Brand-new Czech Chief Public Health Officer has a history of anti-Romani racism in her previous public communications about COVID-19
5.3.2021 8:50
A printscreen of the Facebook post from October 2020 by Pavla Svrčinová, who was appointed Chief Public Health Officer of the Czech Republic in March 2021. It reads: Fero Lakatoš robbed his own apartment today. He is following the quarantine rules and working from home. Be like Fero.
The Czech News Agency has reported that the new Chief Public Health Officer for the Czech Republic will be the current director of the Moravian-Silesian Regional Public Health Department, Pavla Svrčinová, but its brief announcement of that news failed to mention that in October, Svrčinová shared a racist joke on her Facebook profile in association with the Government s measures to fight COVID-19. Whether anti-Romani racism is meant to be the new style of communications to induce the public in the Czech Republic to comply with the Governmen
Romea.cz
6.3.2021 6:22
Pavla Svrčinová and the joke she shared to her Facebook profile. The text reads Fero Lakatoš robbed his own apartment today. Fero is following quarantine rules and working from home. Be like Fero. (Collage: Romea.cz)
Pavla Svrčinová, who has been tapped to take up the role of Chief Public Health Officer in the Czech Republic, has apologized to Romani people for sharing a racist joke featuring Romani stereotypes on her Facebook profile. She was contacted by Czech Government Human Rights Commissioner Helena Válková with a request for an explanation after the news broke.
According to Válková, the two had a telephone conversation during which Svrčinová apologized for the entire matter and asked the Human Rights Commissioner to convey her apology to all members of the Czech Government Council for Romani Minority Affairs. I would like to hereby assure you that the placement of that post on my Facebook page was not intentional and decidedly
Romea.cz
Romani organizations write to Czech Industry and Trade Minister: Roma must be part of the National Plan for Renewal
1.3.2021 9:33
Czech Industry and Trade Minister Karel Havlíček (PHOTO: David Sedlecký, Wikimedia Commons)
Representatives of Romani civil society have sent an open letter to Czech Industry and Trade Minister Karel Havlíček; news server Romea.cz is publishing it in full translation below. The letter asks the minister to provide information about its National Plan for Renewal and how the Romani representatives can most effectively join its preparations.
The letter-writers are concerned by the fact that the Government never called on representatives of Romani civil society or the Czech Government Council for Romani Minority Affairs to collaborate on drafting the National Plan for Renewal. It is meant to become the most extensive stimulus package of financial support in history to ever be implemented in the Czech Republic as aid in coping with