Czech Republic

Roma in Europe: Demanding justice and protection in the face of violence

EU, 8.4.2014 9:37, (ROMEA) European states are failing to curb and in some cases even fuelling discrimination, intimidation and violence against Roma, Amnesty International said on International Roma Day on 8 April.  full story

Czech Republic: International Romani Day celebrated 8 April

Czech Republic, 8.4.2014 6:44, (ROMEA) International Romani Day is celebrated annually on 8 April. On this day, Romani people commemorate the historic first-ever global congress of the International Romani Union which was held near London in 1979 at the initiative of Donald Kenrick and Grattan Puxon of Great Britain, Jarko Jovanović of the former Yugoslavia, Mateo Maximoff representing the Manouche of France, and other Romani representatives and scholars of Romani studies.  full story

videoNorman L. Eisen, US Ambassador to the Czech Republic: Bachtalo tumaro Maškarthemutno Romano džives! Happy International Day of Roma!

Prague, 8.4.2014 4:00, (ROMEA) Good morning and Happy International Day of Roma! Lačho džives u bachtalo tumaro Maškarthemutno Romano džives!  full story

Czech EdMin against educating Romani children separately in Romanes

Prague, 7.4.2014 23:54, (ROMEA) The Czech Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport (MŠMT) has responded to proposals made by the TOP 09 party, specifically, by Czech MP Anna Putnová, about the education of Romani children and has fundamentally rejected them. Czech Education Minister Marcel Chládek said the notion of instructing Romani children in both Czech and Romanes or placing them in segregated classes was counterproductive and ill-conceived.  full story

Draft Czech intelligence report: Anti-Roma campaign of 2013 was a significant ultra-right action

Prague, 7.4.2014 23:23, (ROMEA) Czech news weekly TÝDEN.cz reports that during the year 2013, extremists in the Czech Republic organized 272 events, 132 of which were organized by right-wing extremists and 140 of which were organized by left-wing extremists. The number of extremism-related crimes rose slightly to 217 cases, while two persons were given prison sentences without the possibility of parole for racially-motivated crimes, 62 were put on probation, and four persons were sentenced to performing community service work.  full story

Commentary: Czech media choices justify their means

Prague, 6.4.2014 22:37, (ROMEA) On Sunday, 30 March, TV Nova broadcast a reportage about violence in the Czech town of Tanvald. Allegedly, several mothers had called TV Nova's editors to tell them their children had been attacked by the children of "inadaptables".  full story

Czech Republic: Prague 1 mayor rejects neo-Nazi lecture

Prague, 6.4.2014 3:21, (ROMEA) A neo-Nazi lecture scheduled to take place on 5 April in facilities owned by the Prague 1 municipality was prevented from going forward. On 4 April, Prague 1 Mayor Oldřich Lomecký immediately cancelled the municipality's leasing of its social centers to the neo-Nazi group.  full story

Czech Republic: Olah Roma elect new king

Hradec Králové, 6.4.2014 2:59, (ROMEA) Representatives of the Olah Roma selected a new king today in the Czech town of Hradec Králové. Robert Beneš of Brno, a 52-year-old entrepreneur, became king and says he now intends to create a new Olah Roma government.  full story

Czech neo-Nazis dupe management at venue

6.4.2014 2:37, (ROMEA) The Antifa.cz website has reported that a concert by the bands Lucky Punch, All Bandits and In Memoriam took place today at the Na Slamníku pub in Prague. According to the website, the organizers of the event chose a different tactic this time and scheduled a performance by non-existent bands thanks to which they were able to dupe the staff at the pub.  full story

Commentary: Roma meeting with Czech Human Rights Minister was good

Prague, 6.4.2014 1:31, (ROMEA) The recent meeting between Romani people from all regions of the Czech Republic and the Czech Minister for Human Rights, Equal Opportunities and Legislation, Jiří Dienstbier, was a very pleasant surprise. I first intended to write a classic reportage about it, without any personal remarks - brief, to the point, and objective - but I can't rid myself of my personal opinion and particular point of view, so this will be a cross between a blog and a news report.  full story

