Extremism on the rise, report says

International human rights groups warn that extremism and racism are becoming an increasing threat in the Czech Republic with political parties becoming more radical and the rights of minority groups seriously curtailed.

The annual report of the human rights group, the Czech Helsinki Committee (Český helsinský výbor or ČHV) says intolerance and xenophobia are on the rise, and the social position of physically and mentally disabled people and prisoners is "unsatisfactory."

"We believe that, especially in a time of global crisis, the weakest individuals are more in danger, and many politicians, instead of striving for human dignity and protecting the rights of these people, support in their election speeches rancorous tendencies," ČHV Chairwoman Alena Šabatová told The Prague Post.

"These trends are very dangerous. Fundamental rights and freedoms including the right to human dignity belong to everyone, not just to those 'honest and decent,' as some politicians are trying to imply in their pre-election campaigns."

The ČHV's report noted that xenophobia and intolerance are on the rise, and unacceptable statements by public representatives are signs that racism is becoming institutionalized. Meanwhile, problems exist with justice for poor people, there is no law for the provision of legal aid, and the state's respect for international obligations is "insufficient."

David Záhumenský, chairman of the Human Rights League (Liga lidských práv), which contributed to the report, agrees one of the main problems is that the Czech Republic should be "quicker to sign and ratify international conventions."

He notes that the Czech Republic was the last country in the European Union to sign the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, signing the treaty only last year, or 11 years after the court was created.

Meanwhile, in 2007, the European Court of Human Rights concluded that there is segregation and violation of access to education for the Roma.

"Roma children were placed into special schools for the intellectually disabled. Intellectually disabled children make up 3 percent of the Czech population, but Roma children make up 40 percent of intake for special schools," he said. "Our organization has been dealing with this for five years, and a lot has been done in recent times, but there is still a lot of work to be done in this area."

The ČHV also said one of the main issues is the increasing radicalization of neo-Nazis and violent attacks against the Roma population. It noted an April 2009 arson attack on a Roma family in Vítkov, north Moravia, which resulted in a 2-year-old girl suffering severe burns to 80 percent of her body. The report noted that authorities opted to classify the incident as a breach of the peace, not as attempted murder.

The marginalization of foreigners was also a focus for the report, with ČHV saying their position is deteriorating due to the recession.

"In many cases, their employment went beyond state control," the report said. "Attempts at a bigger number of checks of foreigners' employers foundered. ? Last year, not a single agency fraudulently employing foreigners was stripped of its license," it added.

The report also said that attacks due to hatred or sexual orientation "are almost ignored in the Czech Republic." Meanwhile, laws still prevent homosexual couples from adopting children.

- Filip Šenk contributed to this report.

Gabriella Hold can be reached at
ghold@praguepost.com