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Lech Walesa wants sexual minorities back in the closet

Warsaw, 5.3.2013 17:16, (ROMEA) Former Polish President and Nobel Peace Prize winner Lech Walesa has taken a stand against sexual minorities. Same-sex marriage is being debated in Poland, and on a television program last Friday evening Walesa let it be known, among other things, that he is bothered by members of sexual minorities being represented among Polish MPs.  full story

Der Spiegel: Germany doesn't want Romani people in Schengen

Berlin, 5.3.2013 16:21, (ROMEA) The latest issue of Der Spiegel magazine reports that while no one in the German government has ever officially stated the policy (and probably never will), it is completely evident whom it targets: Germany has been rattled by the immigration of Romani people from Bulgaria and Romania, which is why it doesn't want to open its doors to citizens from the two poorest states on Europe's border.  full story

Czech Republic: A day in the Předlice ghetto

Ústí nad Labem, 5.3.2013 15:19, (ROMEA) The following article, presented here by Romea.cz in full translation, was first published by Penize.cz with photographs at http://www.penize.cz/socialni-davky/250849-reportaz-z-okraje-predlice-bida-zita-az-na-dren  full story

Greece: Neo-Nazi agitators focusing on six-year-olds

Greece, 4.3.2013 23:53, (ROMEA) Czech news server Týden.cz reports that the ultra-right Golden Dawn Party in Greece is now targeting children between six and 10 years of age. The party's main aim is to provide the children with a "spiritual awakening".  full story

Slovak PM rejects response to his criticism of national minorities

Bratislava, Slovakia, 4.3.2013 23:10, (ROMEA) Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico defended himself today against criticisms prompted by his recent statement about "extortion" of the state by national minorities. In an interview for the newspaper Új Szó, he said his words had not been understood correctly .  full story

Czech NGO: Information on next wave of evictions in Ústí being suppressed

Ústí nad Labem, 2.3.2013 0:45, (ROMEA) The Konexe civic association has issued a press release warning of the alleged existence of a list of five buildings in the Předlice quarter of Ústí nad Labem whose occupants are to be evacuated just as others recently were from a building on Beneše Lounského street there. "The working group that managed the eviction of building no. 106 continues to meet on this problem and is discussing further evictions at its sessions as well as the fate of the Předlice ghetto in general. Neither the Romani people being discussed nor the public as a whole are being informed as to the content of these discussions or that they are even taking place," reads the press release, which is below in full translation.  full story

ROMEA joins declaration of solidarity with Syrian civilians

Prague, 1.3.2013 23:25, (ROMEA) The ROMEA association has joined an initiative expressing solidarity with civilians in Syria afflicted by the armed conflict that has been ongoing there for some time. Through its declarations (an open letter and a petition) the initiative is calling on Czech politicians, the European Union and the United Nations to open cross-border corridors for humanitarian aid, mainly from Turkey. Today aid is primarily not reaching the people living in northern Syria on territory in the hands of the opposition. Below please find the full translation of the declaration:  full story

Slovakia: Police raid extremists

Bratislava, Slovakia, 1.3.2013 22:35, (ROMEA) News server Aktuálně.sk reports that the Slovak Police have performed several house searches around the country during which they confiscated electronic equipment and extremist-themed clothing. Ten people have now been charged.


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Nine families still at risk of eviction and homelessness in Ostrava

Ostrava, 1.3.2013 17:21, (ROMEA) News server iDNES.cz reports that people living in the residential hotel on Božkova street in Ostrava now have only three months in which to find new homes. The municipal department of Moravská Ostrava a Přívoz will be closing it at the end of May and will not be offering the tenants substitute accommodation, but the nine families have nowhere to go. As news server Romea.cz reported 14 days ago, they have no money and are at risk of ending up on the street.  full story

Valeriu Nicolae: Incentives to stimulate NGOs and governments to effectively address social inclusion

Sofia, 1.3.2013 16:47, (ROMEA) Before we can even start to look at incentives, we need to consider the people responsible for setting up incentives. While the most effective incentives differ from case to case, many of the basic requirements for those in charge of finding incentives are the same: hands-on and academic experience, a high level of trust within the targeted communities, empathy, and great communication skills. Other essential skills are the ability to adapt and respond quickly to rising challenges, critical thinking, and the ability to accept and learn from inherent failures.  full story

