News

Czech Roma Affairs Coordinator: We have to get ghetto residents into the labor market

Kolín, 5.11.2013 0:12, (ROMEA) Cyril Koky works as the Coordinator for Romani Affairs at the Central Bohemian Regional Authority. He graduated from the Military High School in Liptovský Mikuláš, Czechoslovakia and was reassigned from serving in Slovakia to the Bohemian town of Kolín, where he served for 10 years.  full story

Czech Interior Ministry wants residential hotels as fixture of housing policy

Prague, 4.11.2013 22:42, (ROMEA) The Czech Government has been discussing a document from the Interior Ministry proposing that police specialists be hired to work in the country's ghettos. The officers involved would spend as much as half of their work hours patrolling such areas.  full story

Czech Anti-Fascist Action writes open letter to the ultra-right

Prague, 2.11.2013 19:04, (ROMEA) On 25 October, the website for Anti-Fascist Action in the Czech Republic, Antifa.cz, reported that the group sent an open letter in the run-up to the recent parliamentary elections to members of the ultra-right DSSS party as part of Anti-Fascist Action's ongoing campaign against antigypsyism. News server Romea.cz presents the introduction to the open letter from the website below, as well as the letter itself in full translation.  full story

A conversation between Romani activist Čeněk Růžička and Czech Senator Alena Gajdůšková

Prague, 2.11.2013 0:01, (Romano vod'i) The monthly Romano voďi publishes a regular column entitled "Two Points of View". Two public figures, one non-Romani and one Romani, who are members of the same profession or who work in the same field are invited to ask one another questions.  full story

Czech Republic: Locals confirm conditions in Obrnice have improved

Obrnice, 1.11.2013 16:49, (ROMEA) Several residents of the town of Obrnice (Most district) are confirming that coexistence between the majority society and Romani people has improved over the past few years. Mayor of Obrnice Drahomíra Miklošová received an award from the Council of Europe on Wednesday for the town's results in Romani integration.  full story

EUobserver.com: Neo-Nazis mobilise against minorities in Czech Republic

Prague, 1.11.2013 10:21, (ROMEA) Ultra-right parties and their neo-Nazi supporters have unleashed an unprecedented level of coordinated anti-Roma demonstrations throughout the Czech Republic this year, aiming to tip the balance at the polls and increase their access to power in the country’s upcoming elections.  full story

Image of Roma in the Czech media during 2013

Prague, 1.11.2013 1:19, (ROMEA) A second round table for journalists organized by the ROMEA association was held in Prague on 31 October. Ivan Vodochodský, an analyst with the Newton Média company, and representatives of ROMEA presented their joint analysis, entitled "Stereotypes in the Media Image of Roma during 2013" (Stereotypy mediálního obrazu Romů v roce 2013 - available in Czech only at http://www.mediainfo.cz/clanky/romove-v-neklidne-dobe/).  full story

Ivanka Mariposa Čonková: Victory over racism, or, How the neo-Nazis lost face in Ostrava

Ostrava, 31.10.2013 19:21, (ROMEA) The 28th of October this year happened in a spirit similar to that of 24 August, when several towns in the Czech Republic simultaneously faced open displays of antigypsyism, neo-Nazism and racism in the form of marches that transformed into attempted pogroms against Romani people. This past Monday, the towns concerned were České Budějovice, Ostrava, and Plzeň.  full story

Czech town of Obrnice receives award in Strasbourg for Romani integration projects

Strasbourg, France, 31.10.2013 17:48, (ROMEA) The Mayor of Obrnice, Drahomíra Miklošová, has been awarded a prize in Strasbourg. The award is given by the Council of Europe as part of its "Dosta!" ("Enough!") campaign for an innovative municipal project that either combats discrimination against Romani people, raises awareness about Romani culture and rights, or supports Romani integration (see http://www.coe.int/t/dg3/romatravellers/dosta_en.asp).  full story

Greece will definitely return Romani girl to Bulgaria

Bulgaria/Greece, 31.10.2013 16:30, (ROMEA) News server Novinky.cz reports that Greek authorities will be returning the little blonde girl named Maria, who was recently discovered living with a Romani family in the town of Farsala there, to her biological parents' country, Bulgaria. DNA analyses have proven she is the daughter of another Romani couple there, Atanas and Sasha Rusev.  full story

