CZECH ROMA ASK FOR SUPPORT !

CZECH ROMA ASK FOR SUPPORT  !

POLICE CAMPAIGN AGAINST ROMA CIVIL 
RIGHTS ACTIVISTS IN CZECH REPUBLIC

At 10 a.m. yesterday, March 23rd, police forces entered and searched the
homes of Roma civil rights activists in the town of Rockycany, "accusing"
the activists of being among the signatories of a protest against the mayor
of the town. This protest is concerned with the racist politics of mayor
Oldrich Kozisek and the unbearable living standards Czech Roma have to put
up with. Among those whose homes were searched is the well-known activist
and Roma leader Ondrej Gina.

Yesterday's events are most extreme so far in a campaign of terror against
Gina and other Czech activists. Police and government officials have been
harassing activists in Rockycany for several months now.

The town has been internationally infamous for years because of anti-Roma
activities. A few months ago a fence was built on the mayor's orders which
would "protect" the town's Czech inhabitants from Roma. Media reports have
for years been written with a racist bias. Roma have been denied entry to
the town's bars and restaurants; the frequent attacks and use of physical
violence against Roma have been dismissed by the mayor, calling them
reactions to the "asocial behaviour of Roma". This kind of treatment led a
few months ago to a wave of Roma refugees from the Republic - last year
alone more than 4,000 sought refuge abroad from persecution at home.

Czech civil rights organisations have been for years drawing attention to
the steadily deteriorating situation of Roma in the Republic.

More then 50 Roma have been murdered since the "Velvet Revolution"; 
hundreds have been brutally attacked by racist nationalists.

Roma have repeatedly also been the victims of state violence and
antiziganism: over 50,000 became stateless persons in their own land after
the dissolution of the Czechoslovakian state into two separate political
entities.

The Czech Republic is the only country in the world which could let a pig
farm be built on the site of a concentration camp: the camp at Lety was
constructed especially for Roma and was supervised and run by Czechs during
WWII. Hundreds of Roma women were subjected to involuntary sterilisation
under Communism. Roma children are relegated to special schools and over 90%
of all Roma are unemployed; discrimination and violence are things they have
to cope with every single day in the Czech Republic. No Czech government has
yet seen it fit to issue an apology for the continuation and the continuity
of persecution of Roma in the country.

- The RNC protests strongly against the Czech Republic's actions.

- The RNC sees in this police campaign and the behaviour of the powers that
be against the Roma civil rights movement and Ondrej Gina an attempt to
criminalise their work and silence them.

- The RNC has noticed with alarm the manner in which the Republic has openly
and shamelessly engaged in repression and discrimination since becoming a
NATO member.

- The RNC calls on international civil rights organisations to join it in
protesting against the situation and contact their governments.


Czech Roma organisations ask you for your support !

ROMA CONTACT:
Mr. Ondrej Gina
Fax: 00420 181 727 598
Fax: 00420 181 723 011
Czech Republic, Rockycany 33701, Krece


CZECH OFFICIALS:

The Czech embassy in your country

Ministerstvo Vinitra
Nad Stolon 3
Praha 1
Tel.: 00420 2614 11 111
Fax.: 00420 2614 21 115

Urad vlady
Nabrezi E. Benese 4
Praha 1
Tel.: 00420 2 24 0021 11
Fax.: 00420 2 24 81 02 31

Kancelar prezidenta CR Hrad
Praha 1, 110 00
Tel.: 00420 2 24 37 11 11
Fax.: 00420 2 24 37 33 00

Ministerstvo zahranici
Loretanske nam. 5
Praha 1
Tel.: 00420 2 24 181 111
Fax.: 00420 2 24 31 00 17

Ceske velvyslanectvi v Nemecko -SRNBerlin
Tel.: 0049 30 226 380
Fax: 0049 30 22 94 033

-Ceske velvyslaectvi v USA
Washington
Tel.: 001 202 27 49 100
Fax: 001202 966 85 40

Ceske Velvyslanective v Anglii - GB
Tel.: 0044 171 24 31 115
Fax: 0044 171 72 79 654


Roma National Congress
Umbrella Organization Of The European Roma Civil Rights Movement

Board: Andrzej Wisniewski (Poland), Ondrej Gina (Czech Republic), 
Jozef Cervenak (Slovakia), Rudko Kawczynski (Germany), 
Asmet Elezovski (Macedonia).


European Central Office:
Simon von Utrechtstr. 85
D - 20359 Hamburg, Germany
Phone: ++ 49 40 319 42 49
Fax: ++ 49 40 31 04 75
URL: http://www.romnews.com

Emails:
Informations: Info@RomaNationalCongress.org
Board of the RNC: Board@RomaNationalCongress.org
Youth Section: Youth-Section@RomaNationalCongress.org

Emergency Hotline ( Phone ): ++ 49 171 8931 831
Emergency Hotline ( Fax ): ++ 49 171 8910 702

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Tillbaka till rasism

Tillbaka till Immigrant-institutets hemsida
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