Slovak PM heavily criticized for his comments about minorities

Bratislava, Slovakia, 28.2.2013 23:48, (ROMEA) Representatives of the European People's Party and the socialist faction at the EP, as well as representatives of national minorities in Slovakia, are criticizing Slovak PM Robert Fico for saying that minorities in his country are trying to extort the state through minority rights. Fico said yesterday that ethnic minorities, minority opinion-holders and national minorities are looking for handouts while refusing to meet their obligations to the state. He insisted that these practices must change and that Slovaks did not establish an independent state in order to privilege minorities.  full story

Commentary: Hate is just around the corner in Europe

Uppsala, Sweden, 28.2.2013 22:15, (ROMEA) They say 2013 is the year when the euro crisis will resolve after hitting rock bottom and everything will start to get better. We hope so, but we can only say this about some parts of Europe. In Spain we have six million unemployed and in Greece there is no light at the end of the tunnel.  full story

Slovak PM sharply criticizes minorities

Martin, Slovakia, 28.2.2013 16:59, (ROMEA) A dispute has flared up in Slovakia over whether bus stops and railway stations in areas predominantly inhabited by the Hungarian minority should be labeled bilingually. Slovak PM Robert Fico added fuel to the fire yesterday, saying he wants what he referred to as minority rights extortion to stop, whether it be on the part of an ethnic minority, minority opinion-holders, or the Romani minority.  full story

Czechs fathering children with non-EU mothers could face DNA tests

Prague, 27.2.2013 23:48, (ROMEA) Czech men who father a child with a foreign woman from a non-EU country may be required to undergo DNA testing as of next year. If they have not married the mother of their daughter or son and want their child to have Czech citizenship, they may first have to prove their paternity. A draft law on citizenship under discussion in the lower house has proposed the measure.  full story

Slovakia: Two men charged with assaulting black basketball player

Nitra, Slovakia, 27.2.2013 22:56, (ROMEA) Police in the Slovak town of Nitra charged two 21-year-old men yesterday with attacking Jean Rony Cadot, a black basketball player for the Nitra team. The assault was sparked by an argument in the Devil's Pub in Nitra after someone spilled a drink on Cadot's pants there.  full story

Czech Republic: Youth gives Nazi salute, racist abuse to Romani bus driver

Ústí nad Labem, 26.2.2013 22:29, (ROMEA) On Monday 25 February a Romani trolleybus driver had to call a municipal police patrol to deal with a young man who assaulted him verbally, shouted racist slogans and gave the Nazi salute. The driver, himself a former municipal police officer, called his former colleagues to take charge of the youth and remove him from the bus, as his behavior was not just an assault on the driver, but was bothering his fellow passengers.  full story

Czech EdMin to research number of children educated as disabled

Prague, 26.2.2013 16:38, (ROMEA) News server iDNES.cz reports that the Czech Education Ministry wants to find out how many pupils are being taught according to an educational program for children with "light brain dysfunction". The Czech Republic has long faced criticism that it enrolls large numbers of Romani pupils into what were once called the "special schools" who do not belong there. Better record-keeping is one step toward correcting the situation.  full story

Slovakia: Two settlement children die in the ruins of an unoccupied building

Lomnička, Slovakia, 26.2.2013 2:10, (ROMEA) The Slovak Republic Press Agency (Tisková agentura Slovenské republiky - TASR) reports that two children died just after 12 PM yesterday in the village of Lomnička (Stará Ľubovňa district). The children were buried by the collapsed ruins of an unoccupied building in their settlement. Pavol Vravec, the operations commander for the Regional Directorate of the Emergency and Firefighting Corps in Prešov, said seven firefighters intervened at the scene using heat-seeking cameras to search the ruins for survivors.  full story

Commentary: Did Romani activist cause CZK 10 million damage?

Prague, 24.2.2013 20:46, (ROMEA) Ladislav Bílý, the chair of the Romani Civic Association (Romské občanské sdružení) was sentenced this week to six years in prison for subsidy fraud. According to information in the media, he committed the fraud between 2007 and 2010 when he requested subsidies in the name of the association from the municipality of Karlovy Vary, the Karlovy Vary Regional Authority, and the Czech Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs and submitted a falsified confirmation of solvency with his application.  full story

US clinic keeps black staff away from white newborn

Detroit, Michigan, USA, 23.2.2013 20:28, (ROMEA) Several black nurses recently filed charges against a clinic in the US state of Michigan after its management acceded to an illegal request to ban black staff from coming into contact with a hospitalized patient. The Associated Press reports that it is an "open secret" that health care facilities in the USA often make it possible for patients to refuse treatment by doctors and nurses who are not of their same race.  full story