Czech Republic: Update on issues affecting Roma

This Extended Response to Information Request on issues affecting Roma in the Czech Republic updates information provided in a number of past Issue Papers and Responses to Information Requests, available at IRB Regional Documentation Centres and on the IRB Website . It covers relevant events from late April to late July 1998.

Parliamentary Elections

        Elections for the Czech Republic's 200-seat Parliament were held on 19-20 June 1998 (CTK 21 June 1998c; Guardian Weekly 28 June 1998, 4; Central Europe Online 1 July 1998). The centre-left Social Democrats (CSSD) won the elections, securing 32.31 per cent of the vote (CTK 21 June 1998a; ibid. 22 June 1998a; Central Europe Online 1 July 1998; Guardian Weekly 28 June 1998, 4; AFP 22 June 1998). The centre-right Civic Democratic Party (ODS) placed second in the poll, winning 27.74 per cent of the vote (ibid.; CTK 21 June 1998a; Central Europe Online 1 July 1998; Guardian Weekly 28 June 1998, 4). Three other parties, the Communists, the Christian Democrats and the Freedom Union managed to cross the requisite five per cent threshold needed for parliamentary representation and secured seats in parliament (CTK 21 June 1998c; ibid., 22 June 1998a; AFP 22 June 1998). Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) observers called the election procedures "faultless" (CTK 21 June 1998b). An agreement between the CSSD and the opposition ODS made the formation of a minority government possible and the CSSD minority government was sworn in on 22 July 1998 (VOA 22 July 1998; Central Europe Online 20 July 1998). Under the agreement between the two parties, the ODS will not "initiate or support a vote of no confidence in the government throughout its four-year term. This will ensure no other parties can muster enough support to push through a no-confidence vote" (Central Europe Online 20 July 1998; VOA 17 July 1998).

        Monika Horakova, the Romani chairwoman of the Czech Interministerial Commission on Romani Affairs, secured a seat in the new parliament with the Freedom Union Party (CTK 18 May 1998a; ibid., 21 June 1998d). The Freedom Union Party, led by former Interior Minister Jan Ruml, won 8.6 per cent of the popular vote in the election, securing 19 seats in parliament (AFP 22 June 1998; CTK 21 June 1998a). Romani Civic Initiative deputy chairman Ivan Vesely calls Freedom Union the party that "cares the most" for Roma (CTK 21 June 1998d). It advocates positive discrimination for Roma and bonuses for companies that employ Roma (The Economist 30 May 1998; see also Central Europe Online 7 May 1998; The Gazette 5 July 1998). Ladislav Body, also a Rom, ran for parliament with the Christian Democrats (KDU-CSL), but failed to win a seat (CTK 15 June 1998; ERRC 9 July 1998).

In early June 1998 President Havel proposed the establishment of a government office that would supervise human rights issues in the country; he stated he would raise the issue with the new government following the June 1998 elections (Central Europe Online 2 June 1998; Radio Prague 2 June 1998). The human rights office would be headed by the prime minister or a deputy premier (ibid.; Central Europe Online 2 June 1998). Further information on the progress of Havel's initiative was not available at the time of writing this report.

             The Republican Party and Miroslav Sladek

             The extreme far-right Republican Party (SPR-RSC) secured 3.9 per cent of the national popular vote in the election, thus failing to obtain the requisite five per cent threshold for parliamentary representation1 (CTK 22 June 1998b; The Prague Post 1 July 1998; CTK 21 June 1998f; Economist 27 June 1998, 4). In the 1996 parliamentary elections the Republican Party received more than 8 per cent of the vote and 18 seats in parliament (CTK 21 June 1998f; ibid., 22 June 1998b). The failure of the Republicans to gain representation in parliament was hailed as a victory by Romani leaders (CTK 21 June 1998d; The Prague Post 1 July 1998). Political analysts attributed the electoral failure of the Republicans on the fact that "voters, particularly older supporters, simply couldn't stomach the xenophobia and racism that became a dominant feature of the Republicans' final campaigning, adding that the party had offered intolerance, hatred and brute force instead of solutions" (CTK 21 June 1998e; ibid., 21 June 1998f; see also The Prague Post 1 July 1998).

