17.11.2008 Litvinov, Ustecky Kraj, Czech Republic Apparently, about 500 right-wing extremists tried to go to an area inhabited by Roma (Gypsy) to attack them in the northern Czech town of Litvinov, but were prevented by about 1000 police/riot squad personnel. Riot police have waged a bloody battle with far-right protesters who hurled petrol bombs and stones. Some of the rioters wore masks. In the ensuing riot, lots of law enforcement personnel and 'right-wingers' were injured. The violence broke out at a march by the far-right WORKERS' PARTY, a public holiday in the Czech Republic marking both the 1939 Nazi clamp down on Czechoslovak universities and the 1989 student protest that sparked the Velvet Revolution which ended decades of communist rule in the central European country. The Czech Republic's largely impoverished Roma population has repeatedly complained of endemic racial discrimination. In the midst of the transition to democracy in Central and Eastern Europe, the Roma have increasingly become victims of racial discrimination, stereotyping, and violence. Of all the stereotypes of the Roma, the social construct of Gypsy criminality has had the most devastating impact upon the social status of the community. In public discourse concerning the Romani community—whether political or in the media—the issue of alleged Gypsy criminality, is often referred to as a justification for society's treatment of the Roma. Deeply rooted in the past and widely held, this stereo-type invariably shapes public opinion and state action against the Roma. Media in several countries tend to arouse anti-Gypsy hysteria by reporting that the Roma are criminals who exploit the benefits granted to asylum-seekers in the countries to which they are migrating. Related News: CZECH ROMA PROTEST ARSON ATTACK ON BABY 04.05.2009 Rallies were held across the Czech Republic on Sunday in a show of strength by the country's Roma community against extremism, two weeks after an arson attack left a Roma baby fighting for life. A crowd of about 250 people gathered outside a Prague church to pray for the family from the eastern village of Vitkov, whose two-year-old girl has more than 80 percent burns after the Molotov attack on April 19. "I have come to support the family," Monika Hlavacova, a young Roma woman from Prague, told AFP, describing the situation of the 300,000-strong Czech Roma community as "terrible." Similar protests were held in 13 other towns and cities including Usti nad Labem, where neo-Nazis staged a march two weeks ago, and Chomutov, whose town hall seizes benefits from Roma defaulting on rents. When the speaker in Prague said the Roma rallying in Chomutov had been attacked by extremists throwing firecrackers, the crowd chanted: "This is our home too," "Murderers" and "Shame on you." The Prague rally was attended by several politicians including Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg, but their presence failed to silence criticism that the government had been slow to react. "If the family were white, politicians would have acted at once," said Hlavacova. http://www.khaleejtimes.com/citytimes/inside.asp?xfile=/data/citytimes/2009/May/citytimes_May34.xml§ion=citytimes http://www.expatica.com/es/news/european_news/Czech-Roma-protest-arson-attack-on-baby--_52215.html http://www.ceskenoviny.cz/zpravy/czech-romanies-hold-nationwide-protest-against-extremism/374865 http://www.ceskenoviny.cz/zpravy/czech-romanies-cancel-rally-due-to-neo-nazi-attacks/374849 http://www.ceskenoviny.cz/zpravy/czech-town-chomutov-not-to-allow-other-romany-demonstrations/375000