World

DEADLINE TOMORROW: KHAMORO World Roma Festival to train Romani youth in festival production

29.3.2017 12:48 The organization Slovo 21 is seeking those interested in attending a week-long training called "KHAMORO SHARES ITS EXPERIENCE", which will take place as part of the 19th annual KHAMORO World Roma Festival. The training will be held from 28 May to 3 June 2017 in Prague, Czech Republic.
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Main hero in the next Batman film will be Romani - "Nightwing" to call attention to the rights of Romani people

28.3.2017 18:16 Warner Bros announced in February that they will be releasing "Nightwing", a film that not only tells the story of the most popular characters in the Batman family, but also sheds light on Romani human rights issues through its title character. "Nightwing" (the superhero formerly known as “Robin”) could serve as one of the first times the Romani identity will be shown to the mainstream in a positive light.  full story

Slovak party's donation to families in need reflects hidden Nazi symbolism in the amount - EUR 1488

28.3.2017 17:47 The neo-Nazi party in Slovakia chaired by Marián Kotleba, the "People's Party - Our Slovakia" (Ľudová strana Naše Slovensko - ĽSNS) has taken advantage of the 14 March anniversary of the rise of the Fascist Slovak State, which collaborated with Hitler's Germany, to donate money to three families, and the amount donated is reflective of Nazi symbolism. Slovak MP Milan Uhrík (ĽSNS) was asked by the Slovak news server TVnoviny.sk whether the amount of EUR 1488 was intentional or random.  full story

First Romani woman and second Romani person in history will be beatified this Saturday: Emilia Fernández Rodríguez

28.3.2017 17:06 News server Vatican Insider reports that Cardinal Angelo Amato from the Congregation for the Causes of Saints will declare the Romani woman Emilia Fernández Rodríguez beatified during Saturday's religious service in the Spanish town of Aguadulce. She will be the first Romani woman ever to be given that designation.  full story

Online haters not ashamed to make manipulative allegations about photographs of London terrorist attack

26.3.2017 14:20 The terrorist attack in London last week has prompted a series of manipulations on Czech-language online social networks that have a single aim: Disseminating hatred against a particular group. Photographs are being shared through the Internet of a young Muslim woman wearing a brown headscarf, accompanied by allegations that the photo shows her walking past injured victims of the attack without taking any interest in them.  full story

Internet memes falsely allege celebration of terrorist attack in London

26.3.2017 13:38 A screenshot purported to be of a Facebook broadcast by the Arab television station Al-Jazeera is being shared through online social networks after Wednesday's terrorist attack in London, alleging that Muslim people have been celebrating it. "The Muslim world is laughing after the attack in London," several online social network users are sharing, alleging that the screenshot is proof that Al-Jazeera watchers are glad about the attack and posting "likes" and emoticons featuring hearts and laughter during the broadcast.  full story

Romani police officer Petr Torák on London terrorist attack: We must not show fear

25.3.2017 17:11 Speaking in an interview for Czech Radio, Romani police officer Petr Torák, who serves in Peterborough, England, said people must not show terrorists that they are afraid of them. A terrorist attack happened on Wednesday in London during which the assailant drove a car into a group of people on Westminster Bridge, then got out and stabbed several in front of Westminster Palace, including a police officer.  full story

Czech President alleges most immigrants are uneducated, but German statistics show otherwise

24.3.2017 6:45 According to Czech President Miloš Zeman, most of the two million immigrants who have arrived in the European Union recently have not even completed a basic education. He belives that will significantly complicate their inclusion into society.  full story

Czech Republic: Historian confims remarkable story of Romani war hero Imrich Horváth with military archival documents

22.3.2017 9:49 This article sheds light on the story of Romani war hero Imrich Horváth, about whom news server Romea.cz first reported in February, by discussing documents and records from military archives about him. We are publishing in full translation the transcript of a radio interview with historian Zdenko Maršálek from the Institute for Contemporary History of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic.  full story