        The election campaign waged by the Republican Party and its leader Miroslav Sladek generated significant controversy in the lead-up to the June elections. The Republican campaign centred on the party's opposition to NATO and to government programmes that favour Roma (Central Europe Online 7 May 1998; Radio Prague 8 May 1998). During the campaign Republican television and radio ads described Roma as "a parasitical ethnic group" and alleged that "Gypsies murder, rape and rob decent citizens with impunity" (Radio Prague 10 June 1998). Romani radio broadcaster Jaroslava Balazova announced that she intends to file a lawsuit against the Republican Party as a result of the ads that Balazova described as "verging on racism" (ibid.).  The Czech daily Lidove Noviny also filed a lawsuit against the Republican Party on similar grounds (ibid.). Further information on the status of the lawsuits was not available at the time of writing this report.

On 9 May 1998 Republican Party leader Miroslav Sladek was attacked by two Romani men at a campaign rally in the North Bohemian town of Novy Bor (CTK 12 May 1998b). The men, brothers Jan and Josef Tancos, reportedly slapped Sladek, who suffered light bruises as a result of the incident (ibid.; The Edmonton Journal 26 May 1998). The brothers maintained that Sladek had insulted Czech President Vaclav Havel and his wife and had made racist remarks during his speech (CTK 12 May 1998a; ibid., 12 May 1998b). The men were immediately arrested and charged with assault and breach of peace and police began proceedings to hold the men in pre-trial detention "so that 'they would not influence the witnesses'" (The Prague Post 20 May 1998c; CTK 11 May 1998a; see also The Edmonton Journal 26 May 1998).

The accused, however, were almost immediately pardoned of their crimes by President Havel (CTK 11 May 1998a; The Edmonton Journal 26 May 1998). Havel stated that he did not condone violence but thanked the men for their efforts to defend the honour of the President and his wife (CTK 11 May 1998b). The President's office justified his controversial action by stating that the President had "'sufficient information' to make an informed decision about the case" (The Prague Post 20 May 1998b). According to a Prague Post article, the President's spokesperson stated that "the local police, who would have investigated the alleged assault, 'would not be objective'" (ibid.; Smith 22 May 1998). "'Between 1990 and 1997, HOST [an NGO] reported at least 28 racially motivated attacks in north Bohemia, and only eight convictions. The Tancos brothers were arrested and charged in one day, ... [this shows that] police [in North Bohemia] do not treat crimes by Romanies and whites the same way'" (The Prague Post 20 May 1998b). Please see the Prague Post and Christopher Smith attachments for further information on this incident.

             Usti Wall and Plzen Ghetto Decisions

             In May 1998 city council officials in Usti nad Labem, a city in North Bohemia, agreed to build a 4.5 metre high wall around a number of apartment blocks populated primarily by Romani tenants (Guardian Weekly 31 May 1998; The Prague Post 20 May 1998a; The Globe and Mail 16 May 1998). According to The Economist, the wall is to be patrolled by police officers 24 hours per day (30 May 1998; The Gazette 5 July 1998). City authorities maintain that the proposed wall is in response to "constant complaints by locals about 'unhygienic' conditions in and around the two blocks of flats" (Guardian Weekly 31 May 1998; see also The Gazette 5 July 1998; The Economist 30 May 1998). Locals allege the Roma residents of the apartment blocks disturb the peace, "throw garbage into the street and gather on sidewalks talking, singing and sometimes drinking until late in the night" (CTK 30 May 1998; The Economist 30 May 1998). Romani leaders are firmly opposed to the wall's construction and have asked police to prosecute individuals responsible for the decision (CTK 2 June 1998). Former Interior Minister Jan Ruml called the plan scandalous (Guardian Weekly 31 May 1998). Marta Tulejova of the Romani Civic Initiative acknowledges that Roma families in Usti are poor and "undeniably troubled. But they don't need a wall, they need social workers" (The Gazette 5 July 1998). According to Tulejova, if a wall is built "other cities will use Usti as an example. Soon, we'll have ghettos everywhere like the ones the Nazis built for Jews" (ibid.).