Romani "Obama" fights for rights at the European Parliament

Brussels, Belgium, 30.10.2013 16:45, (ROMEA) The Czech Republic is being shaken by anti-Romani unrest, France is deporting Romani people from eastern Europe and Britain and Germany are reporting similar problems. More and more politicians are playing the anti-Romani card and voters are rewarding them.  full story

Czech Republic: UIA conference supports Roma in Ostrava

Prague, 30.10.2013 0:55, (ROMEA) United for Intercultural Action (UIA) is a European network against fascism, nationalism and racism that supports migrants and refugees and brings together more than 560 organizations in 46 European countries. The organization is currently holding its international conference in the Czech Republic, which is scheduled to end on 30 October.  full story

Analysis: Why Czech ultra-right voters chose Okamura, not the DSSS

Prague, 30.10.2013 0:20, (ROMEA) Czech Senator Tomio Okamura and his "Dawn of Direct Democracy" (Úsvit přímé demokracie) party won a surprising 6.88 % of the recent vote for the lower house. The party's extreme opinions border on fascism and it is evidently no accident that its name is very similar to that of the Greek right-wing extremist party Golden Dawn.  full story

Czech Republic: Gypsy Spirit prize being revived by private foundations

Prague, 29.10.2013 22:35, (ROMEA) After a three-year hiatus, the Gypsy Spirit prize will be awarded once more for contributions to Romani integration in the Czech Republic. The award, which former Czech Human Rights and Minorities Minister Michael Kocáb modeled on one in Slovakia, will be revived by Mr Kocáb's foundation together with the Open Society (Otevřená společnost) organization.  full story

Did the Czech President invite an anti-Semitic extremist to Prague Castle?

Prague, 29.10.2013 21:32, (ROMEA) Adam B. Bartoš, a political commentator known for his anti-Semitic, extremist opinions, seems to have been one of the official guests invited to yesterday's ceremony awarding state honors at Prague Castle. The Office of the Czech President has not yet issued a formal statement regarding the circumstances of his attendance.  full story

Greek authorities work on case of British boy missing since 1991

Athens, Greece, 29.10.2013 16:58, (ROMEA) Greek authorities have recently begun intensive work on the case of a British boy, Ben Needham, who disappeared without a trace in 1991 on the island of Kos. He was less than two years old at the time and a search for him back then yielded no results.  full story

Bulgaria insisting Romani girl be returned from Greece

Sofia, Bulgaria, 29.10.2013 16:28, (ROMEA) The Bulgarian authorities are insisting on the return of the little blonde Romani girl named Maria whose parents left her in Greece with a different Romani family as an infant. Agence France-Presse reported the statement by the Bulgarian Government Agency for Child Protection today.  full story

Czech election results in Romani neighborhoods

Prague, 28.10.2013 22:48, (ROMEA) The polls have closed, the votes for the various parties have been counted, and the media are analyzing who might form the next government of the Czech Republic with whom. Let's look at how votes were cast in places where a large majority of Romani people live, as well as in the places where neo-Nazis and racists held their marches this past summer.
 full story

Czech Republic: 50 anti-minority racists march in Plzeň, 60 Roma stand up to them

Plzeň, 28.10.2013 21:47, (ROMEA) Several dozen racists protesting against minorities and multicultural society marched through the Bory neighborhood of Plzeň on the afternoon of 28 October. The march, which was called a "Protest against violating the rights of decent citizens of the Czech Republic and privileging one group", was originally predicted to be attended by as many as 300 people, but in the end only about 50 turned up.  full story

Czech Republic: Neo-Nazis attempt pogrom in Ostrava, 500 Roma march against them

Ostrava, 28.10.2013 21:25, (ROMEA) Approximately 200 - 300 neo-Nazis gathered today at 14:00 for an anti-Romani, racist demonstration on Prokešovo Square in Ostrava. Two separate gatherings were convened against racism by the "Let's Block the Marches!" (Blokujeme!) platform, one on nearby Sokolská Street in front of a residential hotel called "Colorful Ostrava" (Barevná Ostrava), and another on Svatopluk Čech Square.  full story