Commentary

Slovakia: Police arrest Romani candidate, his daughter insists he is innocent

21.10.2017 8:20 On Friday, 13 October, hundreds of members of Slovakia's National Financial Police Unit, the National Crime Agency, and other police forces intervened against people in the regions of Banská Bystrica, Bratislava, Košice and Prešov. "Officers involved in Operation SHARK are seaching houses and other places in more than 40 buildings with the aim of documenting serious economic criminal activity," the police posted to their Facebook profile.

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Alena Gronzíková: Romale, don't be lazy, vote! Otherwise Okamura will govern us!

13.10.2017 9:18 There are just a couple of days left before the parliamentary elections in the Czech Republic and the campaigns are in full swing and becoming more intense. The current estimates for the outcome, however, are not predicting anything positive.  full story

Iveta Bílková: Romani people must vote - it is a citizen's most basic right

6.10.2017 9:05 The elections for the Czech lower house are coming up. The Chamber of Deputies is where decisions are made about how the republic should run, the direction the state should head in, and mainly, where the citizens of this state are headed, including minorities.  full story

Commentary: Educator running for office confuses ideology with values

30.9.2017 9:25 So, what would you do in this situation: You are employed to work behind the counter of a department where the internal regulations forbid you to fill out forms on behalf of a client. Then an elderly lady comes to your counter whose body shakes so much that she cannot even hold a pen.  full story

Jan Horváth: We need a better President of the Czech Republic. Kampel amenge feder prezidentos

26.9.2017 7:39 The highest representative of any state should represent the nation. That means being its protector, its spokesperson, and defending the rights of all its citizens equally.  full story

Commentary: By honoring Zeman, US Jewish organization is promoting the fascisization of Czech society

25.9.2017 9:57 It is always sad when educated, intelligent people lose their judgment thanks to the larger atmosphere in which they operate. A Jewish organization based in the USA has recently given Czech President Miloš Zeman an award calling him a "Warrior for Truth".  full story

Roman Koky: Prejudice just drives me further, education is the most important thing

22.9.2017 7:44 Like any Romani person, I have sometimes had to go through difficult situations. Especially at primary school, where my brother and I were subjected to racist remarks from other students day in and day out.  full story

Monika Mihaličková: Why it's important that we Roma support each other

9.9.2017 17:21 We Roma have generosity in our blood. It is a component of our culture.  full story

Czech NGO: Court has failed shamefully in case of death threats against Romani singer

30.8.2017 7:40 News server Romea.cz is publishing here in full translation the entire statement by the In IUSTITIA organization about the recent verdict from the District Court in Kladno in the matter of the mass social media attack on Romani singer Radek Banga last year. On 24 August the court sentenced one person, David Šmíd, to perform 100 hours of community service work as punishment for making death threats.  full story

Commentary: Czech politician calls police on American couple - because they're black

28.8.2017 12:59 Earlier this month a local councilor in Hodonín, Roman Sedlačík, caused an uproar by doing something unbelievable. He is a member of the conservative nationalist movement called the "Order of the Nation" (Řád národa), which has become "famous" for making a lot of racist noise, including Holocaust denial.  full story

Karel Holomek: Czech President's proposal to leave pig farm on genocide site is out of touch

13.7.2017 17:34 On 24 June, at the site of the former concentration camp for Romani people at Lety u Písku, representatives of Romani people from all over Europe assembled, supported by many official European actors in a group reportedly totalling at least 300 people. The initiators of the protest against the pig farm on that site were not Czech Roma, although members of Czech Romani communities did attend the gathering.  full story

David Beňák: Health inequality in the Czech Republic a topic now that Romani infant mortality double the national average

8.7.2017 17:24 Inequality and the discrimination flowing from it exists in the Czech Republic across a wide palette of variations. Inequality exists with respect to incomes, access to education and to information generally.
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Bernard Rorke: Bulgarian government sticks a middle finger at Europe and appoints a fascist to head integration unit

28.6.2017 16:45 The muted EU response to the appointment of Patriot Front henchman, Valeri Simeonov, to lead Bulgaria’s council on integration beggars belief. In an open letter on May 29, nearly 400 Bulgarian human rights activists and intellectuals, denounced the appointment of a "pronounced supporter of fascist and neo-Nazi ideology,"  full story

Marian Dancso: Czech justice through the eyes of Filip Grznár, who threatens Roma with murder

26.6.2017 9:58 "He took his legally licensed 9 millimeter and shot him, he did a good deed." That is how Filip Grznár has expressed his view of the recent shooting death of a young Romani man in Chomutov.  full story

Commentary: Social Exclusion is a Global Issue

23.6.2017 14:00

The issues the Roma face in Europe are issues that many minorities around the globe face as well. There is unequal distribution of education, employment, and housing.

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Thorbjorn Jagland Explains How Roma Empowerment Can Educate Us

12.6.2017 23:50 Speaking on 8 June 2017 in Berlin, Council fo Europe Secretary General Jagland expressed his support for the launch of the European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture (ERIAC). The Council of Europe views ERIAC as an independent organization through which the Roma can express their cultural achievements throughout history amidst the continual prejudice directed against them.   full story

George Soros Explains How Negative Stereotypes Against the Roma Affect Us All

12.6.2017 17:30 Speaking in Berlin on 8 June 2017, George Soros had several remarks for the opening of the European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture (ERIAC). The institute strives to help enable the Roma to become the primary advocates of their own futures.  full story

Michael Roth Gives Us Reason to Celebrate as ERIAC Launches

12.6.2017 17:20 Germany's Minister of State for Europe, Michael Roth, has expressed confidence in the launch of the European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture (ERIAC) in Berlin on 8 June 2017. According to Roth, “dealing with Roma issues as Minister of State for Europe has shown [him] there is a great lack of visibility concerning role models."  full story

Zeljko Jovanovic: ERIAC Empowers the Roma to Share Their Legacy

12.6.2017 16:50 In Berlin on 8 June 2017, Zeljko Jovanovic, Chair of the Board of the European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture, welcomed the launch of the European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture (ERIAC). ERIAC is about Roma empowerment, but even more than that, ERIAC has been created to empower the Roma to tell their own history and shape their own futures.  full story

Julius Zajac: Czechs and Romani people don't like each other

5.6.2017 9:55 Czechs and Romani people have not liked each other for generations (generally speaking) and is is clear to see that future generations will not like each other either. While the situation is gradually improving, that fact is not visible, for the most part, because the tempo of improvement is too slow.  full story