News

Czech Govt proposes closing Human Rights Section

Prague, 14.11.2012 16:31, (ROMEA) The Office of the Czech Government has announced through its spokesperson Michal Schuster that it is preparing for possible changes in its organization. One of them might even be the closing of the Human Rights Section there and the transfer of its advisory bodies to various ministries. News server Aktuálně.cz quotes the daily Insider's previous reporting on this issue and says Czech Government Human Rights Commissioner Monika Šimůnková has confirmed it is a possibility. The Government is arguing that the step would increase the efficiency of the state administration and reduce operational costs.  full story

Czech Republic: Nazi graffiti at primary school in Jihlava - again

Jihlava, 13.11.2012 22:13, (ROMEA) Deník.cz reports that a right-wing extremist vandal struck again last weekend at the Jungmannova Primary School in the Czech town of Jihlava. Two Nazi swastikas and the inscription "Sieg Heil" have turned up on the wall of the school gym in the exact same spot that similar graffiti appeared a month ago.  full story

New report shows anti-Romani violence is a pan-European phenomenon

Prague, 13.11.2012 17:10, (ROMEA) The European Association for the Defense of Human Rights (AEDH) and the Czech Helsinki Committee (Český helsinský výbor - ČHV) have issued a fundamental condemnation of the violence faced by Romani people in Europe. The organizations have written about this topic in a joint report entitled "Roma People in Europe in the 21st Century: Violence, Exclusion, Insecurity" (available in English at http://www.helcom.cz/dokumenty/Roma%20REPORT.pdf). Below you will find a translation of the AEDH/ČHV press release about this report and a translation of the Czech summary of the report:  full story

Czech Republic: Romani evacuees leave gym for residential hotels

Ústí nad Labem, 13.11.2012 15:38, (ROMEA) Romani tenants who have been evacuated from an unsuitable building on Beneše Lounského street in the Czech town of Ústí nad Labem have now left their temporary housing in the gym of the primary school in the Předlice quarter and have moved into a residential hotel in the Krásné Březno neighborhood. The 36 tenants, 27 of whom are children, were initially meant to move directly into the residential hotel after being evicted, but rejected it as untidy at the time. News server iDNES.cz reports that a female evacuee says the residential hotel has now been cleaned up and painted.  full story

Czech Roma Still Face 'Educational Apartheid', Despite Court Ruling Five Years Ago

Prague, 13.11.2012 10:33, (ROMEA) The Open Society Foundations is urging the Czech government to end the institutionalized segregation of Roma children within its schools, five years after it was ordered to do so by the European Court of Human Rights.  full story

Protest At Czech Embassy Over Denial Of Roma Children’s Rights

London, 27.10.2012 21:51, (ROMEA) Five year ago, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the Czech Republic must end the segregration of Roma children into “special schools” where education is said to be severely substandard.  full story

Ultra-right growing in former East Germany

Germany (eastern part), 12.11.2012 17:19, (ROMEA) The German media reports that the Friedrich Ebert Foundation is informing the public that during the last six years, the number of people advocating opinions typical of the ultra-right in the former East Germany has significantly increased. The foundation says the proportion of persons holding such beliefs has risen from 6.6 % to 15.8 %.  full story

Former Czech Human Rights Minister on Romani issues

Prague, 12.11.2012 16:54, (ROMEA) News server Novinky.cz has published an extensive interview with former Czech Human Rights Commissioner Michael Kocáb. Romea.cz is publishing in translation the sections of that interview related to his most recent time in politics, including his approach toward Romani issues.  full story

Poland: 15 000 neo-Nazis clash with police in Warsaw

Warsaw, 12.11.2012 15:56, (ROMEA) Warsaw was all but transformed into a war zone yesterday as neo-Nazis clashed with police officers on the anniversary of the country's independence. Dozens of people were injured, 120 demonstrators were arrested, and total chaos reigned in the streets.  full story

Czech Republic: More cases of dysentery in Ostrava area

Ostrava, 12.11.2012 15:31, (ROMEA) The number of cases of contagious bacillary dysentery in the Ostrava area is rising. The disease began to spread in mid-August, particularly among people living in buildings in disastrous condition and in residential hotels. The epidemic has not been stopped yet. Both adults and children are falling ill. During the last week alone, 12 people, most of them children, caught the disease.  full story

