World

German Constitutional Court won't release intelligence files on Eichmann

Berlin, 29.7.2014 18:14, (ROMEA) The German Constitutional Court has rejected a request from the daily Bild to have the Federal Intelligence Service (BND) publish the complete file it has on Adolf Eichmann, one of the architects of the Holocaust. The publisher of Germany's most-read newspaper reported the rejection on 25 July and said it was considering filing suit with the European Court of Human Rights to gain access to the file.  full story

Kosovo: Evidence found that hostages were killed for their organs

Brussels, 29.7.2014 17:16, (ROMEA) Investigators commissioned by the European Union have gathered convincing evidence that hostages were murdered so their organs could be harvested and sold during the 1990s war in Kosovo. American prosecutor Clint Williamson, who has been entrusted with investigating crimes in Kosovo, has arrived at that conclusion.  full story

videoEuropean Roma Institute: An answer to what question?

EU, 25.7.2014 22:37, (ROMEA) In a video produced by the Council of Europe and posted to YouTube this week, Ulrich Bunjes, the Special Representative for Roma Issues, discusses the idea of creating a European Roma Institute (ERI). Outgoing Commission President Barroso and George Soros announced plans for such a development at the EU Roma Summit this past spring in Brussels.  full story

Western European leaders condemn recent wave of anti-Semitism there

Berlin/Brussels/Paris/Rome, 24.7.2014 19:28, (ROMEA) Anti-Semitic sentiment is growing throughout the countries of Western Europe due to the ongoing conflict between Hamas and Israel. The sentiment is most visible in states with strong Muslim minorities.  full story

videoBulgaria: Roma blockade demolition of their homes, riot police intervene

Stara Zagora, Bulgaria, 22.7.2014 23:24, (ROMEA) Clashes between police officers and Romani people broke out yesterday morning in the Bulgarian town of Stara Zagora. Romani people formed human chains in an effort to prevent authorities from demolishing their homes.  full story

videoRoma guys see a piano on the street - look what happened next!

Trnava, Slovakia, 16.7.2014 18:06, (ROMEA) A video from Slovakia is spreading like wildfire online featuring an upright piano on the street and three Romani guys. The footage was shot by Peter Bročka of Trnava, who posted the breathtaking clip to YouTube.com.  full story

videoA Flood Lays Bare Inequality in Bulgaria

Varna, 16.7.2014 12:02, (ROMEA) Asparuhovo district in Varna, Bulgaria, was the hardest hit area during the June 2014 floods. The tragedy is enormous; entire streets and houses have vanished. A total of 14 people were killed, including 4 children. I visited the area weeks after the disaster and the scenes remain apocalyptic.  full story

Russia: Romani scientists were also sisters

Russia, 15.7.2014 0:14, (ROMEA) This article is yet another in our series about eminent Romani figures, this time about two sisters who were scientists from Russia, or rather from the former Soviet Union. They are the biologist Lyubov Pankova and the chemist Natalya Pankova.  full story

ERRC: France Continues to Evict Roma on a Massive Scale

Paris/Budapest, 11.7.2014 10:26, (ROMEA) France continues with its unlawful and costly policy of evicting Roma who have made use of their right to freedom of movement within the European Union from countries such as Romania. Between 1 April and 30 June 2014, 3,807 Roma were evicted from 40 different places. Fires in two settlements left 51 Roma homeless, while the French authorities implemented forced evictions in 38 settlements.  full story

videoSpain: Mob sets two Romani-occupied homes on fire

Estepa, Spain, 9.7.2014 17:23, (ROMEA) Spanish media report that about 300 people gathered on the afternoon of Saturday 5 July in the small town of Estepa near Seville in Spain to protest rising crime rates. The demonstration turned into a violent attack on the homes of Romani residents whom the protesters believe responsible for theft.  full story

Czech Jewish community protests film award to Mel Gibson

Prague, 5.7.2014 17:53, (ROMEA) On Thursday 3 July the Federation of Jewish Communities in the Czech Republic issued a statement addressed to Jiří Bartoška, president of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. The statement expresses their concern and regret over the decision to award the festival's Crystal Globe (Křišťálový globus) award this year to the American actor and director Mel Gibson.  full story

FARE: Homophobia, neo-Nazi symbols going unpunished at World Cup

Brazil, 30.6.2014 18:43, (ROMEA) Eurofotbal.cz reports that despite the fact that FIFA President Sepp Blatter promised discrimination would not be tolerated at the World Cup in Brazil, several fans in the stadiums have been insulting LGBT people or promoting neo-Nazi symbols. FIFA said on Saturday that its disciplinary commission is not currently addressing any of those incidents.  full story

Early 20th century Nobel laureate was of Romani origin

Copenhagen, Denmark, 25.6.2014 0:05, (ROMEA) Schack August Steenberg Krogh, whose mother was Romani, became a Danish Professor at the University in Copenhagen and won the Nobel Prize for physiology. He contributed to the development of many fundamental discoveries in the several areas of physiology and is famous for developing the Krogh Principle.  full story

Karski reported the Holocaust as it was underway, no one believed him at the time

Łódź / Prague, 24.6.2014 22:36, (ROMEA) Disguised, he accessed the places where the Nazis were committing their greatest atrocities. He was the first to provide the American and British authorities with complete testimony regarding conditions in the Warsaw ghetto and the death camps.  full story

Deaths of paratroopers who assassinated Nazi official in Czechoslovakia remembered

Prague, 21.6.2014 0:13, (ROMEA) People gathered today to mark the anniversary of the death of seven Czechoslovak paratroopers in the Cathedral of St. Cyril and Methodius on Resslova Street in Prague. The men met their deaths in the crypt of the Orthodox church 72 years ago.  full story

Global refugee numbers exceed 50 million, more than half of them children

Geneva, 20.6.2014 23:34, (ROMEA) The number of people fleeing hardship and violence has exceeded 50 million for the first time since the Second World War according to a report issued for 2013 by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. The report was released on the occasion of World Refugee Day.  full story

65th anniversary of Czechoslovak Communists' execution of general who knew too much

Prague, 20.6.2014 22:56, (ROMEA) Tomorrow will mark 65 years since the Communists executed General Heliodor Píka in the town of Plzeň. A memorial service for Píka was held today in front of the building of the General Staff and attended by Czech Defense Minister Martin Stropnický and Chief of Staff Petr Pavel.  full story

videoBBC: England team's first Romany footballer 'deserves recognition'

London, 19.6.2014 17:01, (ROMEA) In 1895 Rabbi Howell made history as the first Romany footballer to play for England, but 119 years on the pioneering player lies buried in an unmarked grave. Now as an appeal to raise funds for a headstone begins, what is the story behind Howell's ground-breaking career and have sporting attitudes to the Romany community changed?  full story

Amnesty International: Forced evictions in France add to climate of fear amid alleged hate crimes

Paris, 18.6.2014 22:32, (ROMEA) The apparent lynching of a Roma teenager in a Paris suburb that left him in a coma is just one of several recent alleged hate crimes against minorities that demand thorough investigations and not just condemnation by the French authorities, Amnesty International warned.  full story

ERRC Urges French Authorities to Fully Investigate Lynching of Romani Minor

Budapest/Paris, 18.6.2014 22:23, (ROMEA) The European Roma Rights Centre expresses its deep concern regarding the brutal lynching of a 16-year-old Romani boy in France. The ERRC urges French authorities to investigate the attack, in particular any possible racial motivation, and to bring the perpetrators to justice.  full story