double-edged sword in American cultural life. The periodic inclusions of actors of color, gay characters, or women in positions of authority on TV are perennially discussed as “milestones”, celebrated by some, derided by others.  full story

videoUkrainian Roma: We are against separatist tendencies and for a Europe-oriented, united Ukraine

Uzhhorod, Ukraine, 10.4.2014 23:44, (ROMEA) On the occasion of International Romani Day on 8 April, the leaders of Romani groups from Chop, Perechin, Svaliava, Uzhgorod and Vinohradiv met with guests, journalists and representatives of the regional administration at the Transcarpathian National Minorities Cultural Center. In a joint declaration, the Transcarpathian Romani organizations stated their opposition to manifestations of discrimination and separatist tendencies, expressing their fears of an imminent military invasion.  full story