Slovak neo-Nazi and MP Milan Mazurek prosecuted for racist remarks about Roma

21.3.2017 7:10 Slovak media report that police officers from the National Criminal Agency (NAKA) in Slovakia have begun criminal proceedings against Slovak MP Milan Mazurek (Kotleba-ĽSNS) over his abusive remarks about Romani people made during an interview with the Frontinus radio station in Žilina. Mazurek is accused of making generalizing remarks about all Romani people which the moderator also did nothing to correct.  full story

Karin Marques: A visit to the Romani children in the Slovak schools

17.3.2017 7:14 Karin Marques, a specialist in inclusive education with the Open Society Fund Prague, has published on the website of the foundation her impressions from a study trip to Slovakia organized by the League of Community Schools (Liga komunitních škol), which is involved in community education and inclusive education. News server Romea.cz publishes it here in full translation:  full story

Germany: Trial begins of right-wing extremists who used Czech fireworks to make bombs

9.3.2017 14:56 On 7 March the trial began in Dresden under extraordinary security measures of eight right-wing extremists charged with carrying out a series of bomb attacks against their political opponents and refugees. The seven men and one woman, who also procured the material for their explosives in the Czech Republic, face many years in prison if convicted.
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Are dogs being abused in Romani settlements in Slovakia? Romea.cz asks the authorities and experts

9.3.2017 14:06 A group called the Animal Rights Association (Sdružení za práva zvířat) in Bratislava, Slovakia, recently posted information to the Facebook profile of its "Czechoslovak Spay-and-Neuter Program" about its activity in Romani settlements there. The association is doing its best to aid dogs who, as they have documented through photographs, are frequently to be found in an underfed state in those localities.  full story

French court fines Jean-Marie Le Pen for abusive remarks about Romani people - again

9.3.2017 12:39 A French appeals court has fined the founder of the ultra-right party Front National (FN), Jean-Marie Le Pen, for abusive remarks he made about Romani people in 2013. The Czech News Agency reports that Last April's fine of EUR 8 000 has been reduced to EUR 5 000 but does not specify why.  full story

Amnesty International and European Roma Rights Centre: Situation for Romani children in Slovakia is not improving

9.3.2017 10:09 According to non-governmental human rights organizations, Romani children in Slovakia are being systematically denied their right to education and to protection from discrimination in compulsory education. Most of these children are segregated into all-Romani classes or all-Romani schools or into "special schools" intended for children with "mild mental disability", warn Amnesty International (AI) and the European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) in a joint report.  full story

Slovak opposition movement wants to ban mosque construction

7.3.2017 11:04 An opposition movement in Slovakia called "We Are A Family - Boris Kollár" (Jsme rodina-Boris Kollár - JRBK) wants to ban the construction of mosques there. The movement has justified its proposal by alleging that mosques represent a security risk.  full story

Germany: More than 3 000 attacks on refugees in 2016

7.3.2017 8:39 German authorities registered almost 10 violent attacks against immigrants daily during the course of 2016. A total of 560 people, 43 of them children, were injured during them.  full story

Czech Human Rights Minister responds to US report by asserting Government is addressing Romani issues

7.3.2017 8:06 Czech Human Rights Minister Jan Chvojka (Czech Social Democratic Party - ČSSD) has emphasized that the Czech Government is doing its best to improve the position of
Romani people and also to eliminate corruption through specific legislative measures. In a statement sent to the Czech News Agency yesterday, Chvojka responded to the US State Department's annual report about the state of human rights in the world, which reproachse the Czech Republic for corruption, the social discrimination of Romani people, and the stigmatization of people infected with HIV.  full story

US State Department reproaches Czech Republic over corruption, discrimination against Romani people

7.3.2017 7:10 The Czech Republic is continuing to grapple with corruption, the social discrimination of Romani people, and the stigmatization of persons infected with HIV. Those are the findings for that country in the most recent annual report from the US State Department about the state of human rights in the world.  full story

Researcher finds first photograph of Romani community member as a Czechoslovak soldier, seeks those who remember Imrich Horváth

6.3.2017 10:47 Recently news server Romea.cz published a call for those who have eyewitness testimony about the fate of a forgotten participant in the Second World War. Czechoslovak soldier Imrich Horváth was awarded several military honors, but military historians have kept silent about him.  full story