Czech Republic

Zeman says he would not meet with the Dalai Lama if elected Czech President

Prague, 23.1.2013 16:29, (ROMEA) Speaking during a debate organized by the European Values (Evropské hodnoty) think-tank devoted primarily to foreign policy, presidential candidate Miloš Zeman (Strana práv občanů ZEMANOVCI - the Citizen's Rights Party for Zeman) said that if elected president of the Czech Republic he would refuse to meet with the Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama - unless the Dalai Lama was visiting in the capacity of a big investor. Karel Schwarzenberg (TOP 09), who will be Zeman's opponent during the second round of presidential elections, did not participate in the discussion, reportedly for lack of time.  full story

Czech Women's Lobby wants Zeman to apologize for remarks about rape

23.1.2013 15:59, (ROMEA) The Czech Women's Lobby (Česká ženská lobby) wants presidential candidate Miloš Zeman to apologize for his recent remarks about rape as an evolutionary advantage. Zeman launched his bonmot during a televised debate last Friday when explaining to his opponent, the aristocrat Karel Schwarzenberg, why the nobility has degenerated. According to the Czech Women's Lobby, whose director, Jana Smiggels Kavková, has sent an open letter to Zeman, such remarks are insulting to all women.  full story

Civic initiatives ask senators to sue Czech president for treason over amnesty

Prague, 23.1.2013 15:27, (ROMEA) Businessman Karel Janeček, who describes himself as fighting corruption, has sent the members of the Czech Senate an appeal demanding that they discuss bringing a constitutional complaint against Czech President Klaus for treason as per Article 65 of the Constitution in connection with the prisoner amnesty he announced earlier this month. The appeal has been signed by 17 organizations including Public against Corruption (Veřejnost proti korupci) and Democracy Inventory (Inventura demokracie).  full story

How to vote in the second round of the Czech presidential election

23.1.2013 14:43, (ROMEA) Voting in the second round of the presidential elections in the Czech Republic will take place on Friday 25 January 2013 from 14:00 - 22:00 CET and on Saturday 26 January 2013 from 08:00 - 14:00 CET. Voters can choose between candidates Karel Schwarzenberg and Miloš Zeman.  full story

Czech court issues remarkable sentence in case of racist attack on Romani worker

Ostrava, 22.1.2013 4:35, (ROMEA) A first-instance court in the Czech Republic has handed down a verdict in the case of an assault committed against Mr Š.L. of Havířov last August. Judge Lubomíra Bínová sentenced a local youth, Martin Šmolka, to three years in prison without parole and ordered him to pay damages to the victim in the amount of CZK 100 000 (EUR 3 900). According to the court, the defendant (age 22) committed racially motivated grievous bodily harm and rioting (as per section 146, paras. 1, 2 letter e, 3; and section 358 of the Criminal Code).  full story

Czech Police propose charging 15 women with promoting neo-Nazism

Prague, 19.1.2013 19:44, (ROMEA) Detectives from the Czech Republic's Organized Crime Detection Unit (Útvar pro odhalování organizovaného zločinu - ÚOOZ) have proposed prosecuting 15 women charged with promoting and supporting the neo-Nazi movement Resistance Women Unity (RWU), according to ÚOOZ spokesperson Pavel Hanták. Police believe RWU is the women's branch of National Resistance (Národní odpor), an informal organization of Czech neo-Nazis. The women face up to eight years in prison if convicted.  full story

Czech High Court again reviews whether attorney should be removed from "machete" case

Liberec, 18.1.2013 23:34, (ROMEA) The Czech High Court will once again take up the matter of whether attorney Klára Samková should be removed from representing defendants in the so-called "machete attack" case. The incident in Nový Bor in 2011 injured three people.  full story

Czech filmmakers finish documentary about shooting death of Romani man

Prague, 17.1.2013 17:12, (ROMEA) News server iDNES.cz reports that prominent documentary film directors Vít Klusák and Filip Remunda have just completed a documentary entitled "Život a smrt v Tanvaldu" ("Life and Death in Tanvald"). A trailer for the film can be seen online at http://vimeo.com/56657563. The filmmakers mapped the tense relations between Czech and Romani people in the town of Tanvald, where a Czech pensioner shot a 22-year-old Romani man to death one year ago. The case was eventually ruled one of self-defense.  full story

Romani activists ask Czech Government not to close Human Rights Section

Prague, 16.1.2013 3:27, (ROMEA) Romani students and youth activists have written to the Czech Government asking it to preserve the Human Rights Section at the Office of the Government. The activists say dispersing the agenda of the section between various ministries would endanger the protection of "the most vulnerable groups" in society, such as children, minorities, people living with disabilities, and seniors.  full story

Crisis Committee's open letter to Czech Government

Prague, 16.1.2013 2:50, (ROMEA) The following is a full translation of the Crisis Committee's open letter to the Czech Government asking it not to close the Human Rights Section.  full story

