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Czech voters elect president directly for the first time in history

Prague, 10.1.2013 16:40, (ROMEA) Over the coming days, Czech voters nationwide will have have the opportunity to select their president for the first time in history. Up until now that role has been played by Parliament. During the first round of voting, should no single candidate receive more than half of the votes, people will at least determine which two of the nine candidates will make it to the final round of voting in two weeks' time.  full story

How the Czech amnesty has aided racist assailants

Prague, 10.1.2013 5:56, (ROMEA) News server Aktuálně.cz has published new information about the perpetrators of racially motivated violent crimes who have now been released from their sentences as a result of the Czech President's amnesty. As we previously reported (http://www.romea.cz/en/news/czech/czech-prisoner-amnesty-releases-racist-assailants-and-extremists), the infamous rowdies from Nýrsko, Boublík and Miškovič, have been released. Last year they first attacked a small group of children for no reason and then broke into a nearby home which they knew was occupied by a Romani family, where they tried to strangle a male family member using a sweatshirt.  full story

Czech presidential candidate: Loan sharks shouldn't be tolerated

Prague, 8.1.2013 22:53, (ROMEA) News server Romea.cz has prepared a questionnaire for candidates running in what will be the first-ever direct election of the president of the Czech Republic. We asked all of the candidates, among other things, about their strategies for addressing the issue of social exclusion and their opinions on the integration of the Romani minority, particularly on how they intend to achieve improvements in that direction. We were also interested in their approach toward right-wing extremists, toward the issue of segregating pupils in primary schools, and toward the case of the pig farm located on the site of a WWII-era forced labor camp for Romani people.  full story

Czech presidential candidate says multiculturalism "takes two"

Prague, 8.1.2013 17:31, (ROMEA) News server Romea.cz has prepared a questionnaire for candidates running in what will be the first-ever direct election of the president of the Czech Republic. We asked all of the candidates, among other things, about their strategies for addressing the issue of social exclusion and their opinions on the integration of the Romani minority, particularly on how they intend to achieve improvements in that direction. We were also interested in their approach toward right-wing extremists, toward the issue of segregating pupils in primary schools, and toward the case of the pig farm located on the site of a WWII-era forced labor camp for Romani people  full story

Czech presidential candidate: Democracy can't work without civil society

Prague, 7.1.2013 17:36, (ROMEA) News server Romea.cz has prepared a questionnaire for candidates running in what will be the first-ever direct election of the president of the Czech Republic. We asked all of the candidates, among other things, about their strategies for addressing the issue of social exclusion and their opinions on the integration of the Romani minority, particularly on how they intend to achieve improvements in that direction. We were also interested in their approach toward right-wing extremists, toward the issue of segregating pupils in primary schools, and toward the case of the pig farm located on the site of a WWII-era forced labor camp for Romani people.  full story

Czech presidential candidate: We must understand the specifics of each minority

Prague, 7.1.2013 16:52, (ROMEA) News server Romea.cz has prepared a questionnaire for candidates running in what will be the first-ever direct election of the president of the Czech Republic. We asked all of the candidates, among other things, about their strategies for addressing the issue of social exclusion and their opinions on the integration of the Romani minority, particularly on how they intend to achieve improvements in that direction. We were also interested in their approach toward right-wing extremists, toward the issue of segregating pupils in primary schools, and toward the case of the pig farm located on the site of a WWII-era forced labor camp for Romani people.  full story

Czech Republic: Trial of tragic death; Romani defendants say they did not want conflict

6.1.2013 1:17, (ROMEA) Last Thursday, just four months after the tragic conflict in front of the Sokolovna restaurant in Strakonice which cost Milan Šlemenda his life, suspect Ivan Demeter, who is not yet 20, stood before the Regional Court charged with committing intentional grievous bodily harm resulting in death. If convicted, Demeter faces up to 10 years in prison.  full story

Czech presidential candidate says Romani people often do not enjoy equal rights

Prague, 4.1.2013 23:17, (ROMEA) News server Romea.cz has prepared a questionnaire for candidates running in what will be the first-ever direct election of the president of the Czech Republic. We asked all of the candidates, among other things, about their strategies for addressing the issue of social exclusion and their opinions on the integration of the Romani minority, particularly on how they intend to achieve improvements in that direction. We were also interested in their approach toward right-wing extremists, toward the issue of segregating pupils in primary schools, and toward the case of the pig farm located on the site of a WWII-era forced labor camp for Romani people.  full story

Czech presidential candidate says police should get tough on racist provocations

Prague, 4.1.2013 17:33, (ROMEA) News server Romea.cz has prepared a questionnaire for candidates running in what will be the first-ever direct election of the president of the Czech Republic. We asked all of the candidates, among other things, about their strategies for addressing the issue of social exclusion and their opinions on the integration of the Romani minority, particularly on how they intend to achieve improvements in that direction. We were also interested in their approach toward right-wing extremists, toward the issue of segregating pupils in primary schools, and toward the case of the pig farm located on the site of a WWII-era forced labor camp for Romani people.  full story