Usti nad Labem mayor Ladislav Hruska claims that racism was not involved in the decision to build the wall; according to the mayor, "the wall was not meant to separate people of different races but 'decent tenants from those that are not'" (Radio Prague 4 June 1998). Hruska has reportedly promised that the wall will not be built if the Romani tenants can prove over the next three months that they can "adhere to basic hygiene standards" (ibid.). An article in The Gazette reported that the building of the Usti wall has been postponed until August, and according to an Usti city official, "if things stay quiet, the city might not build it at all" (5 July 1998). On 9 July 1998 the European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) representative in the Czech Republic noted that city authorities had not yet officially stated that they would not build the wall (ERRC 9 July 1998).

Also in May 1998 city council officials in Plzen (Pilsen), West Bohemia, announced a plan to "build a ghetto outside the town for ... 'socially unadaptable citizens'" (Radio Prague 18 May 1998a; The Economist 30 May 1998). The mayor of Plzen denies that racism affected the council's decision: "the ghetto would be for so called 'troublemakers' of any race who consistently refuse to pay rent, or upset neighbours by refusing to respect noise and hygiene standards. ... it would be up to a court to decide whether or not such a person would be banished to the ghetto" (Radio Prague 18 May 1998a). Radio Prague reports that Czech politicians have raised concerns that the proposed settlement would invariably become a Romani ghetto (ibid.). However, an ERRC representative in the Czech Republic received a fax from the mayor of Plzen stating that no such decision on the establishment of a ghetto had been made (ERRC 9 July 1998). The Prague Post also reports that authorities in Plzen are trying to "distance themselves" from the alleged ghetto plan and have denied consideration of such a project (24 June 1998).

             Citizenship Expulsion Case

             A 28 May 1998 article in the Czech daily, Mlada Fronta Dnes, reported that a young Romani man with Czech citizenship, Milan Sivak, was to be deported to Slovakia for crimes he committed in the Czech Republic before being granted Czech citizenship. Sivak, who was born in the Czech Republic but inherited Slovak citizenship from his parents, had been granted Czech citizenship in February 1998. According to a district court judge in Teplice, Sivak was a Slovak citizen when he committed the crime and "it is in the best interest of the Czech Republic's inhabitants that such a man is expelled. The court does not have to follow the decision of the ministerial officials [from the Ministry of the Interior who granted him citizenship]" (ibid.; Ústecký Deník 28 May 1998). In a statement about this case received by the Research Directorate, Mark Thieroff of the Tolerance Foundation says that the Czech citizenship law assigns sole competence to decide on citizenship applications to the Ministry of Interior, and the Ministry had granted the defendant citizenship in February while he was awaiting trial. Referring to the citizenship law, the judge justified his extraordinary (and illegal) ruling by arguing that the laws are to be interpreted by courts, not bureaucrats (Thieroff 9 June 1998).

As of mid-June 1998 Milan Sivak's appeal was still pending (ibid., 15 June 1998).

        Assistance for Romani Returnees

        In a 25 June 1998 letter to the Research Directorate an employee of the UNHCR Prague office provided information on assistance given to Roma who had sought asylum abroad and have since returned to the Czech Republic. The following information was given to the UNHCR by Ms. Bernatova of the Czech Interministerial Governmental Commission for Romani Affairs. According to Ms. Bernatova:

the majority of families who [have] come back do not ask for assistance with accommodation because they either have their own apartments or they move in with their relatives. However, there have been approximately twenty families so far who contacted the Interministerial Governmental Commission on Roma Issues asking for help. Out of these twenty cases the Commission itself has so far taken care of three. Since there is no governmental programme for assistance or general governmental provisions, the Interministerial Commission has to consider each case individually and [must] seek help at the municipal level. However, the municipal offices have neither guidelines on how to deal with this issue (such guidelines are currently being written at the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs) nor the facilities to provide accommodation to the returnees.

Vladimir Mlynar, the minister without portfolio who is the head of the Interministerial Commission, has been trying to negotiate with the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs a programme [that] would provide accommodation. However, the negotiations have been unsuccessful so far.... The main reason for the failure of the negotiations is the fact that most of the apartments that the Roma had sold before they left the country did not belong to them but were rented state apartments. Thus they had no right to sell them. If they did so, they acted illegally.

