CZECH REPUBLIC: INPUT FOR HUMAN DIMENSION MEETING

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PRAGUE 000354

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EUR/RPM: JFISHER

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OSCE PGOV PREL PHUM KDEM EZ
SUBJECT: CZECH REPUBLIC: INPUT FOR HUMAN DIMENSION MEETING

Ref: A. STATE 59944, B. PRAGUE 310


1. (SBU) Per Ref A, Post is providing input for a demarche prior to
the Human Dimension Implementation Meeting (HDIM) in Warsaw from
September 28 - October 9, 2009.

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The Interim Government
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2. (SBU) The government of the Czech Republic (GOC) is currently an
interim one, following the no-confidence vote in March that toppled
the government of Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek. The current
government is led by Prime Minister Jan Fischer and will be in power
until early parliamentary elections are held on October 9, 2009.
Fischer's government has a limited political mandate but has listed
fighting extremism as one of the issues it wants to address. It
will only be in power until October and will not undertake any
divisive issues. Extremism has been on the radar screen of the GOC
lately given the heightened visibility of right-wing extremist
groups and Roma issues (Ref B). Fischer's interim government is
taking the problem seriously and has taken a number of steps to
address the extremist and/or Roma issues.

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Areas of Concern
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3. (SBU) The broadest area of concern relating to the Roma issue in
the Czech Republic is education reform. A World Bank-funded study
(October 2008) done by the GOC said that education reform is
critical to solving the long-term employment and social exclusion
problems facing the Roma. It said that the GOC will need to focus
on Roma youth in order to tackle these issues. A study commissioned
by the previous Education Minister completed in January 2009
highlighted targeted assistance as the way to integrate Roma
children into the mainstream education process. Country-specific
suggestion for positive action: Reference the October 2008 World
Bank-funded study and ask the GOC to move forward on the specific
education reforms mentioned in the January 2009 study commissioned
by the Education Minister, including targeted assistance in areas
such as preparatory classes and teachers' assistants.


4. (SBU) Housing continues to be a significant challenge for the
Roma. Over time, the Roma were driven out of city centers into
ghettos known as "socially excluded areas." A 2008 study entitled
"Social Exclusion of Roma and Czech Society," by the Gabal
Analytical and Consulting Agency (GAC),noted that the key to
solving the Roma problem is to gain broad public support for a Roma
integration policy. The report recommended that the GOC issue a
declaration which would be agreed to by all public bodies stating
that social exclusion is a serious issue confronting Czech society.
Country-specific suggestion for positive action: Reference this
study and ask the GOC to move forward with such a declaration.


5. (SBU) There was a serious firebomb attack on a house in northern
Moravia in April, in which a two-year old girl was seriously burned.
In addition, another firebomb attack occurred in May in a small
town outside of Prague; fortunately, no one was hurt. The police
are investigating but thus far there have been no arrests.
Country-specific suggestion for positive action: Urge the GOC to
continue investigating these incidents and pursuing the culprits.

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Notable Progress
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6. (SBU) The Czech Chamber of Deputies overrode President Klaus'
veto and passed an anti-discrimination bill, making it law. The law
bans discrimination in employment, business, education and health
care. Although the Czech Republic is the last country in the EU to
pass such legislation, it should be noted as a positive step in a
demarche made to the GOC.


7. (SBU) The current Minister for Human Rights, Michael Kocab,
started his position in January 2009 and was the only Minister to
survive the fall of Topolanek's government. After taking up his
position, he quickly established the Agency for Social Exclusion of
Roma Communities to combat the problems of exclusion encountered by
the Roma. Kocab has also called for a fund to purchase the site of
a Nazi-era Roma concentration camp as a memorial to the Roma
Holocaust. These should be mentioned as progress steps.


8. (SBU) The Minister of Interior in the interim government, Martin
Pecina, established a Special Anti-Extremism Task Force in late May,
with the specific goal of eliminating extremism in the Czech
Republic. The task force is headed by a former police official and
head of the National Anti-Drug Squad, Jiri Komorous, and differs
from the terrorism and extremist section of the Organized Crime Unit
of the police, which only focuses on confronting extremists during

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rallies and marches. The task force is taking a holistic approach
to extremism and has laid out specific plans for fighting extremism,
focusing on law enforcement and judicial aspects of the extremist
problem. This included publishing an on-line manual for town halls
and municipalities that contains specific information on banning or
dissolving marches and demonstrations by extremist groups. The
manual was put together by lawyers and experts on extremism at the
request of town mayors who say they need help to counter growing
extremism in the country. These efforts by the Ministry of the
Interior to fight extremism are encouraging and should be noted in a
demarche.

Thompson-Jones