Czech presidential candidate would call for removal of Lety pig farm

Prague, 3.1.2013 22:49, (ROMEA) News server Romea.cz has prepared a questionnaire for candidates running in what will be the first-ever direct election of the president of the Czech Republic. We asked all of the candidates, among other things, about their strategies for addressing the issue of social exclusion and their opinions on the integration of the Romani minority, particularly on how they intend to achieve improvements in that direction. We were also interested in their approach toward right-wing extremists, toward the issue of segregating pupils in primary schools, and toward the case of the pig farm located on the site of a WWII-era forced labor camp for Romani people.  full story

Hungarian Government increases pensions for Holocaust victims

Hungary, 3.1.2013 16:57, (ROMEA) Agence France-Presse reports that as of 1 January the Hungarian Government has raised by 50 % the pensions it pays to the Jewish victims of crimes committed by the Nazis during the Holocaust. The wire service report points out that the opposition has frequently criticized the conservative cabinet of Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán in the past for his alleged indifference to antisemitism  full story

Czech Supreme Court: No redress for "special school" enrollment

Prague, 3.1.2013 16:31, (ROMEA) Jaroslav Suchý has finally lost his lawsuit demanding compensation for the fact that he attended "special school" as a child. Suchý unsuccessfully sought half a million crowns (EUR 20 000) in damages from the Czech Education Ministry, but Supreme Court spokesperson Petr Knötig told the Czech Press Agency yesterday the court has rejected his appeal.  full story

Czech fans spread rumors about Romani football subsidy

Most, 3.1.2013 15:58, (ROMEA) The Mostecký deník daily has reported that several fans of the Football Academy in the Czech town of Most have been spreading allegations that a local Romani association is benefiting unfairly from municipal financing. The civic association Aver Roma (Jiní Romové - Other Roma), which is in its second year of taking care of youth from the Chánov housing estate who have football talent, rejects the charge that the town hall is "pouring lots of money" into its work.  full story

Czech prisoner amnesty releases racist assailants and extremists

Prague, 2.1.2013 23:26, (ROMEA) The amnesty announced yesterday by Czech President Václav Klaus will release several infamous Czech extremists from serving their conditional sentences. Amnesties have also been granted to perpetrators of brutal racist attacks, such as the one committed against Romani people in Nýrsko and the attack committed by a former DSSS (Workers' Social Justice Party) candidate against a Moroccan citizen in Rožmitál. According to preliminary estimates by the Czech Justice Ministry, the number of prisoners covered by the amnesty totals 6 876. That number might still change.  full story

Czech President Klaus announces prisoner amnesty in final speech

Prague, 2.1.2013 3:57, (ROMEA) In his final New Year's Day speech today, Czech President Václav Klaus evaluated the past 10 years during which he was the country's head of state. He defended democracy and traditional values, assessed the country's economic development, and criticized the European Union and the amount of regulation which, in his view, is putting the brakes on growth. The president also called for a return to national cohesion. He announced a partial amnesty for prisoners at the close of the speech.  full story

videoSlovakia: Romani man decapitated while still alive

Žihárec, Slovakia, 1.1.2013 0:05, (ROMEA) Slovakia has been shaken by the brutal murder of 37-year-old Daniel Horváth, a Romani man who was decapitated while still alive, according to a court autopsy. Last Friday police charged three men aged 17, 18 and 39 with Horvath's murder. "The suspects face between 20 and 25 years in prison, with the possibility of life in prison," said Nitra police spokesperson Renáta Čuháková.  full story

2012 in the Czech Republic: The Romani point of view

Prague, 29.12.2012 22:42, (ROMEA) It's the custom at this time of year to take stock of the failures, possibilities, and successes of the year that has passed. I will, therefore, briefly reflect on the matters that drew my attention this year. There were rather a lot of them, but nothing much that was positive, and that's why in closing I have to dig deep and look closer to hand so as not to succumb to skepticism during this holiday period. I will even talk a bit about my own work.  full story

Karel Holomek: 2012 brought us decline - but also hope

Brno, 28.12.2012 17:59, (Romano vod'i) It's usually a good rule to reflect at the end of each year on what the year was like, what happened that was bad and good, and to try to predict on that basis whether the year to come and the years after that will be better or worse. There is probably nothing more we can do, because our personal desires and wishes are hard to fulfill through just our efforts alone, given the broader context in which they take place.  full story

On transforming the Czech "practical primary schools"

Prague, 27.12.2012 17:37, (Romano vod'i) Iveta Němečková is the coordinator of the Together to School coalition and has worked as a special educator, a director, a lecturer in education programs, a coordinator and a specialist in education methods for the Step by Step program. She has implemented a project aimed at integrating Romani pupils into primary education and has participated in designing an international education program focusing on working with prejudices and stereotypes. She has long been an advocate of inclusive education and has worked as the coordinator of early childhood care projects. She is a lecturer in adult education and a coordinator and organizer of educational events. She contributed the following commentary to the latest issue of Romano voďi.  full story

Interview with Romani composer Roger Moreno Rathgeb

Prague, 26.12.2012 23:31, (Romano vod'i) Roger Moreno Rathgeb is, like many Romani musicians, self-taught, but he gradually began to use musical notation and to compose. Several years ago he decided to compose a requiem for the victims of the Auschwitz extermination camp, but his work was interrupted by a visit there which strongly impacted him and blocked his creative capabilities for several years. The impulse to complete the work came in the form of a request from Albert Siebelink, who suggested presenting the "Requiem for Auschwitz" at the International Gipsy Festival in Tilburg and then in other European cities.  full story