One of four Green Party (SZ) Cabinet ministers appointed Jan. 9, Stehlíková's formal title is minister without portfolio. In actuality, she's responsible for minority issues and human rights, though no government ministry exists with that focus.

Already, she has pledged to press for the removal of a pig farm in Lety, South Bohemia, that stands on the site of a Holocaust internment camp where 326 Roma, or Gypsies, died. She also wants to eliminate all Romany ghettos across the country.

Stehlíková knows firsthand what it's like to be a minority in the Czech Republic. Born and raised in Kazakhstan, she didn't move here until she was 26. Educated as a psychiatrist, she spent years listening to people's problems before deciding she could better solve them through politics.

Analysts have their doubts that Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek's new Cabinet will last long. But in an interview with The Prague Post, Stehlíková provided an unusually candid glimpse into the likely human rights issues that any future government will have to address.

The Prague Post: Why do you think you were selected to be responsible for human and minority rights issues in the new Cabinet?

Džamila Stehlíková: I've worked in the area of human rights for a long time. ... Also, human rights are [the Green Party's] main topic. For example, many past human rights commissioners have been Greens. We had an election [within the party] to decide who would be in the government. ... It's very important that I am not Czech; I am a member of an ethnic minority. And, another important thing, I'm a woman. ... My function can show that our country isn't homogenous.

TPP: What will be your main priorities during your time as minister?

DS: We have two levels of priorities. The first includes concrete solutions for resolving acute problems. For example, preparing an agency to address the social exclusion of minorities, primarily the Roma community. Another concrete [goal] is to have a memorial built at Lety. On the more global level, we would like to prepare new legislation. For example, the Czech Republic has no anti-discrimination law. We're one of the last states in the European Union not to.

TPP: The Czech Republic is said to have some 330 ghettos where socially disadvantaged groups, often the Roma, live in poverty. What can be done about this problem?

DS: First, we need to prevent the formation of new ghettos. Unfortunately, the local authorities have no strategy for solving these problems. They don't know how they can resolve them. The state must help them and show them good examples. ... We have no legislative framework for solving these issues, and that's a big problem. For example, we have no laws about social housing. It's a task for the future.

TPP: These methods may help prevent future ghettos, but what can be done about the ones that already exist?

DS: Social work must be individualized. For some families, it's a good solution to move. For some, it's important to stay in the same place because they're connected to relatives there. If you are only giving out money, it isn't a long-term solution. It's very important to activate people in solving their problems. In every locality, we will be trying to find an individual approach.

TPP: How do you feel about working in the same Cabinet as Jiří Čunek [Christian Democratic Party, or KDU-ČSL, chairman and new regional development minister]? He has been criticized for evicting several Romany families from the town of Vsetín, east Moravia, last October, when he was mayor.

DS: We're partners with the KDU-ČSL and Čunek is the representative of this party at the moment, so we cooperate with him. We've spoken to him about [the Roma], and we have some common ideas. We are both of the opinion that people must become active in receiving help and taking their lives into their own hands. However ... I disagree with putting [people] into another level of social disadvantage. Separating them [is] not a solution. Quite the contrary: It creates a vicious cycle.

TPP: Why hasn't the anti-discrimination bill been passed yet?

DS: It depends on the political atmosphere, and, unfortunately, [last year's] right-wing Senate turned it down. ... Perhaps some didn't understand the law. It's not as radical or "revolutionary" as the law for [same-sex] registered partnerships, but the homosexual community and [nongovernmental organizations] did a great deal of work and clarified to the public and politicians the need for this law. Some people were afraid of the anti-discrimination law, and there was nobody who could clarify it and push it through.

TPP: Why have talks of creating a memorial to the Roma victims at Lety stalled?

DS: There has been no political will in the past seven months to do anything about the situation. The government commission will be preparing a draft of some alternatives that the government will have a chance to debate. ... The first step is to acquire the farm. ... The memorial will be the second step.

TPP: What other minority rights issues are on your agenda?

DS: We are monitoring many issues. ... A great priority is the national problem of mobility, not only with accessibility to buildings, but also to public transit. ... Also, there is no functioning policy of directed immigration. We don't have enough of the immigrants we need, but we have plenty of illegal immigrants and illegal workers. Finally, it's important for the Greens to facilitate the participation of NGOs. They could be more effective and efficient in providing aid than the state.