Equal Opportunities Party criticizes media for emphasizing ethnicity of perpetrators of crime

Representatives of the Equal Opportunities Party (Strana rovných příležitostí – SRP) and representatives of various ethnic groups and national minorities in the Czech Republic have met and issued a joint criticism of several matters: The abolition of the Ministry for Human Rights and National Minorities, the excessive publicity given to the ethnicity of perpetrators of crime, and the activities of racist organizations. News server Romea.cz publishes the party’s press release in full below. Video footage of a statement on the meeting by party chair Štefan Tišer is available here (in Czech only): http://www.romea.cz/romeatv/index.php?id=detail&source=t&vid=xeLk9szVBdQ&detail=xeLk9szVBdQ

Press release of the Equal Opportunities Party: Extraordinary meeting between the party’s Central Council and representatives of ethnic and national groups in the Czech Republic

On Monday 12 March 2012 an extraordinary meeting was held at the House of National Minorities between members of the Central Council of the Equal Opportunities Party and representatives of various ethnic groups and national minorities. The aim of the meeting was to establish closer cooperation with all ethnic and national groups living on Czech territory, mainly by offering them representation in the party’s structure. Representatives of national minorities familiarized themselves with the party’s program and in the subsequent discussion expressed the need for the issue of ethnic groups and national minorities to be addressed at the highest level of politics.

We consider the current government’s previous decision to abolish the Human Rights and Minorities Ministry to have been a step that does not reflect the actual position of minorities in Czech society. National minorities also are not being given the space they are due in the public broadcast media, not only as far as their cultural life is concerned, but also their political and social life.

At the same time, we must state that we are scandalized by the excessive publicity being given to the ethnicity of perpetrators of crime. We also consider the rise in hatred against minorities in general and the rise in racially motivated attacks which are not being effectively investigated to be a problem.

There are organizations in the Czech Republic that are completely public in their incitement of anti-Semitism, hatred, and racism, organizing demonstrations and marches. The course of these events usually contradicts the law on assembly and the government manual issued to municipalities on how to work with the law on assembly.

We therefore jointly call on the media to refrain from inciting hatred in Czech society. We also call on politicians to UPHOLD POLITICAL CORRECTNESS!

Štefan Tišer, chair of the Equal Opportunities Party