Czech Republic

Czech region asks police to investigate European Social Fund allocations

Liberec, 12.3.2013 14:32, (ROMEA) Today's Liberec edition of the daily Mladá fronta DNES (MfD) reports that the Liberec Regional Authority wants the allocation of social subsidies in recent years to be investigated by police. Due to errors in the management of those subsidies and insufficient oversight, the region may have to return millions of Czech crowns received from EU funds for spending on social projects. A recent audit has revealed that not only have some subsidy recipients committed errors, but that the blame lies mainly with politicians and regional bureaucrats.  full story

Romani groups ask Czech mayor to prohibit ultra-rightist march on 1 May

Přerov, 12.3.2013 0:09, (ROMEA) The Committee for the Redress of the Roma Holocaust (Výbor pro odškodnění romského holocaustu - VPORH), the Equal Opportunities Party (Strana rovných příležitostí - SRP) and other Romani initiatives have called on the Mayor of Přerov, Jiří Lajtoch (Czech Social Democratic Party - ČSSD) to prohibit the upcoming march by ultra-right extremists from the Workers' Youth (Dělnická mládež - DM) and the Workers' Social Justice Party (DSSS) on 1 May 2013. The groups are planning to march through streets predominantly inhabited by Romani residents.  full story

Czech association raising awareness among Romani tenants about hazards

Ústí nad Labem, Předlice, 11.3.2013 23:22, (ROMEA) The Konexe association is holding its third Romani community meeting on Tuesday 12 March at 13:00 CET on the corner of Prostřední and Řeháčkova streets in the Předlice quarter of Ústí nad Labem. The program of the meeting will cover the overall fate of Předlice, a discussion of options for resolving the situation there, which buildings are hazardous and the risks they present for their occupants and to inhabitants of the quarter in general.  full story

Czech attorney claims police tampered with evidence in shooting of Romani man

Tanvald, 11.3.2013 22:38, (ROMEA) News server iDNES.cz reports that the father of Ladislav Tatár, the Romani man shot dead on New Year's Day last year, and his attorney want the state prosecutor to reopen the investigation into the shooting. A non-Romani pensioner shot two Romani brothers in the early morning hours of 1 January 2012 in Tanvald, killing one and injuring the other. The deceased's father and his attorney claim to have new evidence and have allegedly found many discrepancies in the previous investigation.  full story

Czech Republic: Ultra-right plans march through Přerov on 1 May

Přerov, 9.3.2013 21:41, (ROMEA) Right-wing extremists are planning to visit Přerov again. They have chosen the date of 1 May and several months ago reserved T.G. Masaryk Square (náměstí T. G. Masaryka) in the town center. They are also planning a march through the town that will cover more than two kilometers.  full story

Czech broadcasting body says tv station spread hatred against Romani people

Prague, 9.3.2013 21:12, (ROMEA) The Czech Council for Radio and Television Broadcasting (Rada pro rozhlasové a televizní vysílání - RRTV) has warned the TV Barrandov station (Barrandov Televizní Studio a.s.) that it has broken the law in its broadcasting. The violation reportedly occurred during the program "Joke for CZK 100" (Vtip za stovku) on 20 February 2013 at 20:00. The program included the following joke:  full story

Czech town council meeting holds stormy discussion about ghetto

Ústí nad Labem, 9.3.2013 20:38, (ROMEA) People from the Konexe civic association believe that buildings in disrepair in the Ústí nad Labem quarter of Předlice are currently occupied, endangering the lives of their inhabitants. In their view, building no. 4 on Řeháčkova street is in particularly poor shape.  full story

Czech President Miloš Zeman wants to fight the mafia, neo-Nazis, and some media

Prague, 8.3.2013 23:52, (ROMEA) Miloš Zeman wants to fight against the mafia, neo-Nazis, and a large part of the media whom he believes are focused on "brainwashing" during his term as president. In his inaugural speech at Prague Castle he also offered his office as a neutral space for dialogue between organizations and political parties.  full story

New Czech film claims Romani youths did not assault man who shot them

Prague, 8.3.2013 17:55, (ROMEA) On Sunday 10 March at 20:00 CET, Czech Television will be broadcasting a documentary film by Vít Klusák and Filip Remunda, "Life and Death in Tanvald" (Život a smrt v Tanvaldu) on its ČT2 channel. Against the background of seeking to learn the truth about the scandalous killing of a young Romani man in the early morning hours of New Year's Day 2012, the documentary filmmakers show us a town riddled with intolerance and unemployment.  full story

Czech Republic: Trafficking in poverty on the rise, landlords cashing in

Most, Ostrava, 8.3.2013 0:24, (ROMEA) The number of people living in residential hotels in the Czech town of Ostrava is rising sharply. News server iDNES.cz reports that the owners of these facilities are making such good money that CZK 172 million in housing supplements flowed to Ostrava last year alone, double the amount previously allocated  full story

