The recent commission of a violent crime which the Czech media and the victim allege was committed by Romani people has prompted a wave of ostracism among the non-Romani residents of the town of Břeclav. The IQ Roma servis civic association, which works with Romani people in Břeclav, is now speaking up after conducting interviews with many of their adult and child clients, bringing forward the authentic feelings, opinions and testimonies of members of the Romani community about this situation.
Young Romani people in Břeclav are currently being subjected to behavior which they perceive as an assault on their basic human rights, be it when they are online, out in public, or in the schools. Some of them, especially the youngest of them, do not understand the majority society’s behavior and are afraid. The pedagogical staff of IQ Roma servis, who work daily with these youth at a recreational club and during individual instruction, have noted an impact on these children’s basic self-respect and sense of belonging to Czech society as well as their increased anxiety. Continue reading Czech Republic: Romani people attacked and ostracized despite voicing condemnation of recent assault
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Analysis: Czech ultra-right hates immigrants – except when they can use them against Roma
There is no doubt that the Workers‘ Social Justice Party (Dělnická strana sociální spravedlnosti – DSSS) and its related offshoot, the Workers‘ Youth (Dělnická mládež – DM), are a political force in the Czech Republic against immigrants, migrants and refugees. Even though the party has led a hate campaign against migrants for many years, it has now decided to make propaganda use of a Ukrainian family in Břeclav, exploiting their recent misfortune to foment hatred against Romani people as a whole. The DM is planning an anti-Romani demonstration in Břeclav tomorrow at which DSSS chair Tomáš Vandas will also appear.
In recent years, the DM and DSSS have made countless hateful statements about asylum seekers and immigrants. Let’s take a look at some of the more extreme examples.
„Our beautiful Czech land is being deluged by a destructive wave of immigration that is destroying everything beautiful here. We do not intend to tolerate this filth,“ Vandas said at one of his demonstrations. Footage of him making this statement was broadcast in a report by TV Nova on its news program on 18 April. Continue reading Analysis: Czech ultra-right hates immigrants – except when they can use them against Roma
Romani people are the Czech Republic’s least-liked minority group, relations toward them are deteriorating
Romani people comprise the national minority in the Czech Republic that is liked the least. Of Czech men and women over the age of 15, 78 % dislike Romani people, with only 7 % saying they like them. The relationship of Czech society toward Romani people deteriorated even further during the past year. Ethnic Slovaks, however, continue to be the most-liked minority. These are the results of a March survey of a total of 1 053 respondents on attitudes toward the country’s 16 national minorities, conducted by the Center for Public Opinion Research (Centrum pro výzkum veřejného mínění – CVVM) and provided to the Czech Press Agency.
One year ago, 12 % of Czechs surveyed said they liked Romani people and 74 % said they did not. This March, only 7 % of people over 15 said they like Romani people, while 78 % said they dislike them. A total of 41 % of respondents said they greatly dislike Romani people, who were the least-favored of any national minority, ranked at 5.69 on a scale of 1 to 7.
Albanians are the second least-liked minority in the Czech Republic. Only 15 % of Czechs like Albanians, with 48 % disliking them. They were ranked 4.75 on a scale of 1 to 7. The third least-liked minority, ranked at 4.64, are Ukrainians. Only 20 % of Czechs like them, while 51 % do not.
Czechs like themselves the most, followed by Slovaks; 88 % of people like ethnic Slovaks, with every 25th person expressing dislike for them. They were ranked at 2.16 on the 1 to 7 scale. Czechs evaluated themselves as the most likable, with 89 % saying they liked ethnic Czechs and every 50th person saying they dislike ethnic Czechs. The third most-liked minority are the Poles, with more than two-thirds of respondents liking them and every ninth respondent disliking them. Jewish people came in fourth place, with 13 % of respondents disliking them and 47 % liking them. One-third of Czechs feel antipathy toward Vietnamese people, while 35 % like them.
The authors of the research say Czechs aged between 30 and 44 most frequently like German people. Respondents who evaluated their own standard of living as poor harbor the greatest dislike of Albanians, Bulgarians, Chinese, Germans, Greeks, Hungarians, Jews, Poles, Romanians, Serbians, Ukrainians and Vietnamese. Respondents with a good standard of living expressed the most favor toward Chinese, Germans, Greeks, Jews Romanians and Vietnamese, according to CVVM.
