Czech Republic

Czech Republic: Yet another anti-Romani demonstration planned in Děčín

Děčín, 8.8.2014 17:00, (ROMEA) A brutal assault at the Calipso gaming room in the Old Town of Děčín has become the pretext for an anti-Romani demonstration to be convened there next Wednesday, even though the context of the incident was evidently not racist. The violent aggressor, who has already been apprehended by police, has been scaring both non-Romani and Romani locals for some time.  full story

Letter addressed to the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic on Mr Okamura's statement on the Lety camp

Strasbourg/Prague, 8.8.2014 13:19, (ROMEA) The European Roma and Travellers Forum, Konexe, ROMEA and Slovo 21, o.s. just sent a letter to the Czech Prime Minister concerning Mr Okamura's statement on Lety Camp.  full story

Czech ombud may soon acquire more powers, bill counts on it

Prague, 8.8.2014 0:20, (ROMEA) The Czech ombud could soon have more powers than the office currently holds today. In future she might be able to turn to the Constitutional Court to propose the abolition of contoversial legislation or parts of laws, and she might also be able to file public lawsuits over discrimination.  full story

Czech MPs who ran on Okamura's candidate list now protesting his Romani Holocaust denial

Prague, 7.8.2014 23:47, (ROMEA) The dedication and unity to date of the members of the "Dawn of Direct Democarcy" (Úsvit) movement's club for MPs vis-a-vis their boss, Czech MP Tomio Okamura, is deteriorating. Two Úsvit MPs have said they do not want to be associated with Okamura's recent statements insulting the victims of the Romani Holocaust.  full story

Civil society members of Czech Gov't Commission on Roma Community remind MP that Holocaust denial is criminal

Prague, 7.8.2014 22:20, (ROMEA) The civil society members of the Czech Government Inter-ministerial Commission on Roma Community Affairs have been outraged by Czech MP Tomio Okamura's public doubting of the suffering undergone by Romani people in the concentration camp at Lety u Písku. "Through his remarks published on 1 August 2014 by Parlamentní listy, [Okamura] has denied historically-known facts about the purpose for which the camp was established and what life was like there for the prisoners," reads a statement provided to news server Romea.cz by David Beňák, vice-chair of the Commission.  full story

Czech human rights NGOs say politicians have long devalued human rights protections

Prague, 7.8.2014 20:51, (ROMEA) The Platform for Human Rights and other human rights organizations have turned to Czech MPs and cabinet ministers asking them to express their support for the work of the Human Rights, Equal Opportunities and Legislation Minister. The Platform emphasizes that a basic prerequisite for the functioning of a democratic, free society is the active, "pervasive" protection of human rights.  full story

Commentary: In Czech Republic, Romani evictees reunite in their old neighborhood

Ostrava, 6.8.2014 19:49, (ROMEA) On the occasion of the two-year anniversary of the authorities announcing to the residents of Přednádraží Street that they had to move out of their homes, an open meeting was held in the neighborhood on Saturday, 2 August by the former residents, their acquaintances and friends. More than 300 people, including the families who were the last to leave the neighborhood last July, gathered among the decrepit buildings to mark the anniversary.  full story

Czech MP faces first criminal charges over remarks about Lety concentration camp

Prague, 6.8.2014 18:03, (ROMEA) The first criminal charges have been filed against Czech MP Tomio Okamura, chair of the "Dawn of Direct Democracy" (Úsvit) movement, for his remarks about the former so-called "gypsy camp" at Lety by Písek. The charges were filed by Šimon Heller (Christian Democrats - KDU-ČSL), who believes Okamura has committed the felony of denying the Nazis' crimes against humanity.  full story

Czech Republic: Two neo-Nazis charged in 2012 arson

Plzeň, 6.8.2014 16:42, (ROMEA) The Czech state prosecutor has charged two men who are promoters of neo-Nazi groups with committing an arson attack on a Romani-occupied residential hotel in the town of Aš in 2012. The daily Právo reported yesterday that the men face between 15 and 20 years in prison or even the possibility of extraordinary punishment if convicted of racially motivated attempted murder.  full story

Czech Republic: Roma say MP has denied the Romani Holocaust and discredited the victims of Nazism

Prague, 5.8.2014 20:18, (ROMEA) Czech MP Tomio Okamura's recent statements doubting the suffering of those imprisoned at the concentration camp in Lety by Písek have sparked an enormous wave of negative reaction. News server Romea.cz publishes below the opinions of several Romani people whom we contacted for comment.  full story

Jana Horváthová: Hodonín and Lety functioned as concentration camps

Brno, 5.8.2014 18:02, (ROMEA) Tomio Okamura is mistaken and his ignorant remarks have done further damage to his already-tarnished image. I am not very surprised, since as an historian I encounter relatively well-educated people rather often who mix up the various phases in the life of the camps that were in operation during the time of the Protectorate.  full story