Czech town files suit against activist for allegedly spreading false information

Ústí nad Labem, 6.3.2013 22:02, (ROMEA) The town of Ústí nad Labem has published a list of the most seriously damaged buildings in the municipal departments of Krásné Březno and Předlice. According to the findings of the town hall's experts, no people are physically living in any of them.  full story

Czech teachers' lobby wins fight to keep "practical primary schools" open

Prague, 6.3.2013 16:52, (ROMEA) News server iDNES.cz reports that an influential teachers' lobbying group has pushed through amendments to the Government's "Strategy for the Fight against Social Exclusion", which originally proposed closing the "practical primary schools" in the Czech Republic by 2015. The Czech Education Ministry is not counting on closing these facilities in the immediate future, as it says mainstream primary schools are not prepared for children with special needs.  full story

Czech Republic: A day in the Předlice ghetto

Ústí nad Labem, 5.3.2013 15:19, (ROMEA) The following article, presented here by Romea.cz in full translation, was first published by Penize.cz with photographs at http://www.penize.cz/socialni-davky/250849-reportaz-z-okraje-predlice-bida-zita-az-na-dren  full story

Czech NGO: Information on next wave of evictions in Ústí being suppressed

Ústí nad Labem, 2.3.2013 0:45, (ROMEA) The Konexe civic association has issued a press release warning of the alleged existence of a list of five buildings in the Předlice quarter of Ústí nad Labem whose occupants are to be evacuated just as others recently were from a building on Beneše Lounského street there. "The working group that managed the eviction of building no. 106 continues to meet on this problem and is discussing further evictions at its sessions as well as the fate of the Předlice ghetto in general. Neither the Romani people being discussed nor the public as a whole are being informed as to the content of these discussions or that they are even taking place," reads the press release, which is below in full translation.  full story

ROMEA joins declaration of solidarity with Syrian civilians

Prague, 1.3.2013 23:25, (ROMEA) The ROMEA association has joined an initiative expressing solidarity with civilians in Syria afflicted by the armed conflict that has been ongoing there for some time. Through its declarations (an open letter and a petition) the initiative is calling on Czech politicians, the European Union and the United Nations to open cross-border corridors for humanitarian aid, mainly from Turkey. Today aid is primarily not reaching the people living in northern Syria on territory in the hands of the opposition. Below please find the full translation of the declaration:  full story

Nine families still at risk of eviction and homelessness in Ostrava

Ostrava, 1.3.2013 17:21, (ROMEA) News server iDNES.cz reports that people living in the residential hotel on Božkova street in Ostrava now have only three months in which to find new homes. The municipal department of Moravská Ostrava a Přívoz will be closing it at the end of May and will not be offering the tenants substitute accommodation, but the nine families have nowhere to go. As news server Romea.cz reported 14 days ago, they have no money and are at risk of ending up on the street.  full story

Czechs fathering children with non-EU mothers could face DNA tests

Prague, 27.2.2013 23:48, (ROMEA) Czech men who father a child with a foreign woman from a non-EU country may be required to undergo DNA testing as of next year. If they have not married the mother of their daughter or son and want their child to have Czech citizenship, they may first have to prove their paternity. A draft law on citizenship under discussion in the lower house has proposed the measure.  full story

Czech Republic: Youth gives Nazi salute, racist abuse to Romani bus driver

Ústí nad Labem, 26.2.2013 22:29, (ROMEA) On Monday 25 February a Romani trolleybus driver had to call a municipal police patrol to deal with a young man who assaulted him verbally, shouted racist slogans and gave the Nazi salute. The driver, himself a former municipal police officer, called his former colleagues to take charge of the youth and remove him from the bus, as his behavior was not just an assault on the driver, but was bothering his fellow passengers.  full story

Czech EdMin to research number of children educated as disabled

Prague, 26.2.2013 16:38, (ROMEA) News server iDNES.cz reports that the Czech Education Ministry wants to find out how many pupils are being taught according to an educational program for children with "light brain dysfunction". The Czech Republic has long faced criticism that it enrolls large numbers of Romani pupils into what were once called the "special schools" who do not belong there. Better record-keeping is one step toward correcting the situation.  full story

Slovakia: Brutal attack on black basketball player under investigation

Nitra, Slovakia, 23.2.2013 19:49, (ROMEA) News server SME.sk reports that basketball player Jean Rony Cadot has suffered a brutal assault in Slovakia. The player, who was born in the Bahamas, has been playing in the Slovak league since last fall. He was attacked and beaten in front of a nightclub in the town of Nitra.  full story