With regard to employment the situation of the returnees is much better. The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs has established a commission ... responsible for securing jobs for [the returnees].... Employment is provided to all the applicants within three months. This should help the returnees reintegrate to the system (UNHCR 25 June 1998).

             On 30 July 1998 the legal advisor at the Prague UNHCR office sent the Research Directorate an English translation of a report from the Interministerial Commission for Romani Affairs entitled Report on the Fulfillment of the Tasks Ensuing from the Government Resolution No. 686/1997 'On the Situation of the Romany Community in the Czech Republic2. The June 1998 report reviews actions taken by a number of ministries to address the issue of reintegration of repatriates and the problems many repatriates encounter upon their return to the Czech Republic (Czech Interministerial Commission June 1998). Please see the attached three-page excerpt from this report for further details. The complete report is available at all IRB Regional Documentation Centres.

     Extremist Violence

             Milan Lacko, a 40-year old Romani man, died on 17 May 1998 after being involved in a brawl with a group of skinheads in Orlova, North Moravia (CTK 18 May 1998a; Radio Prague 18 May 1998b; The Economist 30 May 1998). Lacko had been walking with his daughter when he was attacked by the skinheads who beat him up and left him lying on the road where he was later hit and killed by a passing truck (CTK 18 May 1998a; ibid., 22 May 1998b; The Economist 30 May 1998). Four skinheads were arrested following the attack and charged with grievous bodily harm (Radio Prague 18 May 1998b; CTK 18 May 1998b). Monika Horakova, the chairwoman of the Interministerial Commission for Romani Affairs, was reportedly able to dissuade Romani groups in Orlova from setting up armed self-defence or vigilante groups in response to the Lacko killing (CTK 18 May 1998a; see also Radio Prague 21 May 1998). Romani leaders in Orlova demanded that Minister without Portfolio Vladimir Mlynar provide "adequate protection for Romani families living in so-called high-risk areas and a proper campaign against racism and xenophobia" (Radio Prague 21 May 1998). Information as to whether Mlynar has responded to the Romani demand was not available at the time of writing this report.

In other reported incidents, on 13 June 1998 two drunken skinheads physically and psychologically tortured a "dark-skinned" youth for several hours in Sumperk, North Moravia (CTK 23 June 1998). On 14 June 1998 a skinhead attacked a 24-year-old Romani man in a Prague train station (CTK 15 June 1998). The Rom suffered bruising to his left kidney and was admitted to hospital (ibid.). The skinhead was arrested and charged with hooliganism and grievous bodily harm (ibid.). On 8 May 1998 two Indians were attacked by five skinheads in the Prague metro (CTK 9 May 1998a). One victim had a broken nose and the other, a concussion (ibid.). The five skinheads were arrested and charged with causing bodily harm, inflicting violence upon people and breaking the peace (ibid.). On 7 May 1998 an Algerian man was stabbed in the kidneys by an unknown skinhead who uttered "you black swine, we'll kill you" in an attack in a Prague metro station (CTK 9 May 1998b).

        Two men3 charged with the death of a Romani woman in February 1998 (see Response to Information Request CZE29313.E of 27 April 1998) will not be charged with a racially motivated offence (Radio Prague 26 June 1998; CTK 26 June 1998). According to the state attorney there is no evidence that would indicate the incident was motivated by racism, as the woman had stolen Kc2004 from one of the men (ibid.; Radio Prague 26 June 1998). However, according to The Gazette, the men uttered a racial remark when they threw her into the river (5 July 1998). The men have been charged with extortion resulting in death and breach of the peace (CTK 26 June 1998).

        As of late May 1998 the investigation into the January 1998 firebombing of a Romani home in Krnov, North Moravia, which resulted in severe injury to a Romani woman, had not yielded sufficient evidence to bring the accused to court (CTK 1 June 1998). According to a CTK report, "although over 40 witnesses have been questioned, the police have not got enough evidence to sue the three young skinheads who have been accused of the attack and have been in custody since January" (ibid.).

