Five companies have said they will no longer place advertising in a Hungarian newspaper that published extreme anti-Roma statements.
The withdrawal follows a campaign by 24 NGOs, who contacted 15 companies that advertise with Magyar Hírlap, a right-wing Hungarian daily newspaper. The NGOs asked the companies to consider suspending their advertising activities in the newspaper until it distances itself from the racist, homophobic and anti-Semitic views expressed by Zsolt Bayer, who compared Roma to ‘animals’ and called for a solution, saying “This must be dealt with – immediately, and by any means necessary”.
Erste Bank blacklisted Magyar Hírlap after the NGOs‘ letter, and expressly brought it to their media agency’s attention to “act more prudently next time” when dealing with the publication of their advertisements. They also emphasised that the bank will not advertise in any media whose content “hurts the dignity of others, or uses an inflammatory tone regarding any minority, ethnicity, or religious group”. The leaders of CIB Bank said that the CIB Group will refrain from advertising in Magyar Hírlap and its portal “until the editorial staff categorically condemns Zsolt Bayer’s writing and ensures that both publications are free from writings that include hate speech”. IKEA, FedEx, and GDF Suez also distanced themselves from the article, and stated they do not plan to advertise in the online version of the newspaper in the future. Continue reading Advertisers Withdraw From Hungarian Newspaper Over Anti-Roma Statements
Category Archives: Posts in English
Roma Gypsy Children In France Banned In Lyon Schools, Taught In Police Station
Roma gypsy children in France are being educated in a police station – because schools refuse to let the children learn in regular classes.
France 24 reported that the 20 children, aged between six and 12, are being taught on the second-floor of a police station in Saint-Fons, Lyon, by one teacher.
The children do not receive school meals, and walk 1.5km home to their encampment by the city’s bypass, according to the report.
France anti-racism charity MRAP called the situation a „ghetto“ and said it denounced the move by authorities.
It said in a statement: „We condemn the refusal of the municipality to admit children in a school canteen, which forces them to return home by foot.“The makeshift school has „poor hygiene and safety,“ the charity said. „School should be a place where children integrate, but some officials have sought to make it a divider.“
The temporary Roma camp in the city is controversial with Mayor Christiane Demontès attempting to have its inhabitants forcibly removed. Approximately 15,000 ethnic Roma, mostly originating from Bulgaria and Romania, live across France.
Source: The Huffington Post
Date: 31.01.2013
Slovakia: Romani man decapitated while still alive
Slovakia has been shaken by the brutal murder of 37-year-old Daniel Horváth, a Romani man who was decapitated while still alive, according to a court autopsy. Last Friday police charged three men aged 17, 18 and 39 with Horvath’s murder. „The suspects face between 20 and 25 years in prison, with the possibility of life in prison,“ said Nitra police spokesperson Renáta Čuháková.
The murder took place a week ago in the village of Žihárec. The headless body was found several days later near the village of Šoporňa (Galanta district).
Horvath’s relatives began looking for him two days before Christmas because he had not yet returned home for the holidays. „We went to ask whether they hadn’t locked him into the bar where he’d been, to see if he was sleeping there, but all that was found there was his t-shirt. Ever since then we’ve just been looking for him everywhere,“ a relative said.
The family gradually found out what is alleged to have taken place. „They kicked him around before the massacre. I heard they took him back to their home in a wheelbarrow,“ the relative said. Continue reading Slovakia: Romani man decapitated while still alive
Slovakia: Romani man decapitated while still alive
Slovakia has been shaken by the brutal murder of 37-year-old Daniel Horváth, a Romani man who was decapitated while still alive, according to a court autopsy. Last Friday police charged three men aged 17, 18 and 39 with Horvath’s murder. „The suspects face between 20 and 25 years in prison, with the possibility of life in prison,“ said Nitra police spokesperson Renáta Čuháková.
The murder took place a week ago in the village of Žihárec. The headless body was found several days later near the village of Šoporňa (Galanta district).
Horvath’s relatives began looking for him two days before Christmas because he had not yet returned home for the holidays. „We went to ask whether they hadn’t locked him into the bar where he’d been, to see if he was sleeping there, but all that was found there was his t-shirt. Ever since then we’ve just been looking for him everywhere,“ a relative said.
The family gradually found out what is alleged to have taken place. „They kicked him around before the massacre. I heard they took him back to their home in a wheelbarrow,“ the relative said. Continue reading Slovakia: Romani man decapitated while still alive
Czech prisoner amnesty releases racist assailants and extremists
The amnesty announced yesterday by Czech President Václav Klaus will release several infamous Czech extremists from serving their conditional sentences. Amnesties have also been granted to perpetrators of brutal racist attacks, such as the one committed against Romani people in Nýrsko and the attack committed by a former DSSS (Workers‘ Social Justice Party) candidate against a Moroccan citizen in Rožmitál. According to preliminary estimates by the Czech Justice Ministry, the number of prisoners covered by the amnesty totals 6 876. That number might still change.
The Czech Justice Minister has pointed out that the release does not concern anyone who has been remanded into custody for prosecution. Previously he stated that the terms of the amnesty covered prisoners who had been given sentences of one year or less and that it should therefore most frequently apply to perpetrators of felony obstruction of official decisions and perpetrators of petty property crimes, such as shoplifting. Continue reading Czech prisoner amnesty releases racist assailants and extremists
Slovak Republic Targets Roma Homes as ‘Waste’
Slovak authorities are targeting Romani communities for forced evictions under the pretext of environmental law. The European Roma Rights Centre is highlighting the problem with two letters of concern to authorities on a previous and planned forced eviction, which see Roma settlements designated as communal waste.
