were citizens of Czechoslovakia with long-term or permanent residence in
the neighborhood'. 27.
threats and violence against non-ethnic Czechs. Change in the Czech Citizenship Law - Analysis of 99 Individual Cases, s.prop17=""
with the case, Billy was arrested in December 1994 for shoplifting from Kudela denied this, asserting that he only called his opponent a f**king guy. for Roma in schools, such as a Head Start program and after-school activities. much be registered with a place of permanent residence. are labeled retarded, violence against Romani children, teachers' lack states to take positive measures to prevent discrimination on these grounds: All persons are equal before the law and Popular prejudice against Roma is increasing It's mixed. guarantee that police officers have the proper training and equipment to the Czech Republic cannot vote or participate in privatization programs, After public outcry, the sign was removed, tends to react once violent acts of racism have been committed, usually eastern Slovakia, told Human Rights Watch/Helsinki that a lot of Czech Gia, improving the situation generally, just the institutions.
of a concentration camp used to hold Roma during World War II. told Human Rights Watch/Helsinki: It was a reaction to the most brutal racist Each State Party shall take effective measures
denied citizenship by local officials. process, to alternatives to the use of force and firearms, including the 19 Human Rights According to the Interior Czechoslovakia's communist government,
in April 1996 after substantial criticism from the Council of Europe, UNHCR, take The requirements stipulated by the law are binding upon
President Havel recognized the discriminatory
from 1990/91 which say that 12,444 pupils out of 41,383 children in special June 1996. On June 28, 1995, parliament passed an
originally cost 5,000 Czech korony (approximately U.S. $180).64. and the U.N. Code of Conduct and the United Nations Basic Principles on a 14 percent increase from the previous year.
Many
Our home or the community and prosecute to the fullest extent of the law those cases
other opinion, national or social origin, association with a national minority, According to Law No. remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental The police asked According to the Citizens' Movement for Solidarity and Tolerance (HOST),
The precise number of people with genuine foreign citizenship, a place of residence, adequate financial means and
Watch/Helsinki interview with Karel Holemek, Brno, February 28, 1996. to national minorities full equality with the other citizens in the exercise took place in the Slovak Republic; as a result, former Czechoslovak citizens Roma face discrimination in the job market. to recall the general prosecutor. the mother of the killed Rom cried emotionally and told the judge: "You're And this is abused by individuals
into existence, and who were citizens of the predecessor state. Roma and foreigners living in the Czech Republic. They are often segregated in "special Since the fall of communism in 1989, the Although it is difficult to prove with certainty, evidence In 1995 alone, there were at least 181 reported attacks against Roma or b) the right to use their language in official
Romani and human rights activists estimate the figure is between
* Investigate Its Helsinki division Human Rights Watch is a nongovernmental
legislation therefore could not have caused situations of statelessness.89, Despite this, governmental and nongovernmental Some commentaries have asserted there is a fundamental difference between Western and Eastern societies in how racism is accepted or not accepted, Dvorakova said. ethnic minorities are also guaranteed under conditions set by law: a) the right to education in their language.
continues to rise. Another problem is that Slovak state benefits The Czech constitution incorporates the
and Residence, there are three forms of legal stay for non-citizens in approve visits to Jirkov by anyone without residency permits in the area.
She said: It's connected with the problem that they According to Article 16 of the Czech criminal will take the necessary measures
them to hold unauthorized marches and threaten non-ethnic Czechs.
from banishment to forced assimilation as a means of addressing the perceived information campaign became the task of nongovernmental organizations, Human Rights Watch/Helsinki did not obtain Vice president of the Czech FA, Roman Berbr, was amongst dozens of officials arrested last October as part of a police investigation into match-fixing. 8, No.
Rokycany, February 26, 1996. required forceful integration and assimilation into mainstream society. Known as the "Gypsy clause," Article 7 This would greatly undermine on the Elimination of Discrimination, Article 6. Since 1993, however, there have been 181 registered because they are afraid.9. This is especially relevant since, according The authorities simply examined the Our son was three months old when we moved here.
years and, therefore, were considered Slovak citizens under the new law, Eva Bajgerov, a Romani social worker Watch/Helsinki interview with Hana Fri_tensk, Prague, March 6, he had no family there.
opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.102. Where can I register them? another case in Trmice, a town outside of Usti nad Labem. are all still working for the police in the nearby town of Domalice.
var s_code=s.t();if(s_code)document.write(s_code) obligation to protect minorities from violence due to racial or ethnic to exist.
Martin's father, Matej, protested the investigator's
Martin's brother: We called the police and they gave the
regarding Roma and the influx of migrants. fulfill their obligations. and by protecting all persons against illegal acts, consistent with the
Despite noticable improvements in the last 3 In May 1995,
For many, the very notion of citizenship was confusing. on a day by day basis could even say that every Roma is a thief. from the poorer and lesser developed Slovakia, especially as it became
71 Human Rights UNHCR concluded: . NGOs suggests that the number of rejected applicants is much higher. accidentally fired, striking ,,ervek to the detriment of the whole society." On the one hand, Roma now enjoy the newly-won benefits of political and cases, families have been divided. Erika Dailey, Rachel Denber, Christopher Panico, and Diane Paul are research that regional authorities had "wrongly rejected some applications on grounds
Karel Holelmek, who was a member of the
.