        According to a report submitted to the Czech government by Interior Minister Cyril Svoboda, 93 racially motivated crimes were committed in the Czech Republic between 1 January 1998 and 15 May 1998 (CTK 17 June 1998; Czech Interministerial Commission June 1998)5. The report indicates that most racially motivated crimes occurred in the Olomouc district of North Moravia and in Usti nad Labem, Brno, Hradec Kralove and the regions around Prague and Ostrava (ibid.; CTK 17 June 1998). The Interministerial Commission on Romani Affairs' June 1998 report notes that "the Government has taken measures against racially motivated violence several times, however, some steps prove not to be efficient enough. The principal measure that should influence the situation in an efficient way is the Ruling of the Government CR No. 192 of March 19, 1998, to the Report on the Procedure of State Administration Bodies when Prosecuting Criminal Acts Motivated Racially and by Xenophobia or Committed by Supporters of Extremist Groups6.

             In May 1998 the police chief of North Bohemia reported that 16 racially motivated offences had occurred that far in 1998 in North Bohemia, marking a sharp increase over the preceding year when only six racially motivated offences were reported (CTK 22 May 1998a). According to the police chief, 17 of the victims of these attacks were "'white'" Czechs, five were Roma and three were Sri Lankans (ibid.). The police chief claimed the increase in incidents was primarily due to "'the atmosphere created by the standing of Romanies in society'" (ibid.).

             US Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) Comments

        On 22 May 1998 US Congressman and co-chairperson of the US Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) Christopher Smith released a critical statement (attached) on racial intolerance and racially motivated violence in the Czech Republic. In addition, the CSCE leveled harsh criticism at the Czech government over the position of Roma in Czech society in an address to the US Congress on 21 July 1998 (CTK 22 July 1998; Radio Prague 22 July 1998). According to CTK, Minister Mlynar responded to the criticism by stating that "the Congress criticism has its history and is based on serious arguments, and for us it is a sort of an appeal to do something about this problem" (22 July 1998). Mlynar added that he was "glad the congressmen noticed a minor improvement in the issue" (ibid.).

        ERRC Comments to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

             In March 1998 the ERRC presented the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination with a list of its concerns regarding the Czech Republic's obligations vis-à-vis racial discrimination. The ERRC's concerns were summarized in its Spring 1998 publication Roma Rights, which is available at the IRB Ottawa Documentation Centre and on the ERRC Website . The ERRC believes that measures taken by the Czech government to ensure compliance with its obligations under the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination are insufficient (Roma Rights Spring 1998). The ERRC raised particular concern over the following alleged violations of the Convention:

     ... twenty-nine years after the Convention's entry into force in the territory of the Czech Republic, discrimination against Roma remains widespread, and the government has yet to enact legislation or administrative regulations expressly prohibiting racial discrimination. Accordingly, notwithstanding the existence of constitutional provisions, and criminal code sections directed primarily against racist speech and propaganda, victims of racial discrimination have no civil or criminal remedies available to them for acts of discrimination as such. ...

... prominent public officials have continued to disseminate racist hate speech, suggesting, among other things, that Roma must be housed in separate areas, preferably, outside the Czech Republic.

     ... the government has failed to ensure Roma and other racial minorities equal protection of the law. Roma suffer widespread discrimination in the justice system, and are the victims of an unchecked wave of violence at the hands of law enforcement authorities, skinheads and others. Notwithstanding the routine practice of denying Roma admission to restaurants, pubs and similar establishments, the government has yet to secure by law the right of access on a non-discriminatory basis to public accommodations. Educational discrimination is particularly egregious, with grossly disproportionate number of Roma ... assigned to dead-end special schools for students branded "intellectually deficient". Roma experience large-scale discrimination in employment, and existing legal protections are ineffective (ibid.).

     The ERRC urged the Czech government to:

adopt and implement legislation expressly outlawing acts of racial discrimination and providing for civil, criminal and administrative remedies; abolish the practice of race-based educational segregation; adopt effective measures to prevent and punish manifestations of racial bias in the justice system; and intensify efforts to promote racial tolerance, in part through the conduct of educational and media campaigns to familiarise the public with the Convention and its standards (ibid.).

