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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

Canada may lift Czech visas once asylum process speeds up

Ottawa, 21.12.2012 18:27, (ROMEA) The Canadian media is reporting that Canada will accelerate the administration of asylum-seekers' requests for citizens of the Czech Republic. That country and 26 others are now on a list of so-called "safe states" where the Canadians believe people are not usually at risk of persecution, unlike people in other parts of the world.  full story

Czech lower house approves residency ban for misdemeanors

ROMEA, 19.12.2012 17:23, (ROMEA) News server iDNES.cz reports that local authorities in the Czech Republic will now be able to ban people from residency for up to three months as a punishment for selected repeated misdemeanors. The lower house overturned a previous veto of the bill by Czech President Václav Klaus today. Klaus called the bill, initiated by Czech MP Ivana Řápková (Civic Democrats - ODS), rash, obviously populist, and possibly unconstitutional.  full story

Elisabetta Vivaldi: Health is more than lack of disease

Mantua, Italy, 18.12.2012 3:47, (Romano vod'i) On 13 October 2012, Gwendolyn Albert interviewed researcher Elisabetta Vivaldi in Mantua, Italy about Romani immigrants to that country and the conditions in which many end up living. Italy has been criticized by numerous international human rights bodies for its treatment of the Romani minority.  full story

Norman L. Eisen: 2012 Human Rights Award Ceremony Remarks

Praha, 13.12.2012 6:30, (ROMEA) Ladies and Gentlemen, I am honored to welcome you to the Human Rights Award Ceremony at the US Embassy in Prague.  full story

ROMEA acceptance speeches at Alice Garrigue Masaryk Award ceremony

Prague, 13.12.2012 6:24, (ROMEA) Today US Ambassador Norman Eisen gave the 2012 Alice Garrigue Masaryk Award to representatives of the ROMEA civic association at the American Center in Prague on the occasion of International Human Rights Day.  full story

videoROMEA receives award from U.S. Ambassador to the Czech Republic

Prague, 13.12.2012 5:11, (ROMEA) The ROMEA civic association has become the most recent recipient of the Alice Garrigue Masaryk Award, named after the oldest daughter of the first president of Czechoslovakia. The award, which was given to representatives of the association by the US ambassador on Wednesday, 12 December 2012, is announced annually on the occasion of International Human Rights Day, which has been marked on 10 December world wide since 1950.  full story

Czech town, Romani residents want playground, other residents object

Neškaredice, Kutná Hora, 12.12.2012 17:49, (ROMEA) News server Deník.cz reports that the Kutná Hora town hall and a local Romani civic association called Čercheň want to renovate a sports field in the quarter of Neškaredice. Other local residents are not in favor of the idea.  full story

Romani activist not chosen for Czech Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes

Prague, 12.12.2012 16:38, (ROMEA) The board of the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes (Ústav pro studium totalitních režimů - ÚSTR) has seated its new members: Archivist Emílie Benešová, political scientist Lukáš Jelínek, sociologist and municipal politician Michal Uhl (Green Party), and the chair of the Confederation of Political Prisoners (Konfederace politických vězňů), Naděžda Kavalírová. Čeněk Růžička was one of more than 30 candidates considered, but was not ultimately appointed.  full story

Czech Republic: Alice Garrigue Masaryk Award goes to ROMEA this year

Prague, 10.12.2012 16:25, (ROMEA) On the occasion of the anniversary of International Human Rights Day, US Ambassador Norman Eisen will present the Alice Garrigue Masaryk Award to representatives of the ROMEA civic association on Wednesday, 12 December 2012 at 18:00 CET in the American Center in Prague. The US Embassy in Prague is giving the Alice Garrigue Masaryk Award for 2012 to the ROMEA association for its longtime promotion of human rights matters of concern to Romani people in the Czech Republic.  full story

France cancels payments to Romani migrants in exchange for their departure

Paris, 11.12.2012 17:18, (ROMEA) The online news server of the French political weekly Le Point reports that on 7 December the French Government announced it had abolished the financial aid it had been giving to migrant Romani people who agree to return to their country of origin. The change concerns mainly Romani people from Romania, whose country is an EU member but is not yet included in the Schengen area providing for the free movement of people within the EU.  full story

AI calls on Czech Republic to halt segregation of Romani children

Prague, 11.12.2012 16:47, (ROMEA) The human rights organization Amnesty International (AI) is criticizing the Czech Government for continuing to take a discriminatory approach toward the education of Romani children. Last week the Council of Europe also called on the Czech Republic to rapidly abolish the segregation of Romani children in education.  full story

Czech Govt compensates another woman over illegal sterilization

Prague, 11.12.2012 16:15, (ROMEA) The Czech Government has settled out of court with a woman who complained to the European Court of Human Rights that she had been illegally sterilized. In addition to compensation of EUR 10 000, the agreement includes the concession that the government was at fault. The League of Human Rights is calling on the Government to face up to the controversial history of illegal sterilizations in the Czech lands and to compensate other such women who cannot sue because of statutes of limitations.  full story

Czech town says local "militia" is not useful

Chomutov, 11.12.2012 15:53, (ROMEA) The mayor of Chomutov has announced that after a half a year of activity, the town's local militia has not measured up. Former municipal police officer Petr Kubaczka established the militia this past summer to great media fanfare after his daughter was assaulted in a park there.  full story

Council of Europe supports Czech measures to implement D. H. judgment

Prague, 10.12.2012 23:13, (ROMEA) The Czech Education Ministry has issued the following press release, which news server Romea.cz presents in translation:  full story

Czech NGOs lobby to preserve human rights agenda on international day

Prague, 10.12.2012 17:41, (ROMEA) Human rights defenders are demanding that the Czech Prime Minister instruct his cabinet not to go through with budget cuts to the Office of the Government and not to transfer its advisory boards to various ministries. They are concerned that human rights protections in the Czech Republic will deteriorate as a result.  full story

Czech Senator Čunek chairing Senate Subcommittee on Human Rights

Prague, 10.12.2012 16:58, (ROMEA) Czech Senator Jiří Čunek has been appointed chair of the Senate Subcommittee on Human Rights and Equal Opportunity, which some may find a surprising choice. The appointment took place on 6 December when the Senate approved the change. Čunek will now take over the subcommittee, replacing former chair Miluše Horská, who has been elected Vice-Chair of the Senate.  full story

Czech Govt Agency for Social Inclusion: Field social work in Sokolov a success

Sokolov, 8.12.2012 18:38, (ROMEA) The Czech Government Agency for Social Inclusion has issued the following press release, which Romea.cz is providing in translation:  full story

Hitler's selected speeches published in Czech translation

Brno, 8.12.2012 18:04, (ROMEA) A selection of speeches made by the Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler between 1939 and 1942 has been released in the Czech language. Publisher and translator Pavel Kamas told the Czech Press Agency that he wanted to provide people with these speeches, which have been practically unavailable before now, so they could freely form their own opinions of them. Experts contacted by the Czech Press Agency have pointed out that the speeches are propaganda tools and could be misleading if not accompanied by expert commentary.  full story