PRAGUE - INTERNATIONAL ROMA DAY

UNCLAS PRAGUE 000239 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KPAO APER PHUM PGOV PREL EZ SUBJECT: PRAGUE - INTERNATIONAL ROMA DAY REF: A. SECSTATE 29991 ¶B. PRAGUE 0126 ¶1. Approximately 50 people including Embassy Political Officer attended an art exhibition held in Prague on April 8 to commemorate International Roma Day (Ref. A). The outdoor exhibit was sponsored by the Dzeno Group, a Czech-based Roma organization with regional presence. The exhibit featured stories of the approximately 30 people who have been killed in anti-Roma violence in the Czech Republic since 1990. Each of the 15 white sketch boards told the story of two victims, and was adorned with a pair of black silhouettes. The Prague exhibition culminated with a candle light vigil for victims of racist violence later that evening. According to the organizers, International Roma Day was also marked in most major Czech cities. ¶2. As part of its efforts to increase ties between the USG and the Roma community in the Czech Republic (Ref. B),on February 18 Post organized a roundtable discussion between members of the U.S. Helsinki Commission, led by Senator Ben Cardin and U.S. Representative Alcee Hastings, and leading figures from Czech Roma society. The meeting focused on the effects of discrimination in the Roma community and practical steps the Roma could take to increase their political power and remedy their disparate treatment. As part of the Commission's trip to Prague, the delegation also met with the Public Defender of Rights (Ombudsman),Otakar Motejl, who officially investigated dozens of cases of forced sterilization of Roma women before and after the 1989 revolution. The delegation also met with senior officials from the Czech Office of Human Rights to discuss the members' concerns about treatment of the Roma. ¶3. Post continues to engage the local Roma community on a regular basis and will report significant developments septel. ThompsonJones