Czech MP Tomio Okamura, the chair of the Úsvit ("Dawn of Direct Democracy") movement, has said he would abolish the post of Minister for Human Rights, Equal Opportunities and Legislation. He believes it is a waste of money.
Okamura has also criticized the aims of current Human Rights Minister Jiří Dienstbier. He made his remarks during the "Partie" discussion program on the TV Prima channel.
Dienstbier does not want to comment on Okamura’s remarks – "I don’t comment on extremists," were his exact words. František Kostlán, vice-chair of the Czech Helsinki Committee and a member of the ROMEA association, agrees with Dienstbier’s approach.
Debate about the municipal elections
Okamura criticized Dienstbier’s alleged efforts at "positive discrimination" for Romani people, his efforts to introduce quotas for women on the candidate lists of political parties, and his intention to advocate for foreigners’ right to vote. He told the TV audience that with the exception of Britain and Portugal, foreigners do not have the right to vote for the national legislators of any other EU country.
The Czech MP claims that in Britain and Portugal, citizens of the former colonies of those countries are able to participate in national parliamentary elections. However, Dienstbier’s remarks on this issue, made at the end of March, were not about elections to parliament.
The Human Rights Minister’s idea is that foreigners from non-EU countries living in the Czech Republic long-term should be able to vote in municipal elections in future. At the time he said he wanted to begin the debate about an eventual right to vote for such immigrants and about amending the electoral laws.
Dienstbier proceeding correctly
František Kostlán believes Human Rights Minister Dienstbier is proceeding correctly, both in his proposals and in his decision not to comment on the populist remarks made by various politicians. "Personally I am grateful that this government has established the Human Rights Ministry and that a strong personality is leading it, one who knows what this topic is about. I believe this will result, among other things, in the gradual improvement of the situation of impoverished people in socially excluded localities. At the same time, it will reduce the influence of extremists such as Okamura. It’s good that Mr Dienstbier doesn’t respond to his every absurd remark, if only because if he were to do so, he would do practically nothing else. Okamura is constantly piling on with hateful, stupid statements that are a testament to his total ignorance of the issues. I have yet to hear him say anything that has the tiniest bit of logic to it," Kostlán said.
