Czech Republic

Czech broadcasting board criticizes TV NOVA for promoting anti-hate campaign

25.7.2015 3:12 News server Mediář, which reports on the Czech media, has broken the news that the Czech Council for Radio and Television Broadcasting (RRTV) is criticizing the TV NOVA station for disproportionately emphasizing a "product", namely, the HateFree sticker that business owners can put in their windows, specifically as part of its series "Ulice" ("The Street"). The HateFree project, which is managed by the Czech Government Agency for Social Inclusion, has purchased an advertising package of broadcasting times that include product placement of the campaign within the series and has paid roughly CZK 400 000 [EUR 14 800] for the spots so far.  full story

Czech research shows appropriate jobs often inaccessible to the unemployed

24.7.2015 23:04 An oft-repeated prejudice in the Czech Republic is that those who receive welfare don't want to work. Just-published research, however, refutes this thesis and finds that many welfare recipients also work in various temporary jobs or without employment contracts, cobbling together an income from a large number of insecure sources.  full story

Czech school director says closing the "practical schools" is unreasonable

23.7.2015 1:17 The Czech town of Kostelec nad Orlicí has a population of 6 000 and a diverse composition in terms of nationalities. A refugee camp is located there and a large Romani community lives there as well.  full story

Romani mothers in small Czech town describe constant daily alienation

22.7.2015 19:03 The Czech town of Kostelec nad Orlicí has a population of 6 000 and a diverse composition in terms of nationalities. A refugee camp is located there and a large Romani community lives there as well.  full story

Czech Gov't plans program to demolish condemned ghetto buildings without EU strings

21.7.2015 23:41 The Czech Regional Development Ministry is designing a program to aid municipalities with demolishing ruined buildings. "The demolition of these buildings is a partial contribution to addressing the situation in socially excluded localities," Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka (Czech Social Democratic Party) said today during a visit to Ústí nad Labem.  full story

Czech Republic: Romani children in a small town discuss the "special school"

21.7.2015 20:00 The Czech town of Kostelec nad Orlicí has a population of 6 000 and a diverse composition in terms of nationalities. A refugee camp is located there and a large Romani community lives there as well.  full story

Commentary: Football still trumps immigration demonstrations for the Czech public

21.7.2015 1:12 On Saturday in Prague we saw demonstrations against receiving refugees and in favor of receiving them. These events struck me as bizarre and a bit tragicomic.
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Commentary: Czech Police not living up to their motto

20.7.2015 18:26 Even though I have long had no illusions about how that notorious motto of the Czech Police, "To assist and protect", can sometimes work in practice, during Saturday's demonstrations on Wenceslas Square I could not believe my eyes. Honor is of course due to the officers who kept the enraged, fanatical neo-Nazis away from the people expressing solidarity with refugees that evening (which is, after all, their job), but I would like to discuss my experience with those of their colleagues who did not lift a finger when I directly asked them for assistance.  full story

Palestinian and Romani hiphop artists: "Rap is the CNN of ordinary people"

20.7.2015 2:46 Three weeks ago the "Days of Jerusalem" festival was held in the Czech cities of Prague and Plzeň, an event which for several years has presented the culture of this divided Middle Eastern City. Organizers included an appearance by Palestinian rapper Muhammad Mughrabi on this year's rich program.  full story

Czech Republic: Anti-immigration protesters set EU flags on fire

19.7.2015 21:39 Yesterday right-wing extremists backing organizer Adam B. Bartoš marched on the Office of the Government in Prague after 19:00 chanting "Traitors!". The building was guarded by police and metal barricades as the radicals gave speeches.  full story

Czech Interior Minister: Islamophobic populists using same methods as ultra-right

19.7.2015 4:16 The Czech Interior Ministry anticipates that anti-immigration and populist Islamophobic organizations will increase their activities and that their themes will be more actively taken up by "traditional right-wing extremists". The ministry's predictions are part of its report on the development of extremism during the second quarter of this year.  full story

Czech Police audit says officers proceeded correctly at demonstration with mock-ups of gallows

19.7.2015 2:43 Police officers on duty during the 1 July demonstration against immigration in Prague did not make a mistake when they took no action against demonstrators carrying mock-ups of gallows. Yesterday Czech Police spokesperson Tomáš Hulan confirmed to the Czech News Agency that an investigation by the Regional Police Internal Affairs Department has absolved the officers.  full story

Czech Republic: Only minor incidents at today's competing protests over immigration

18.7.2015 22:16 In the center of Prague on Wenceslas Square today there were different events organized by those opposed to immigration and by those expressing solidarity with refugees. The most dramatic situation occurred at around 19:00 at the bottom of the Square.  full story

Czech Human Rights Minister: We do not want the fascisization of society

18.7.2015 21:06 Today in Prague two demonstrations are underway by those opposed to receiving refugees in the Czech Republic. At 15:00 an assembly began at the statue of St. Václav and at 17:00 a "People's Camp" of right-wing extremists began demanding the immediate closure of the borders and the withdrawal of the Czech Republic from the EU.  full story

Czech Republic: NGO starts risky recording studio on edge of Romani ghetto

18.7.2015 18:00 On the border between Brno's Romani ghetto and the "normal" city center, a recording studio full of energy and symbolism is slated to begin growing on the premises of a former gaming room. "There are other ways to play" is one of the slogans accompanying the studio's vision.  full story

Czech capital won't allow second demonstration against xenophobia because of timing clash with anti-immigrant event

16.7.2015 23:24 The City of Prague has refused permission to a second assembly in support of receiving refugees announced for this Saturday on Wenceslas Square. The space requested had previously been reserved.  full story

Czech Republic: HateFree Culture project refutes online hoaxes about refugees

15.7.2015 16:33 HateFree Culture, a project that is part of the Czech Government's campaign against hate violence and racism, has issued the following press release:  full story

Czech Republic's Wenceslas Square to see three protests on the immigration issue this Saturday

14.7.2015 23:08 Those opposed to receiving refugees in the Czech Republic are heading for the center of Prague this Saturday, as are those who want to express solidarity with immigrants. There will be three separate events at various places along Wenceslas Square during the afternoon of the 18th.  full story

Czech trial of priest accused of sexually molesting Romani children to resume next month

14.7.2015 22:09 On 15 June the trial began at the Přerov District Court of Catholic priest Vladimír Krejsa on charges of sexually molesting children in Přerov. The 64-year-old clergyman from the Přerov area, who is retired and no longer working as a priest, used to visit a Romani community in a troubled locality near the train station.  full story

Czech Museum of Romani Culture presents silent film from 1923 featuring Roma character

14.7.2015 5:17 On Thursday, 16 July, the Museum of Romani Culture in Brno will present an extraordinary cultural experience. The museum will screen a unique silent film by Václav Kubásek from 1923, "Bewitching Eyes" (Čarovné oči), accompanied by live music performed by the band The Harmonic Play.  full story