Related articles
From the ArchivesTransforming token integration into good faith: Martin Luther King talks to Czechoslovak Radio
“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the
true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident: that
all men are created equal.’” The unforgettable words of Dr Martin
Luther King Jr., delivered on August 28 1963 on the steps of the Lincoln
Memorial in Washington DC. The speech, addressed to a crowd of a quarter of
a million, was a defining moment in the American civil rights movement, and
its echoes reached as far as communist Eastern Europe. In Czechoslovakia
the civil rights movement had already aroused considerable interest, and
not just because of the pleasure that the regime took in pointing to
America’s shortcomings; Czechoslovak Radio's correspondent in the United States,
Karel Kyncl, had already interviewed Dr King in March of that
same year. Here is a short extract from the interview, where Dr
King has just been outlining the progress made so far in ending
segregation: More
Current AffairsPrague Archbishop celebrates mass for Vietnamese community
One of the many Christmas masses celebrated over the past weekend was a
mass for the Vietnamese community celebrated by Prague Archbishop Dominik
Duka in Prague’s Žižkov district. It was dedicated to the Feast of the
Holy Family and attended by over a thousand Vietnamese who have embraced
the Christian faith. More
Current AffairsVsetín faces Roma exodus
In late 2006, Jiří Čunek, then mayor of the eastern town of Vsetín and
later Christian Democrat chairman, made a controversial decision to move
several hundred Romany rent-defaulters out of a dilapidated block of flats
in the town centre and relocate them in a complex of portacabins on the
outskirts of Vsetín. Now, five years on, most of them are choosing to move
even further – as far as the United Kingdom. More
Current AffairsObservers sceptical “announced” Roma political party will gain traction
Reports surfaced on Tuesday that a number of representatives of the Czech
Roma community are considering founding a new party focussing on Roma
issues, including how to tackle long-standing social problems and ethnic
tension between communities. Those have grown especially in North Bohemia
in recent weeks. While some, like notable sociologist Ivan Gabal have
praised the project so far – he told a national Czech newspaper such a
party could “change the atmosphere in Czech politics and improve the
social climate”, many others are sceptical, saying like parties before
it, this one too is unlikely to succeed. More
One on OneRoma rights advocate Gwendolyn Albert on anti-Romany rallies, poverty and the government’s strategy in combating social exclusion
The Czech Republic recently saw an outbreak of tensions between the
country’s Romany minority and parts of the majority population. People in
the isolated northern Bohemian region of Šluknov began holding anti-Romany
rallies to protest a growing crime rate in the region; the government
reacted by sending in the police but also by adopting a plan to tackle the
issue of Romany exclusion and impoverishment. To discuss these and other
issues, Radio Prague spoke to Gwendolyn Albert who for the past 15 years
has been working with the Romany advocacy group, Romea. More
SpecialEthnic tensions rack north Bohemian town of Varnsdorf
The Czech Republic is experiencing something unseen in its modern history.
After two decades of neglecting the problems of the country’s Romany
minority, ethnic and social tensions erupted last month in a remote
northern Bohemian district of Šluknov where thousands of people take to
the streets every weekend to protest against the Romanies and their
lifestyle. More
+1