Prominent Romani figures in Czech Republic on the presidential vote

Prague, 14.1.2013 17:59, (ROMEA) The historic first round of direct presidential elections in the Czech Republic this past Friday and Saturday has determined who will compete for votes during the second round. The electorate and the electorate alone is now responsible for choosing the head of state.  full story

Former EU Commissioner's Facebook page hacked to send antisemitic posts about Czech presidential candidates

Prague, 14.1.2013 16:04, (ROMEA) The role of social networking sites and the internet has become a topic of discussion in the Czech Republic 14 days prior to the second round of voting in the presidential elections there. The significant electoral success of Karel Schwarzenberg in the first round is said to have been largely due to his online presence.  full story

Czech Republic: Zeman wins first round in some Romani neighborhoods

Chanov/Prague, 14.1.2013 1:08, (ROMEA) In the historically first direct election of the president in the Czech Republic, candidate Miloš Zeman won most of the votes cast at the Chanov housing estate in the town of Most. Voter turnout was extremely low, with only 59 voters casting ballots, a mere 6.43 % of those eligible.  full story

Schwarzenberg and Zeman face off in Czech presidential vote

Prague, 12.1.2013 19:34, (ROMEA) The next Czech president will either be former prime minister Miloš Zeman (of the Strana práv občanů ZEMANOVCI - the Citizen's Rights Party for Zeman, or SPOZ), or the chair of the TOP 09 party, current Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg. Not all of the votes cast during the first round of the direct election have been counted, but no one else will be able to earn as many as would be needed to end up in first or second place.  full story

OSCE election monitor team focuses on Romani participation in Czech vote

Prague, 12.1.2013 2:59, (ROMEA) Observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) are following the historically first direct election of the president in the Czech Republic. Deputy Head of Mission Goran Petrov of Macedonia told the Czech Press Agency that the direct presidential election is interesting to the observers, who were invited by the Czech authorities.  full story

Czech ministers criticize public tv for allegedly racist reporting on amnesty

Prague, 10.1.2013 17:16, (ROMEA) Czech Prime Minister Petr Nečas (Civic Democrats - ODS) says that most of his cabinet ministers have criticized the allegedly racist way in which Czech Television has reported on the prisoners released by the recent amnesty. The PM says Czech Culture Minister Alena Hanáková is considering filing a complaint with the Council for Radio and Television Broadcasting (Rada pro rozhlasové a televizní vysílání - RRTV), but Daniela Němcová, Czech Television's Director of Communications, rejects the charges of racism.  full story

Czech voters elect president directly for the first time in history

Prague, 10.1.2013 16:40, (ROMEA) Over the coming days, Czech voters nationwide will have have the opportunity to select their president for the first time in history. Up until now that role has been played by Parliament. During the first round of voting, should no single candidate receive more than half of the votes, people will at least determine which two of the nine candidates will make it to the final round of voting in two weeks' time.  full story

How the Czech amnesty has aided racist assailants

Prague, 10.1.2013 5:56, (ROMEA) News server Aktuálně.cz has published new information about the perpetrators of racially motivated violent crimes who have now been released from their sentences as a result of the Czech President's amnesty. As we previously reported (http://www.romea.cz/en/news/czech/czech-prisoner-amnesty-releases-racist-assailants-and-extremists), the infamous rowdies from Nýrsko, Boublík and Miškovič, have been released. Last year they first attacked a small group of children for no reason and then broke into a nearby home which they knew was occupied by a Romani family, where they tried to strangle a male family member using a sweatshirt.  full story

Czech presidential candidate: Democracy can't work without civil society

Prague, 7.1.2013 17:36, (ROMEA) News server Romea.cz has prepared a questionnaire for candidates running in what will be the first-ever direct election of the president of the Czech Republic. We asked all of the candidates, among other things, about their strategies for addressing the issue of social exclusion and their opinions on the integration of the Romani minority, particularly on how they intend to achieve improvements in that direction. We were also interested in their approach toward right-wing extremists, toward the issue of segregating pupils in primary schools, and toward the case of the pig farm located on the site of a WWII-era forced labor camp for Romani people.  full story

Czech presidential candidate: We must understand the specifics of each minority

Prague, 7.1.2013 16:52, (ROMEA) News server Romea.cz has prepared a questionnaire for candidates running in what will be the first-ever direct election of the president of the Czech Republic. We asked all of the candidates, among other things, about their strategies for addressing the issue of social exclusion and their opinions on the integration of the Romani minority, particularly on how they intend to achieve improvements in that direction. We were also interested in their approach toward right-wing extremists, toward the issue of segregating pupils in primary schools, and toward the case of the pig farm located on the site of a WWII-era forced labor camp for Romani people.  full story