Nečas draws fire over human rights moves

Human Rights Commissioner Michael Kocáb agreed to resign his post Sept. 7, ending a week of speculation that has raised major questions about the emphasis Prime Minister Petr Nečas and his government are placing on human and minority rights.

Kocáb tells The Prague Post he will not officially step down from his post until a successor is named amid rumors Nečas has plans to abolish the position altogether. 

In mid-August, Nečas appointed arch-conservative Roman Joch as human rights and foreign policy adviser, drawing a raft of criticism from human rights groups. Joch, who heads a think tank, the Občanský (Civic) institute, with roots in the 20th-century anti-communist movement, is known for advocating small government.

"Generally, my view is that the civil service is over-inflated," he told The Prague Post. "Part of human rights should be also a regard to taxpayers, and therefore one should consider if different state offices are helping human rights and freedoms or if they are just redundant."

Joch has expressed his desire for abolishing the position of commissioner, but backpedaled slightly in a recent interview.

"I am not convinced it should be abolished, but I am convinced its abolishment should be considered," he said.

Kocáb was caught by surprise Sept. 1 when Nečas' office issued a press release saying Kocáb had resigned. Kocáb then said he had done no such thing, only that the matter was discussed. 

"I didn't have a feeling that I was being forced out," Kocáb said. "But I did have the feeling that nobody wants to discuss the agenda of my office."

Kocáb was a Green Party-nominated human rights and minorities minister in two previous governments. He resigned his post in March as the Greens withdrew their support of Jan Fischer's caretaker government but has since continued work under the lesser title of commissioner for human rights.

Even before the latest events, Nečas' three-party coalition government has drawn criticism for not emphasizing human rights in their official policy statement. They also decided to abolish the Human Rights and Minorities Ministry.

A coalition of 30 NGOs including the Czech Women's Lobby, Association of the Romanies in Moravia, the Czech Helsinki Committee, the Czech National Disability Council, the Czech Women's Union, the Ecumenical Academy, Forum 50 Percent, Gender Studies and Amnesty International have all signed a letter asking Nečas to pledge support for the human rights commissioner position. 

"The commotion around the human rights commissioner is proof that this government is tending even more sharply to the right than its predecessors, so much so that I do not believe it is accurate to characterize it as a center-right coalition," said Gwendolyn Albert, director of the Women's Initatives Network at the Peacework Development Fund and a longtime Roma rights activist.

"Kocáb made a name for himself as human rights and minorities minister defending the Roma minority against widespread anti-Gypsyism in Czech society at all levels, and he made some significant strides forward," she said.

Joch and Kocáb appeared in a televised debate Sept. 5. They will meet formally Sept. 8 to discuss the human rights portfolio. In separate interviews with The Prague Post, a clear philosophical divide emerged between the two men.

"What Roman Joch is emphasizing is a misunderstanding of the agenda of my office," Kocáb said. "Of course, the taxpayers and family rights are also very important, but there are many more, bigger government departments to manage these agendas. This is not a task for my office. We deal with minorities."

Asked whether he felt the Roma minority faced discrimination in the Czech Republic, Joch responded:

"By the state called the Czech Republic, i.e. by Czech law, government decisions or court verdicts are not discriminatory. Although it is not possible to eliminate that some specific Roma citizens are in private relations or in their lives personally discriminated against by other citizens - or vice-versa."

Kocáb was reluctant to directly criticize Joch, but did say, "Joch has theoretical knowledge, I do not doubt it, but he has no specific knowledge. In my view, he sees human rights as problematic more from an ideological and theoretical point of view."

Human rights groups have been less reluctant to condemn Nečas' choice of Joch as an adviser, and about 100 protesters gathered in mid-August outside Nečas' office to demonstrate against the decision.

"The man does not believe in democracy and should not be taken seriously by anyone committed to human rights," Albert said. "His suggestion that the human rights commissioner post be abolished is ridiculous; the government has undertaken international obligations which it must regularly report on to the Council of Europe, the OSCE and the United Nations. Such reporting is a standard aspect of demonstrating compliance."

Other human rights groups are at least as concerned with Kocáb's imminent departure.

"We are reluctant to criticize Joch's appointment until something actually happens," said Kateřina Šaldová, spokeswoman for Amnesty International Czech Republic. "In general, we appreciated Kocáb's work very much."

A statement issued by the regional offices of the Czech Governmental Office for Roma Community Affairs said: "We honor what Michael Kocáb has done for Roma integration in the Czech Republic. We have not had a better commissioner for human rights in years."

Likely successors to Kocáb include his current deputy Czeslaw Walek, as well as Oldřich Kužílek, a former MP.

"None of this bodes well for minorities, the poor or women in the Czech Republic," Albert said of the past week's events.

- Filip Šenk and Klára Jiřičná contributed to this report.

Benjamin Cunningham can be reached at
bcunningham@praguepost.com