Czech Police reward four teenagers for saving a woman's life

Ústí nad Labem, 5.4.2014 0:36, (ROMEA) Four teenagers received awards today from Vladimír Danyluk, the director of the Ústí Regional Police, for saving someone's life. Last week the four saved the life of an older woman who was probably about to die as the result of a suicide attempt.  full story

Czech Police never found mosque vandal

Brno, 4.4.2014 20:38, (ROMEA) Police never determined who placed a pile of pork bones in front of the doors of a mosque on Vídeňská Street in Brno just before the Christmas holidays last year. The perpetrator of the offensive vandalism spread lard on the door handle and hung a piece of pork flesh on it as well.  full story

Czech art project appropriates "inadaptable" label

Stříbro, 4.4.2014 19:01, (ROMEA) On Thursday, 3 April, the advertising spaces in the West Bohemian town of Stříbro were flooded with photographs by Lukáš Houdek from his 2011 "Theory of Adaptability" (Teorie přizpůsobivosti) cycle. In a very direct and funny way, the photographs show how the label "inadaptable" is being disseminated by the Czech media and politicians.  full story

ERRC: On the Eve of the EU Roma Summit, Respect for the Human Rights of Roma is an Unfulfilled Promise

Budapest, 4.4.2014 14:05, (ROMEA) Member States of the European Union and candidate countries are meeting today in Brussels, just before International Roma Day on 8 April, to assess progress in addressing the problem of Roma exclusion in Europe. Unfortunately, the commitment to combatting discrimination and human rights abuses against Roma remains largely no more than a promise, despite the creation of an EU Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies and the Decade of Roma Inclusion. Throughout the EU and the countries aspiring to join the EU, Roma face significant rights abuses with an inadequate state response. A few examples illustrate the persistence of some of the most egregious abuses in EU Member States and candidate countries, relating to segregation, violence against Roma, and forced evictions leading to homelessness.  full story

Roma integration: EU Framework triggers first results

Brussels, 4.4.2014 13:41, (ROMEA) Concerted action by the European Commission has put Roma integration firmly on the political agenda across Europe. The first signs of improvement in the lives of Roma are slowly starting to show, says a new report unveiled today on Member States' progress achieved under the EU Framework for national Roma strategies.  full story

Czech Republic: Museum of Romani Culture exhibit shows myths about "gypsies"

Brno, 3.4.2014 21:25, (ROMEA) On 8 April, International Romani Day, the Museum of Romani Culture in the Czech Republic will open a new exhibit. The topic of this latest offering will be the difference between the actual form of Romani people's way of life and the often romantic ideas that have been created about them in the past by the majority society.  full story

Czech Republic: Eminent Romani activist says police, not Roma, must keep the peace

Prague, 3.4.2014 20:30, (ROMEA) News server Prvnizpravy.cz has reported today that "those in the Czech Republic who worship the Nazi ideology have announced that they will continue yet another series of anti-Romani marches in various places around the country this year. Experience from recent years has shown us that the responsible authorities are incapable of implementing effective prevention so that such excesses do not take place."  full story

Czech petition launched against verdict in Romani man's death

Prague, 3.4.2014 19:38, (ROMEA) An online petition has been created to express disagreement with the recent verdict of the Regional Court in the trial of Stanislav Sýkora. The 31-year-old Czech man attacked three Romani men on 24 May 2013.  full story

Czech Republic: Roma say they want English, not Romanes in schools

Prague, 3.4.2014 18:38, (ROMEA) A proposal by MPs from the TOP 09 party in the Czech Republic for primary school instruction to be partially conducted in Romanes with Romani children is considered dubious by many Romani people. Czech MP Anna Putnová put forward the idea, saying that teaching some subjects in Romanes would make it easier for children from Romani families to transition into the "Czech" schools.  full story

Czech PM to meet with the Statewide Association of Romani People

Prague, 2.4.2014 22:42, (ROMEA) The leadership of the Statewide Association of Romani People in the Czech Republic (Celostátní asociace Romů v ČR - CAR ČR) will meet on 3 April with Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka and with Czech Minister for Human Rights, Equal Opportunities and Legislation Jiří Dienstbier. Cyril Koky of the CAR ČR informed news server Romea.cz of the planned meeting.  full story