News

Czech Govt compensates another woman over illegal sterilization

Prague, 11.12.2012 16:15, (ROMEA) The Czech Government has settled out of court with a woman who complained to the European Court of Human Rights that she had been illegally sterilized. In addition to compensation of EUR 10 000, the agreement includes the concession that the government was at fault. The League of Human Rights is calling on the Government to face up to the controversial history of illegal sterilizations in the Czech lands and to compensate other such women who cannot sue because of statutes of limitations.  full story

Czech town says local "militia" is not useful

Chomutov, 11.12.2012 15:53, (ROMEA) The mayor of Chomutov has announced that after a half a year of activity, the town's local militia has not measured up. Former municipal police officer Petr Kubaczka established the militia this past summer to great media fanfare after his daughter was assaulted in a park there.  full story

Council of Europe supports Czech measures to implement D. H. judgment

Prague, 10.12.2012 23:13, (ROMEA) The Czech Education Ministry has issued the following press release, which news server Romea.cz presents in translation:  full story

Czech NGOs lobby to preserve human rights agenda on international day

Prague, 10.12.2012 17:41, (ROMEA) Human rights defenders are demanding that the Czech Prime Minister instruct his cabinet not to go through with budget cuts to the Office of the Government and not to transfer its advisory boards to various ministries. They are concerned that human rights protections in the Czech Republic will deteriorate as a result.  full story

Czech Senator Čunek chairing Senate Subcommittee on Human Rights

Prague, 10.12.2012 16:58, (ROMEA) Czech Senator Jiří Čunek has been appointed chair of the Senate Subcommittee on Human Rights and Equal Opportunity, which some may find a surprising choice. The appointment took place on 6 December when the Senate approved the change. Čunek will now take over the subcommittee, replacing former chair Miluše Horská, who has been elected Vice-Chair of the Senate.  full story

Czech Govt Agency for Social Inclusion: Field social work in Sokolov a success

Sokolov, 8.12.2012 18:38, (ROMEA) The Czech Government Agency for Social Inclusion has issued the following press release, which Romea.cz is providing in translation:  full story

Hitler's selected speeches published in Czech translation

Brno, 8.12.2012 18:04, (ROMEA) A selection of speeches made by the Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler between 1939 and 1942 has been released in the Czech language. Publisher and translator Pavel Kamas told the Czech Press Agency that he wanted to provide people with these speeches, which have been practically unavailable before now, so they could freely form their own opinions of them. Experts contacted by the Czech Press Agency have pointed out that the speeches are propaganda tools and could be misleading if not accompanied by expert commentary.  full story

Czech Govt Agency for Social Inclusion: Housing system in Litvínov a success

Litvínov, 7.12.2012 17:22, (ROMEA) The Czech Government Agency for Social Inclusion has issued the following press release:  full story

Germany will try to ban extremist NPD once again

Berlin, 7.12.2012 0:30, (ROMEA) After meeting on 5 December, the Interior Ministers of all 16 German states recommended initiating a new attempt to have the courts ban the ultra-right National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD). It is not clear whether the federal government will also join such a step. The first attempt to ban the NPD foundered at the Constitutional Court in 2003 and concerns predominate that the failure of another attempt could just strengthen the extremists.  full story

Czech police errors result in acquittal of neo-Nazis who assaulted Romani men

Hradec Králové, 6.12.2012 22:33, (ROMEA) An appeals court in Hradec Králové has rejected the appeal of state prosecutor Alexandr Pumprla in the case of Romani men who were beaten up in Nový Bydžov last year and has left intact the acquittal handed down by the district court. "The reason was lack of evidence. The blame primarily lies with police, who performed the suspect identification procedure poorly," David Oplatek of the In IUSTITIA organization, told news server Romea.cz.  full story

Romani scholar: Czech press reports on Romani origins oversimplify, promote stereotypes

Prague, 5.12.2012 17:57, (ROMEA) The Czech Press Agency has published an article on the genetic origins of Romani people in Europe which seems to be very imprecise. According to the wire service, Romani people in Europe are descended from the "Dalit caste" in India, which reportedly represents the lowest level in the professional caste hierarchy there. The ancestors of today's Romani people are said to have left the Indian subcontinent 1 000 years ago. The British newspaper The Daily Telegraph has also reported that these claims have been proven by a new genetic study.  full story