Czech students against neo-Nazi concerts in their town

Žatec, 10.11.2012 18:55, (ROMEA) News server iDNES.cz reports that hundreds of people in the town of Žatec have signed a petition organized by local students against the fact that neo-Nazi bands perform concerts several times a year in the restaurant of the People's House (Lidový dům) there. Because the restaurant is privately owned, the town does not have many options for intervening against the neo-Nazi events.  full story

Germany: Murder charges brought against last member of neo-Nazi group

Berlin, 9.11.2012 21:20, (ROMEA) One year after the discovery in Germany of the neo-Nazi group National Socialist Underground (NSU), which investigators say is responsible for the murders of nine immigrants and one policewoman, federal prosecutors have filed charges against its only living member, Beate Zschäpe. The High Court in Munich, where Zschäpe will be tried, made the announcement yesterday. Prosecutors have charged her with participating in 10 murders and creating a terrorist association. Press reports say she faces life in prison if convicted.  full story

Czech Republic: 30 Romani people living without utilities in a restaurant

Čáslav, 9.11.2012 20:41, (ROMEA) Lubomír Vilímek of the Čáslav Police told the Czech Press Agency today that the former U Rajských restaurant in Čáslav is now home to 30 Romani people. With one exception, the families, including children, are living there without any electricity, functioning toilets, or hookups to running water. Police officers and patrolmen who are monitoring the situation have drawn it to the attention of the Building Works Authority of the Čáslav town hall and to social workers. Police said it was not clear to them whether the restaurant has also been licensed for use as housing.  full story

Analysis: Kristallnacht and its connection to Europe today

Prague, 9.11.2012 20:03, (ROMEA) During the late night hours of 9 November and the early morning hours of 10 November 1938, the Nazis in occupied Austria, the occupied border region of the Czech lands, and Germany murdered Jewish people and captured them for the concentration camps. A total of 267 synagogues were burned down or otherwise demolished, 7 500 Jewish apartments and shops were ransacked, 91 Jewish people were directly murdered during the pogrom, and 30 000 ended up in death camps.  full story

Czech Labor Ministry to take Romani agenda from Office of the Government

Prague, 8.11.2012 23:33, (ROMEA) The Insider daily news server (www.denikinsider.cz) reports that reorganizations are being prepared at the Office of the Government that will affect its Human Rights Section. Matters concerning the Romani minority will be transferred to the Czech Labor and Social Affairs Ministry.  full story

Police abuses against Roma, migrants and activists: Russia’s record before the UN Committee against Torture

Moscow, 8.11.2012 21:29, (ROMEA) Russia’s record of torture and ill-treatment is up for review by the UN Committee against Torture. On Friday 9th and Monday 12th November, the Committee will hear Russian officials and engage in a dialogue to monitor the Russian Federation’s compliance with the UN Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment.  full story

Django Reinhardt tribute

Napa, California, 8.11.2012 21:16, (ROMEA) Dorado Schmitt, acclaimed Manouche gypsy guitarist from the Strasbourg region of France, is returning to the Bay Area next week to present a tribute to jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt.  full story

Cambridgeshire councillor's apology for 'stupid Gypsy joke'

Cambridgeshire, UK, 8.11.2012 20:30, (ROMEA) A councillor considering plans to reopen a Cambridgeshire travellers' site has apologised for sending an email which disparages Gypsies.  full story

How Czech dailies are commenting on Obama's re-election

Prague, 8.11.2012 18:18, (ROMEA) Czech daily papers have commented on Tuesday's re-election of the Democratic Party candidate for President of the USA, saying the voters found Barack Obama to be the more comprehensible, reliable candidate despite the constrained results of his government so far. According to the Czech press, Republican Party candidate Mitt Romney correctly bet on people's dissatisfaction with Obama's effectiveness throughout the country, but failed to offer a better alternative.  full story

Thousands of children illegally in Czech "practical primary schools"

Prague, 8.11.2012 17:39, (ROMEA) Czech Radio reports that thousands of children who could attend normal primary schools are being instructed according to curricula designed for pupils with "light mental disability" even though such instruction is against the law. On the other hand, some schools in the Czech Republic today are managing to educate Romani pupils together with everyone else. While this depends on teachers' approaches, it primarily depends on pupils' parents.  full story