        Czech Helsinki Committee Report

             In June 1998 the Czech Helsinki Committee (CHC) Report on the State of Human Rights in the Czech Republic 1997 became available in English. This 146-page document thoroughly reviews the human rights situation in the Czech Republic in 1997. Pages 7 through 40, a section originally written by the CHC for the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, examines racism, xenophobia and the position of Roma in the Czech Republic. The CHC report sharply criticizes "the present state of affairs in the Czech Republic in the field of national minorities ... By its legal regulations and by the absence of respective regulations in practice, the Czech Republic has been breaching its international conventions" (1998, 8). The CHC report states in particular that the country has breached the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ibid., 13).

     According to the CHC report,

        the fundamental problem of the Czech Republic still is the preservation of rights of ethnic minorities, especially with respect to the difficult situational contexts that typify the position of Romanies in the Czech Republic.... Racial outrage, latent or open xenophobia from the majority of Czech citizens, the Romany exodus, the so far unresolved problems surrounding the Czech nationality of many individuals of Romany origin who have lived on Czech territory since their birth, segregation in the level of elementary education, the burdensome social situation of many Romany families, catastrophical Romany unemployment and the related Romany crime rate are still prevalent (1998, 7).

             The 1998 CHC Report on the State of Human Rights in the Czech Republic 1997 is available at all IRB Regional Documentation Centres and on the CHC Website .

             Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs Report on Elimination of Racial Discrimination

             A Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) report entitled Situation in the Field of Elimination of Racial Discrimination in the Czech Republic with Respect to the Roma Community was prepared in June 1998 by the Human Rights Office of the MFA. The report is available at all IRB Regional Documentation Centres.

     The 34-page report summarizes and reviews the obligations of the Czech government vis-à-vis Romani issues. It also outlines the various programmes and resolutions drafted by the government to address issues of discrimination, racism, intolerance, citizenship, segregation and racist crime in the Czech Republic.

Annexed to the report are copies of several resolutions and statutes referred to in the main text of the paper. The final annex is the founding statute of the Interministerial Commission on Romani Affairs, which began operation in January 1998.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

References

             Agence France Presse (AFP). 22 June 1998. "Czech President Asks Social Democrat Chief to Form Coalition." (NEXIS)

Associated Press (AP). 23 June 1998. Nadia Rybarova. "Social Democrats Start Efforts to Form New Czech Government." (NEXIS)

Central Europe Online [Prague]. 20 July 1998. Reuters. "Czech Social Democrats Approve New Government." [Internet] [Accessed 20 July 1998]

_____. 1 July 1998. Reuters. "Czech Party Chiefs Hint at Joint Bid to Form Government." [Internet] [Accessed 7 July 1998]

_____. 2 June 1998. CTK. "Havel Proposes to Set Up Human Rights Office." [Internet] [Accessed 6 June 1998]

_____. 7 May 1998. Reuters. "Czech Far-Right Campaign Targets Romanies, NATO." [Internet] [Accessed 7 May 1998]

     CTK News Summary. 22 July 1998. "Mlynar Acknowledges U.S. Congressmen's Criticism in Romany Issues." [Internet] [Accessed 23 July 1998]

     _____. 26 June 1998. "No Murder Charges for Men Accused of Drowning Romany 'Pickpocket'." [Internet] [Accessed 27 June 1998]

_____. 23 June 1998. "Dark-skinned Youth in Hospital After Brutal Skinhead Assault." [Internet] [Accessed 25 June 1998]

_____. 22 June 1998a. "Havel Asks Zeman to Launch Talks on New Government." [Internet] [Accessed 23 June 1998]

_____. 22 June 1998b. "Republicans Lose More Than Half Voters in Two Years." [Internet] [Accessed 23 June 1998]

_____. 21 June 1998a. "Commission Officially Confirms Saturday Election Results." [Internet] [Accessed 23 June 1998]

_____. 21 June 1998b. "OSCE Satisfied with Czech General Election." [Internet] [Accessed 23 June 1998]

_____. 21 June 1998c. "ODS, KDU-CSL, US have 102 Seats, CSSD, KDU, US 113-UVK." [Internet] [Accessed 23 June 1998]

_____. 21 June 1998d. "Fall of Republicans Good News for All Romanies-ROI." [Internet] [Accessed 23 June 1998]

_____. 21 June 1998e. "Political Analysts Express Surprise at Republican Party Disaster." [Internet] [Accessed 23 June 1998]