More than 150 people were evicted from their homes in the district of Nižné Kapustníky (Kosice) on 30 October 2012, including more than 60 children. Their homes were demolished and the Roma were sent by bus to other parts of the country where they are supposedly registered. Media reports suggest that at least 17 were bussed to the village of Rakúsy where they have no residence registration, no one to stay with and were forced to inhabit an empty building. The Mayor subsequently ordered them to leave.
The ERRC understands authorities are also planning to evict around 200 Romani people from the Pod Hrádkom neighbourhood in Prešov, and demolish the three blocks of flats where they live. There is no clear information on what will happen to these people if the eviction goes ahead.
Forced evictions of Roma on environmental grounds are on the rise. More than 400 mayors of towns and villages have signed up to a movement called Zobudme sa! (Let´s wake up!). The movement aspires to coordinate a targeted programme of demolition aimed at Roma settlements by defining them as waste dumps.
The Slovak Republic does not have a moratorium on forced evictions during winter months. Evicting Roma in freezing temperatures and failing to provide adequate alternative accommodation is not acceptable.
The ERRC is calling on the Slovak authorities to assist the Romani people who have already been evicted as a matter of urgency, and to stop any further forced evictions which are not in line with international human rights standards.
Source and further information: ERRC
Date: 20.12.2012
Roma Feel Less Fear and More Hope After Census
A grassroots campaign to increase Roma registration in Serbia’s official census has made a major contribution to an unprecedented success there. Announcing the official results of the 2011 census, the Serbian Statistical Office reported a 40 percent increase in the official number of Roma in comparison to the last census held in 2002. As of a week ago, 147,604 Roma are officially registered in Serbia, making them the second biggest minority in the country, right after Hungarians.
This increase is expected to affect Serbian public policies concerning Roma. As outlined in Serbia’s minority legislation, census data is directly translated into assigned quotas in employment for public administration and police. A higher, more representative figure for the Roma population in Serbia means the government will be legally obliged to hire more Roma in public enterprises and increase Roma representation in public institutions and public service media. Also, it is expected that more accurate statistics will be factored into the Roma Decade policies promising to provide fair opportunities for Roma children in education and their parents in employment.
Overall, the Serbian census has registered a decrease in the population of minorities. A demographic drop was registered for the Croat minority of 18 percent, Romanian 15.2 percent and Hungarian of 13.3 percent. Besides Roma, only the Bosniak minority has recorded an increase of 6.7 percent. In addition to the overall population decline due to migration and higher mortality rates, experts recognize ethnic mimicry and assimilation as the main reasons for the decrease. Continue reading Roma Feel Less Fear and More Hope After Census
MfD: Court acquits 13 suspected of attack on Roma
Thirteen Czech ultra-right extremists suspected of attacking three Romanies have been definitely acquitted by the appeals court, which said it was impossible to prove who of them committed the crime, daily Mlada fronta Dnes (MfD) writes yesterday.
The appeals court upheld the lower-level court’s acquittal verdict, which was appealed by the state attorney, MfD’s east Bohemian supplement writes, citing the appeals court spokeswoman.
The suspects attended a demonstration of the ultra-right Workers‘ Party of Social Justice (DSSS) in Novy Bydzov, east Bohemia, last year.
After the demonstration, they attacked a trio of Romanies whom they beat in their faces and kicked them, the state attorney said.
One of the victims suffered a head injury and lost consciousness.
Citing the judges, MfD writes that the police failed to gather enough evidence and made mistakes when questioning witnesses.
Some suspects asserted that the Romanies attacked them first, while others said they could not remember anything, or refused to testify or said they appeared on the site of the incident by sheer coincidence.
Source: Prague Daily Monitor
Date: 12.12.2012
Czech police errors result in acquittal of neo-Nazis who assaulted Romani men
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.
Oplatek believes the principle of a speedy trial was violated throughout the entire procedure because the justice system left the victims in uncertainty for a long time. „The entire criminal proceedings took a year and a half, during which the district court was unable to deliver its verdicts for almost a year,“ Oplatek said. The decision of the appeals court has already taken effect.
The district court absolved the alleged assailants of the charges of rioting and defaming a creed, nation, or race. The rioting consisted of beating up two Romani men when the extremists marched through the town after a demonstration by the Workers‘ Social Justice Party (DSSS), and the defamation was performed through shouting racist slogans such as „You black gypsy swine“.
The DSSS promoters were not found innocent, but were acquitted. Judge Karel Peřina said during his previous explanation of the district court verdict that there was no doubt that the crimes described in the indictment took place, but it had not been proven which defendant(s) committed them. Continue reading Czech police errors result in acquittal of neo-Nazis who assaulted Romani men
Hate crime investigation launched surrounding Ezra Levant’s Roma broadcast
The Roma Community Centre in Toronto wants police to investigate comments made by Ezra Levant in a recent broadcast on Sun News Network as a hate crime.
The centre says it has “officially reported a hate crime” about Ezra Levant’s broadcast, “The Jew vs. the Gypsies” that aired on his show The Source on September 5. The Toronto Police Service confirmed to J-Source that they are investigating a complaint from the centre.
“The hate crime unit is investigating,” said Toronto Police constable Wendy Drummond. “The complaint is new, and the investigation is ongoing.”
No charges have been laid.
In the broadcast, Levant accused the Roma of cheating the Canadian refugee system, and stereotyped them as criminals. He said:
“These are gypsies, a culture synonymous with swindlers. The phrase gypsy and cheater have been so interchangeable historically that the word has entered the English language as a verb: he gypped me. Well the gypsies have gypped us. Too many have come here as false refugees. And they come here to gyp us again and rob us blind as they have done in Europe for centuries … They’re gypsies. And one of the central characteristics of that culture is that their chief economy is theft and begging.” Continue reading Hate crime investigation launched surrounding Ezra Levant’s Roma broadcast