Category Archives: Czech Republic

During a debate between Roma and ministers of the Czech government organised by Romea on Wednesday in Brno, Minister of Justice Pavel Blažek (ODS) assured representatives of the Roma community that there is no such thing as racial justice in the Czech Republic. He thus rejected some of the statements of Roma that the courts judge cases when the perpetrators are Roma and differently when others. He considers the release from custody of a man who is suspected of the June murder near the Brno Dam to be a standard procedure. Blažek described the debate, which was organized by the organizations ROMEA and Romodrom and filmed by ROMEA TV, as beneficial.

• VIDEO: Ministr spravedlnosti debatoval s Romy v Brně. Odmítl obvinění z rasové justice. Jak reagoval na otázky o propuštění obviněného z vraždy Roma? In: Romea. 31.08.2023. https://romea.cz/cz/domaci/video-ministr-spravedlnosti-debatoval-s-romy-v-brne-odmitl-obvineni-z-rasove-justice-jak-reagoval-na-otazky-o-propusteni-obvineneho-z-vrazdy-roma#google_vignette

Karel Holomek, a Roma activist, journalist, politician, with  degree in mechanical engineering and founder of the Museum of Roma Culture, died at the age of 86 on Sunday afternoon.

May he rest in peace.

• Karel Holomek. In: Česka Televisia. 27.08.2023. https://www.ceskatelevize.cz/porady/874586-gen/217562261300004/?fbclid=IwAR18PcaE2kKLh9sUHc1bUro1pQz8Hg_DLbMeWb2N3FjKQlpfhaZGx3uK37A
• Zemřel romský aktivista a politik Karel Holomek. In: Novinky. 27.08.2023.https://www.novinky.cz/clanek/domaci-zemrel-romsky-aktivista-a-politik-karel-holomek-40441764
• Zemřel Karel Holomek, romský aktivista a politik. Bylo mu 86 let. In: Eurozpravy. 27.08.2023.https://eurozpravy.cz/domaci/zemrel-karel-holomek-romsky-aktivista-a-politik-bylo-mu-86-let.4r1k5qjy
• Zemřel Karel Holomek. Jedna z nejvýznamnějších romských osobností. In: Romea. 27.08.2023. https://romea.cz/cz/domaci/zemrel-karel-holomek

The 20th jubilee meeting of Roma high school and university students, called BARUVAS (in Romanes “We Grow”), will begin on Saturday, August 26. The one-week summer school will be in the spirit of education, motivational workshops, self-discovery, Roma history and Rompiliáda (Roma Olympics). Among other things, participants will learn about the virtual reality project of the concentration camp in Lety u Písek, or try to create a series of multimedia materials in the form of magazines. All this thanks to the beautiful environment near Pilsen.

• Jubilejní dvacáté setkání BARUVAS. Romská historie, kreativní psaní, sexuální výchova, ale i Rompiliáda a divadlo. In; Romea. 24.08.2023. https://romea.cz/cz/domaci/jubilejni-dvacate-setkani-baruvas-romska-historie-kreativni-psani-sexualni-vychova-ale-i-rompiliada-a-divadlo#google_vignette

The position of Government Commissioner for Roma Minority Affairs was established by the government in December 2022 and is independent of political parties. Lucie Fuková, a Romni, is the first one. There are already voices in the Roma community who say “We didn’t vote for you, don’t speak for the Roma! You won’t do anything anyway!”

Her answer is:  “So I am the very first person in the Czech Republic to take on this position. In contrast, in Slovakia, the Roma government representative has been operating for many years. I’m only a few months in and I’m building my entire office from scratch – in every way. I have nothing to follow up on. That’s why I spend a lot of time setting up the functioning of the office (people, processes…) and unfortunately I can’t be everywhere.”

• Co dělá vládní zmocněnkyně pro záležitosti romské menšiny? Není to volená funkce, úřad buduji úplně od začátku, uvádí Fuková a vysvětluje, co obnáší její práce. In: Romea. 27.07.2023. https://romea.cz/cz/domaci/co-dela-vladni-zmocnenkyne-pro-zalezitosti-romske-mensiny-neni-to-volena-funkce-urad-buduji-uplne-od-zacatku-uvadi-fukova-a-vysvetluje-co-obnasi-jeji-prace