_____. 21 June 1998f. "Republicans Leave Parliament After Six Years." (NEXIS)

_____. 17 June 1998. "More Than 90 Racially-Motivated Crimes Registered this Year." [Internet] [Accessed 18 June 1998]

_____. 15 June 1998. "Romanies Insist on Their Man in Parliament." [Internet] [Accessed 16 June 1998]

_____. 2 June 1998. "Romanies Hand Petition Against Romany Wall to Usti Mayor." [Internet] [Accessed 2 June 1998]

_____. 1 June 1998. "Case of January Firebomb Attack on Romanies Not Closed Yet." [Internet] [Accessed 2 June 1998]

_____. 30 May 1998. "Romany Children Dance on Site of Future Wall." [Internet] [Accessed 1 June 1998]

_____. 22 May 1998a. "North Bohemia Police Record Sharp Rise in Racist Offences." [Internet] [Accessed 23 May 1998]

_____. 22 May 1998b. "Nearly a Thousand Romanies Attend Milan Lacko's Funeral." [Internet] [Accessed 26 May 1998]

_____. 18 May 1998a. "Romanies Talked Down From Forming Vigilante Groups After Attack." [Internet] [Accessed 19 May 1998]

_____. 18 May 1998b. "Four Local Young Men Accused of Romany Attack in Orlova." [Internet] [Accessed 12 May 1998]

_____. 12 May 1998a. "Romanies Who Attacked Sladek Want Far-Right Republicans Banned." [Internet] [Accessed 12 May 1998]

_____. 12 May 1998b. "Questioning of Witnesses to Sladek Attack Shed Little Light." [Internet] [Accessed 12 May 1998]

_____. 11 May 1998a. "Havel Pardons Romanies Who Attacked Sladek During Meeting." [Internet] [Accessed 11 May 1998]

_____. 11 May 1998b. "Havel Appreciates Romanies' Defence of His Honour." [Internet] [Accessed 11 May 1998]

_____. 9 May 1998a. "Five Skinheads Assailants Accused." [Internet] [Accessed 10 May 1998]

_____. 9 May 1998b. "Unknown Racist Stabbed Algerian in Kidneys-Police." [Internet] [Accessed 12 May 1998]

Czech Helsinki Committee (CHC). 1998. Report on the State of Human Rights in the Czech Republic 1997. Prague: CHC. [Internet] [Accessed 20 June 1998]

Czech Interministerial Commission for Romani Affairs [Prague]. June 1998. Ref: 4.536/98-KMV. Report on the Fulfilment of the Tasks Ensuing from the Government Resolution No. 686/1997 'On Situation of the Romany Community in the Czech Republic'. Report sent to the Research Directorate by the UNHCR Prague Office.

The Economist [London]. 27 June 1998. "Czech Republic: Centre Holds."

     _____. 30 May 1998. "Ghettos for Czech Gypsies?" (NEXIS)

The Edmonton Journal. 26 May 1998. Peter Adler. "Gypsies Defend Havel, Czech Tensions Resume."

     European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC). 9 July 1998. E-mail to the Research Directorate from the ERRC's representative in the Czech Republic.

     The Gazette [Montreal]. 5 July 1998. Lori Montgomery. "Revival of Hatred: All Across the Former East Bloc, the Fall of Communism has Unleashed Long-Suppressed Racial Prejudices and National Passions."

     The Globe and Mail [Toronto]. 16 May 1998. "Gypsies to be Walled In."

     Guardian Weekly [London]. 28 June 1998. "Havel to be Kingmaker as Czechs Swing Left."

     _____. 31 May 1998. "Czech Town Plans to Wall in Gypsies."

     Mlada Fronta Dnes [Prague]. 28 May 1998. "A Convict Will be Expelled Although He is a Czech Citizen."