Source: Romea.cz
Date: 14.04.2012
Neo-Nazis heading to Czech town for anti-Romani demonstration
The ultra-right extremist Workers‘ Youth (Dělnická mládež – DM) is convening a protest this Sunday in Břeclav to support a 15-year-old boy who was brutally beaten by three allegedly Romani men over the weekend there. The boy has been hospitalized and is in critical condition. Up to 1 000 people are expected to attend the event, which will culminate in a march through the center of town. Břeclav municipality spokesperson Eliška Windová informed the Czech Press Agency of the upcoming march today.
The march is announced as beginning at 9:00 AM CET and lasting until 20:00 on Sunday. It will start at the main train station in Břeclav. „The announcers met the legal requirements for the event to take place. For the time being there is no reason to ban it,“ the town spokesperson said.
The DM is an offshoot of the ultra-right radical Workers‘ Social Justice Party (Dělnická strana sociální spravedlnosti – DSSS). Sunday’s march was originally planned under completely different circumstances – friends of the beaten boy wanted to hold a „March for Little Peter and Our Security“ and announced the event on Facebook. Almost 1 000 people promised to attend it. During the ensuing online discussion, the issue of who should take up organizing the demonstration was raised. The DM then officially announced to the town hall that it was convening the protest.
The DSSS has already condemned the attack on the boy. „Given the fact that a large number of citizens are turning to us with requests for help about this case, the Workers‘ Party is prepared to support all events held in support of the beaten boy,“ DSSS Vice-Chair Jiří Štěpánek told the Czech Press Agency today. Numerous Romani organizations have also condemned the incident.
Petra Vedrová, a spokesperson for the South Moravian Police, told the Czech Press Agency today that police are following the circumstances around the protest and will take appropriate security measures on Sunday. Yesterday Mayor of Břeclav Oldřich Ryšavý (Czech Social Democrats – ČSSD) warned against the event turning into an anti-Romani demonstration. He also called the assailants „human beasts“ who must be apprehended.
The boy was assaulted by three men on Sunday evening. He testified that they were dark-skinned. One reportedly asked him for a cigarette. When the boy said he didn’t have one, the men beat him brutally. The boy telephoned his mother, who took him to the hospital, where he was operated on immediately. Doctors removed one of his kidneys and said his liver is also damaged. His mother told the media that the assailants were not interested in money, because they did not rob her son. Allegedly they just wanted to take their aggression out on him. The perpetrators face up to 10 years in prison if convicted.
Source: Romea.cz
Date: 18.04.2012
Position of Roma minority in Serbia „improved“
The position of Roma in Serbia has improved thanks to the Decade of Roma Inclusion, it was said at the opening of a three-day congress in Belgrade.
„The position of the Roma people in Serbia has significantly improved during the Decade of Roma Inclusion, but I am confident that many members of the Roma population have reasons to be dissatisfied,“ said Slavica Denić, the state secretary in the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights, Public Administration and Local Self-Government.
The members of the Roma population can be dissatisfied bearing in mind that there are still unhygienic settlements in Serbia, that few children go to kindergartens and that quite few Roma people are employed, Denić stated.
However, Serbia can be proud of the improvement in the field of education. Since 2003 the country got more than 1,000 Roma graduates, she underlined.
Denić qualified the congress as important, since it brought together representatives of 25 countries with the aim to exchange experience and find solutions jointly.
President of the World Roma Organization Jovan Damjanović said that the Decade of Roma Inclusion „has yielded results“ in Serbia.
„We have to get to grips with problems and bring about an intellectual Roma revolution,“ Damjanović said.He underlined that there are 12 to 15 million Roma people in Europe, but that they do not have any status.
Organizers announced that the congress will be dedicated to the legal status of the organization and the economic empowerment of the Roma people, and added that a declaration of the first congress of the World Roma Organization is expected to be adopted.
Source: B92
Date: 20.04.2012
Delegation of Romani to visit Israel on Holocaust memorial day
Half of European ‘Gypsy’ population murdered by the Nazis during WWII
A delegation of Romani people will take part in annual Holocaust memorial day ceremonies for the first time, Israel Radio reported on Thursday.
At least half of the European Romani population — commonly known in the English-speaking world as Gypsies — was murdered by the Nazis during WWII. Leaders of the community say that they share a similar fate to Jews.
The delegation will be led by Roman Kwiatkowski, Chairman of the Association of the Roma in Poland. Representatives will travel to Israel from Holland, Germany, the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia.