Czech Hockey Fans' Fair Play Charter now addresses racism

Czech Republic, 5.12.2012 16:30, (ROMEA) Hockey clubs in the Czech Extraliga have published the Hockey Fans' Fair Play Charter (Charta fair play hokejového fanouška) on their web pages condemning racism at stadiums and in everyday life. Hockey fans now have the opportunity to sign the charter as well.  full story

Greek neo-Nazis again attack immigrants, injuring one

Athens, Greece, 4.12.2012 16:59, (ROMEA) Greek news servers reported yesterday that a group of Greek neo-Nazis has once again attacked immigrant stall-keepers in Athens. One victim suffered injuries and was transported to hospital.  full story

videoCzech Govt Agency for Social Inclusion reports positive results

Most, 4.12.2012 16:34, (ROMEA) The Czech Government Agency for Social Inclusion has issued the following press release:  full story

videoGreece: Bomb explodes in front of Golden Dawn headquarters

Athens, Greece, 4.12.2012 16:06, (ROMEA) Reuters reports that a bomb exploded early this morning in front of the headquarters of the neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn, which is seated in parliament. No one was injured in the explosion in a suburb of Athens, which caused only material damage.  full story

videoCzech Republic: How Ústí nad Labem treats the poorest of the poor

Ústí nad Labem, Předlice, 4.12.2012 0:26, (ROMEA) Ústí nad Labem: An inversion layer hangs over the streets. I remember one like it from the days when there was mining in this north Bohemian region, and when much more brown coal was burned there than is today. Now the hard-to-breathe gases are returning to the region, reportedly because local chemical factories are starting up again. The town is grey, with few colors, and even fewer smiles among the passers-by.  full story

Spiegel: Rhetoric of the extreme right in Hungary has hit rock bottom

Budapest, Hungary, 3.12.2012 17:17, (ROMEA) Czech Radio has published a translation from German into Czech of an article published online by the German magazine Speigel about the ultra-right in Hungary. The magazine reports that Hungarian MP Márton Gyöngyösi of the extreme-right party "Movement for a Better Hungary" (Jobbik) declared last week in parliament that since citizens of Jewish origin pose a "security risk", a nationwide list of them should be compiled. "His statements prompted an enormous wave of indignation, but the government of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán distanced itself from the MP very slowly," Spiegel reports.  full story

Czech tabloid asks singers about photo of them giving the Nazi salute

Prague, 3.12.2012 16:04, (ROMEA) The Sunday edition of the Blesk tabloid in the Czech Republic reports that it has managed to acquire photographs of the stars who hosted this year's "Český slavík" (Czech Nightingale) awards ceremony, Lucie Bílá (46) and Daniel Landa (44), giving the Nazi salute. The snapshot is said to be an unaltered original and can be seen at http://www.blesk.cz/clanek/celebrity/186516/lucie-bila-a-daniel-landa-proc-jsme-hajlovali.html  full story

Czech Senator Tomio Okamura's antigypsy words of wisdom

Prague, 2.12.2012 20:43, (ROMEA) It is simply not possible to put together a list of all of Tomio Okamura's immortal remarks. News server Aktuálně.cz tried publishing a selection of the raciest of them recently. We at Romea.cz borrowed some of those and added others so as not to deprive our readers of the experience of following the words of this senator who claims he is neither populist, nor racist, nor xenophobic.  full story

Prague conference notes progress on Holocaust restitution

Prague, 1.12.2012 19:43, (ROMEA) First Deputy Foreign Minister Jiří Schneider and Stuart Eizenstat, an adviser to the US Government on Holocaust questions, told journalists in Prague Thursday that an international conference assessing the options for the return of property stolen during the Holocaust has noted general progress on the issue of restitution. However, Eizenstat and Schneider believe the correction of wrongs committed during the Nazi era is not yet over and there is a need to accelerate the restitution given the advanced age of the victims.  full story