     The Prague Post. 1 July 1998. Martin Horak. "Republicans Lick Their Wounds in Private." [Internet] [Accessed 7 July 1998]

     _____. 24 June 1998. Michele Legge. "Plzen Backpedals on 'Ghetto'."

_____. 20 May 1998a. Michele Legge. "Usti nad Labem Wants to Close Off Romany Residents, Activists Contend." [Internet] [Accessed 22 May 1998]

_____. 20 May 1998b. Richard Allen Greene. "Havel's Romany Pardons Motivated by Mistrust of Police." [Internet] [Accessed 22 May 1998]

_____. 20 May 1998c. Daniel Kumermann. "A New Slap at Czech Politics." [Internet] [Accessed 21 May 1998]

Radio Prague. 22 July 1998. "Czech-US-Gypsies-Criticise." [Internet] [Accessed 23 July 1998]

_____. 26 June 1998. "Romany/Motives." [Internet] [Accessed 26 June 1998]

_____. 10 June 1998. "Disappointed Editor Files Lawsuit Against Republicans." [Internet] [Accessed 2 July 1998]

_____. 4 June 1998. "Mayor Says No Racism Involved." [Internet] [Accessed 5 June 1998]

_____. 2 June 1998. Libor Kubik. "President Havel Proposes Creating the Post of a Vice Premier on Human Rights Affairs." [Internet] [Accessed 3 June 1998]

_____. 21 May 1998. "Romanies Want Security." [Internet] [Accessed 21 May 1998]

_____. 18 May 1998a. "Ghetto Plans Shock Country." [Internet] [Accessed 21 May 1998]

_____. 18 May 1998b. "Roma in the Czech Republic: Racial Tension in the Czech Republic Has Another Victim." [Internet] [Accessed 21 May 1998]

_____. 8 May 1998. Ray Furlong. "Week in Politics." [Internet] [Accessed 21 May 1998]

     Roma Rights [Budapest]. Spring 1998a. Ina Zoon. "Czech Republic Examined by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination." [Internet] [Accessed 25 June 1998]

     Smith, Christopher H. 22 May 1998. "Congressional Statement on Czech Republic: Racial Intolerance in the Czech Republic-Hon. Christopher H. Smith."

Thieroff, Mark. 15 June 1998. Letter from Tolerance Foundation Programme Office.

_____. 9 June 1998. Letter from Tolerance Foundation Programme Office.

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Prague. 25 June 1998. Letter sent to the Research Directorate.

     Ústecký Deník [Usti nad Labem]. 28 May 1998. "Court Refuses to Recognize Czech Citizenship."

     Voice of America (VOA). 22 July 1998. Art Chimes. "Czech Pol." [Internet] [Accessed 22 July 1998]

_____. 17 July 1998. Art Chimes. "Czech Politics." [Internet] [Accessed 20 July 1998]

Attachments

             Czech Interministerial Commission for Romani Affairs [Prague]. June 1998. Ref: 4.536/98-KMV. Report on the Fulfilment of the Tasks Ensuing from the Government Resolution No. 686/1997 'On Situation of the Romany Community in the Czech Republic'. Report sent to the Research Directorate by the UNHCR Prague Office.

The Prague Post. 20 May 1998b. Richard Allen Greene. "Havel's Romany Pardons Motivated by Mistrust of Police." [Internet] [Accessed 22 May 1998]

     Smith, Christopher H. 22 May 1998. "Congressional Statement on Czech Republic: Racial Intolerance in the Czech Republic-Hon. Christopher H. Smith."

NOTES:

1  The Republicans were able to retain support in North Bohemia, winning 6.11 per cent of the vote there (CTK 22 June 1998b). 2  The October 1997 Czech Council for National Minorities' report entitled Report on the Situation of the Romani Community in the Czech Republic and Government Measures Assisting its Integration in Society (no. 686) is available at Regional Documentation Centres. 3  Initial reports stated that three men had beaten Helena Bihariova and thrown her into the river. However, according to the CTK News, of 26 June 1998, the previous reports of three skinheads involved in the attack were false.  Only two were involved. 4  200 Czech koruna is approximately Cdn$9.12. 5  The Czech Ministry of Interior published its annual report on racially motivated crime and extremism in early 1998. This report in currently available in Czech on the Ministry of Interior Website .    This report is attached to Response to Information Request CZE29429.E of 11 May 1998. 6 This report is attached to Response to Information Request CZE29429.E of 11 May 1998.