Israel’s annual Holocaust memorial day will be marked next Thursday, on the anniversary of the beginning of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising.
Quelle: The Times of Israel
Stand: 12.04.2012
Czech Republic: Ultra-right party plans march on Romani residences this Saturday
The Worker’s Social Justice Party (Dělnická strana sociální spravedlnosti – DSSS) has announced a „March on Chanov“ for Saturday, 7 April. That date is also the date this year of the Christian holiday of Holy Saturday and the Jewish holiday of Passover. During their provocation, the ultra-right extremists intend to march from the Most train station to the Chanov housing estate and to make speeches there on Zlatnická street.
The „Hate is No Solution“ (Nenávist není řešení) initiative has decided to take action against this provocation. News server Romea.cz publishes their press release below, translated in full.
Press Release of the Hate is No Solution initiative Continue reading Czech Republic: Ultra-right party plans march on Romani residences this Saturday
Czech Police recommend Romani residents stay home during ultra-right march
A meeting was held today at the community center at the Chanov housing estate in Most between representatives of the church, the Hate is No Solution initiative, the municipal and state police, and local residents. The main aim of the meeting was to agree on a common approach toward Saturday’s march at Chanov by supporters of the Workers‘ Social Justice Party (Dělnická strana sociální spravedlnosti – DSSS) and radical neo-Nazis from the National Resistance (Národní odpor – NO), who will be demonstrating their strength beneath the windows of the Romani families who live there. ROMEA TV requested permission to film today’s meeting, but the organizers would not permit it.
The community center discussion was completely dominated by police representatives and their paradoxical tactical recommendation of „Don’t be afraid – stay home“. Opening remarks were made by the director of the Municipal Police in Most, Bronislav Schwarz. His speech to the Romani residents, expressed in very familiar language that involved a fair amount of vulgarity, clearly communicated that it would be best for Chanov residents to remain shut up at home and that they neither express themselves nor show themselves during the march. “Don’t be terrorized, just stay home. This is all just journalists bullshitting that someone is coming here. No one’s coming here,“ Schwarz recommended.
What Schwarz thinks of Romani people was recently revealed in a statement he gave to the tabloid news server Parlamentnílisty.cz. He was quoted by them as saying that „out of 100 Gypsies, 10 are decent and hardworking, and we shouldn’t throw them into the same bag as the rotten ones.“ Continue reading Czech Police recommend Romani residents stay home during ultra-right march
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Medienspiegel:
Refugees from Kosovo trapped in Montenegro, balkaninsight, 22.3.2012
http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/obstacles-to-voluntary-return-from-montenegro
Suizid-Versuch bei nächtlicher Abschiebung, Hannoversche Allgemeine, 20.03.2012
http://www.haz.de/Nachrichten/Der-Norden/Uebersicht/Suizid-Versuch-bei-naechtlicher-Abschiebung
Report: Worrying Status of Refugees in Montenegro, balkaninsight, 22.2.2012
http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/experts-report-worrying-status-of-refugees-in-montenegro
Roma in eisige Kälte abgeschoben. Niedersachsens Innenminister in der Kritik, Neues Deutschland, 8.2.2012
http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/217891.roma-in-eisige-kaelte-abgeschoben.html
Roma in Nacht- und Nebelaktion abgeschoben, Norddeutscher Rundfunk, 7.2.2012
http://www.ndr.de/regional/niedersachsen/oldenburg/abschiebung185.html
Zurückgeschickt in die Fremde, taz v. 23.12.2011
http://www.taz.de/!84335/ Continue reading neue Einträge auf www.roma-kosovoinfo.com
Anti-Roma Violence in Czech Republic Must End
The European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC), Amnesty International and the Hate Is No Solution Coalition, sent a letter today calling for authorities to act against anti-Roma violence in Czech Republic.
The organisations are calling on authorities in Czech Republic to take urgent measures to prevent further attacks, to protect Roma from discriminatory violence and to ensure that all attacks are subject to a full and effective investigation.
There have been 23 violent attacks that have resulted in three deaths in the last six months, according to media reports. At least 16 anti-Roma rallies have taken place in the last year. And the ERRC is also aware of 11 arson attacks against the homes of Roma families in recent years.
Thomas Hammarberg, Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe recently published his report on the Human Rights of Roma and Travellers in Europe. It drew attention to the violent attacks against Roma in Czech Republic. Continue reading Anti-Roma Violence in Czech Republic Must End