Czech Republic: Ex-MP on probation for inciting hatred against Roma to appeal

Prague, 5.8.2014 16:36, (ROMEA) The Czech daily Hospodářské noviny reports that former Czech MP Otto Chaloupka has been placed on probation for six months by the Prague 1 District Court for remarks he made about Romani people on the Facebook social networking site. The court issued its ruling without a hearing in April.  full story

Czech Republic: Shocking testimonies from the Lety concentration camp

Prague, 4.8.2014 22:27, (ROMEA) Speaking on the eve of Roma Holocaust Memorial Day, Czech MP Tomio Okamura, the chair of the "Dawn of Direct Democracy" (Úsvit) movement, has insulted the victims of the former concentration camp at Lety by Písek when he said in a statement for the political tabloid ParlamentniListy.cz that it was a lie and a myth to call Lety a concentration camp for Roma. Okamura claims no one was ever killed at the camp and that the imprisoned people who died there did so as a result of old age and the diseases they had brought there with them as a result of their traveling way of life.  full story

Czech Human Rights Minister: Okamura must resign

Prague, 4.8.2014 20:32, (ROMEA) Czech Human Rights Minister for Human Rights, Equal Opportunities and Legislation Jiří Dienstbier (Czech Social Democratic Party - ČSSD) is convinced that Czech MP Tomio Okamura, the head of the "Dawn of Direct Democracy" movement (Úsvit) must resign from all of his political offices because of his controversial remarks about the Lety concentration camp. Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka (ČSSD) said he believes Okamura is using the language of Protectorate propaganda from before 1945.  full story

Czech town cancels apartment tender after Romani woman makes the best offer

Brno, 4.8.2014 19:17, (ROMEA) The Czech Public Defender of Rights has drawn the attention of the Chamber of Deputies to a case of possible discrimination on the grounds of ethnic origin in access to housing as part of her report on her office's activity during the second quarter. A town has canceled its tender for leasing a municipally-owned apartment after a Romani applicant made the best offer.  full story

Czech MP Okamura insults Romani victims of the Holocaust, media and politicians sharply criticize him

Prague, 4.8.2014 17:46, (ROMEA) Czech MP Tomio Okamura, the chair of the "Dawn of Direct Democracy movement" (Úsvit) spit in the faces of the victims of the former concentration camp at Lety by Písek when he was quoted in the online political tabloid ParlamentniListy.cz as saying it was a lie and a myth to call Lety a Romani concentration camp. Okamura claimed no one was ever killed at Lety and that the people imprisoned there had died either as a result of old age or as a result of diseases they brought with them to the camp that they caught as a result of their previous travelling lifestyle.  full story

Czech Police say attack on disabled man was not committed by a Romani person

Česká Lípa, 4.8.2014 2:25, (ROMEA) "A Rom attacks and robs a wheelchair user near the Andy department store in Česká Lípa..." - this was the title accompanying a video recording posted to YouTube last Thursday from the mobile telephone of Radek Bachtík, who according to the tabloid news server Blesk.cz is a 20-year-old high school student. The dramatic video shows a man kicking a wheelchair user in the face and has begun to spread online like an avalanche.  full story

Czech NGO wants to buy buildings from which Romani tenants were evicted

Ostrava, 2.8.2014 2:07, (ROMEA) The Life Together (Vzájemné soužití) NGO, led by Kumar Vishwanathan, wants to buy buildings on Přednádraží Street in Ostrava which are now going up for auction. News server Lidovky.cz reports that the NGO's aim is to make it possible for the Romani tenants who were evicted from the properties to return to their homes.  full story

Czech Helsinki Committee, Human Rights Minister draft law to compensate forced sterilization victims

Prague, 1.8.2014 23:32, (ROMEA) The Czech Helsinki Committee and Czech Human Rights Minister Jiří Dienstbier (Czech Social Democratic Party - ČSSD) are preparing a draft law on compensating people who have been forcibly sterilized. The victims would reportedly receive anywhere between CZK 100 000 and CZK 150 000 (EUR 3 600 and EUR 5 400).  full story

Czech Culture Minister wants to solve the problem of the pig farm at Lety

Lety u Písku, 1.8.2014 22:48, (ROMEA) Paying his respects to Romani Holocaust victims while commemorating the former "gypsy camp" at Lety by Písek, Czech Culture Minister Daniel Herman (Christian Democrats - KDU-ČSL) said there must be zero tolerance for hatred, racism and xenophobia in the Czech Republic. The minister said he believes such sentiments should not be taken lightly.  full story