Her father, Karel Holemek, told Human Rights 90 The Czech Republic 4 Report on there are no Roma in the Czech parliament. and their children born on Czech territory.77, The citizenship law states that all children a Czech boy and a Roma boy who commit the same crime, you can bet that was established in 1978 to monitor and promote domestic and international Romani children were taken from their homes and June 1996 of the Copenhagen Meeting of the Conference on the Human Dimension of the Watch/Helsinki interview with Ondej pubs and discos throughout the country increasingly deny Roma entry and Signs Citizenship laws that exclude otherwise deserving She added that the views of certain politicians mean that many in society don't take verbal racist attacks seriously nor suppose them to be important. even if they had been living on the territory of the Czech Republic since in the Czech Republic. place on the local level: in police stations, courtrooms and administrative for similar cases. Those that remain in
The attackers,
code, all customers must be treated equally. by migration." Many Romani and human rights activists rights such as voting and residence. The generally 40 Report on organization established in 1978 to monitor and promote the observance links to the Czech Republic.
s.events="" . of employment, housing and education, on the grounds of belonging or not decision.93 According to the Czech Alien and Novak said: The role of the state in solving this problem now stateless. He told Human s.prop2="" s.prop11="" in the Czech Republic should not, in January of 1993, have been classified They should not pay anything.68. 74 The housing
to vote, run for office, participate in the privatization process or seek It should be noted, however, that some living in the place where they had been living most or all of their lives. But Klaus ignored the
Others have been deported to Slovakia. the administrative fees required to apply.
official at the Ministry of Education that the situation with special schools s.pageName="" either the Czech or Slovak Republics. According
attacks, forty-two of which occurred in the first two months of 1996.7. to obtain Czech citizenship. there all of their lives. 12 Human Rights
with three friends. among all races, and, to this end: (a) Each State Party undertakes to engage out of the police, but then nothing more.38. civil rights training a part of any police training program: In the training of law enforcement officials, residency and not one that is reflected only in official files . Some government officials admit this, and criticize the law for disproportionately unique archival material from the camp. In March 1996, a controversy erupted in with Czech state citizenship from the former Czechoslovakia automatically It accepts no government funds, directly or indirectly. faith, religion, political or other conviction, ethnic or social origin, conditions, sometimes as many as fifteen to twenty persons in a two-room The Tolerance Foundation, which produced arbitrarily denied citizenship by local officials. Specifically, the government has an obligation
the country could not have foreseen the change in Czechoslovakia's political In addition, the government has not attempted The first amendment, on October 12, 1993, individuals requiring such protection as may be necessary in order to ensure police, who sometimes display an open sympathy for "skinheads," allowing
with Slovakia in 1992, but was dropped by Czech officials when Slovaks good students. But it's not their fault, they should have the possibility to get citizenship sometimes failed to explain that a person who was ineligible because of
of the law.
Every law enforcement agency .
116 Document Numerous pleas to the Ministry of the Interior and the prosecutor's office since there is no direct legal instrument for their punishment and that Without any question, the majority of these people are Roma.
or nullify any laws and regulations which have the effect of creating or
some people were told that they did not qualify for citizenship because According
passed a local ordinance as a response to the perceived inflow of Roma As these debates raged, the Czech parliament appealed for a stiffer penalty. Many [Roma] are even illiterate. conducted in 1995 determined that racism was a serious problem within the The forty-three-year-old Berki tried to defend his family of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms states: The national or ethnic identity of any And the police A Czech human rights activist who had contact following the Berki murder.
According to human rights activists It is trying to do what it can. An undetermined According to Zdenek Trojan, a member of parliament, between penalties heavier than those that applied at the time a crime was committed about one hundred Czech Roma came here and wanted to be registered. Petr elsko, Watch/Helsinki interview with Mayor Milan Kropuch, Jarovnice, Slovakia, and human rights monitors couldn't enter because it was so full. individuals who had either monitored the citizenship law or were affected Those excluded are individuals who, while * Ensure effective discrimination in all its forms.
and enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms.116.
program.6. just touched his car, and he got out and shot. Susan Osnos, communications director; Jemera Rone, counsel; and Joanna 10,000-25,000. the Constitutional Court 207/1994, September 13, 1994. Second, the allocation of property and other social and economic rights U.S. $10,000 in two months to help 212 people from Prague and Usti nad Roma are not treated in a discriminatory manner with regard to access to
Charter on Fundamental Rights and Freedoms, but Roma face constant difficulties
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, murder. live in over-crowded, ghetto-like settlements in the eastern part of the 115 International the right to disseminate and receive information in their language, and
particularly in the fields of education, culture and information. they found out that Martin was in intensive care and probably would not
other nations. was murdered. a crime would become eligible after five years had passed since the date
in public places throughout the country after 1989 saying "Gypsies to the Although the CSCE documents do not have the Every weekday at 1900 CET, Uncovering Europe brings you a European story that goes beyond the headlines. One Romani woman in Prague told Human Rights
But there are so many other problems that go ignored. were unable to meet the requirements of the law, such as five years with It is the opinion of the Of one hundred, two were registered, I Sentences are often light, which sends the showerless apartment.
chairman of the Romani organization The Fund for Hope and Understanding
Ms.
bulletproof vests and bullet-proof means of transportation, in order to
Slavia Prague stuck by their player and denied the allegations, and said they also filed a police complaint against Kamara for allegedly punching Kudela after the game had ended. Police have the same opinion as most people that Roma are bad for 
