4.5 IMPLEMENTACIÓN
4.5.4 Parametrización de los aplicativos
BULGARIAN MINORITY
Particularly good cooperation is with the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, Prague City Hall and other chartered cities, such as Brno, Olomouc and Ostrava.
CROATIAN MINORITY
No documentation was supplied.
HUNGARIAN MINORITY
Cooperation between the local government and all organizational units of the Union of Hungarians Living in the Czech Republic is good.
The representative of the Brno organizational unit attends a meeting with the representatives of Brno City Hall and the Jihomoravsko Regional Authority once or twice a year (although there is no Hungarian representative in the committee). The Prague Unit representative is a member of the Prague City Hall Council’s Commission for National Minorities. In the Ostrava, Plzeň, and Teplice units, Hungarians are not represented in local government or in committees, but they have contact with local and state administration authorities and cooperate with other national minorities in the relevant locality. The representative of the Union of Hungarians is a member of the Committee of the Government Council for National Minorities Council Committee for Cooperation with Local Authorities.
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GERMAN MINORITY
The representatives of the German minority appreciate the support provided in the organization of meetings with former inhabitants in Germany, exchanges of young people, and the holding of cultural events such as exhibitions and concerts. They also appreciate the support provided in the publication of printed materials, the repair of monuments (especially religious monuments) and cooperation with nurseries and schools. Some regional organizations are invited to Czech-German events. There is good cooperation from schools, especially universities.
In places where local authorities cooperate with members of the German minority, the minority’s representatives are invited to joint meetings and contribute to the handling of specific events in the regions. In cooperation with municipalities, cities and compatriot associations, the German minority contributes to the repair of various monuments – churches, chapels and other monuments. The unions work intensively with schools, libraries, museums and other cultural facilities. Financial assistance from the cities is used in the organization of exchanges of students and pupils; cultural exchanges with partner towns and cross-border cooperation are promoted. In this area of cooperation, Czech-German meeting centres (‘Begegnungszentren’) are very active; these centres offer German courses, cultural events, exhibitions, library services and other services to their members and the general public. These centres are fully subsidized by the German Embassy.
Organizations cooperate with local authorities and are invited to events in Chomutov, Kovářská, Skalná, Varnsdorf, and Ústí nad Labem. These are primarily social and cultural events within the scope of various cooperation programmes with German towns and districts. In some places, financial grants are awarded or premises are made available for events free of charge.
POLISH MINORITY
Cooperation with local authorities is generally good. Poles in Těšínské Slezsko are very actively involved in public life in the scope of municipal self-government. Many of them are members of municipal assemblies. According to the minority’s own estimate, the number of Poles in municipal assemblies is not more than seventy. The overwhelming majority of citizens of Polish nationality are appointed to assemblies in Těšínsko municipalities as candidates from the political movement Coexistence - Współnota. Others are candidates of the Association of Independent Candidates or other independent initiatives. Most Poles are in the assemblies of the following municipalities: Hrádek, Košařiska and Vendryně. The problems that Poles are most interested in include Polish schooling and the exercise of the right to bilingualism (the labelling of municipalities, the use of Polish in official communications). In some municipalities, the exercise of this right has continued to be problematic, even in cases where an application for the introduction of bilingual names is supported by a petition.
The platforms where Poles can exercise their rights are the Committees for National Minorities. Unfortunately, these committees are set up by political agreement and therefore it is hard for Poles to be appointed. For example, just one Pole is represented in the Committee for National Minorities of the Moravskoslezsko Region. In municipalities, the situation is similar, although Poles are represented on a greater scale in this case. However, in most cases, the chairpersons of these committees are still Czechs who often override the requests of the Polish minority. For example, in Návsí there was a successful petition for the implementation of bilingual signs, but – after an anti-Polish campaign in the local press, bordering on hysteria – the signs were not introduced because this move was rejected by the Committee for National Minorities.
The minority’s representative would welcome an initiative from the Office of the Government, which, at reasonable intervals or at least as required, could organize meetings with the chairpersons or representatives of committees with the assistance of the Congress of Poles. This is an urgent requirement because the new Rules of Administrative Procedure are being implemented and certain mistakes and misunderstandings are arising. For example, the chairman of a certain municipality ordered the head teacher of the Polish school to write notes to Polish parents in the registration books of Polish children in Czech. A discussion with a representative of the Government Council for National Minorities could prevent complications which this standpoint of Czech nationalists in the position of head teachers might give rise to in the near future.65)
Many municipalities provide sufficient grants for the cultural activities of the Polish minority, especially local PZKO chapters. Larger cities, such as Český Těšín, Třinec, and Karviná award grants based on submitted projects which are assessed by a project commission. In small municipalities, decisions on applications are in the competence of the assembly, which awards grants on an individual basis further to proposals from the municipal council. This assistance is welcomed. Over the past five years, no complaints about the detrimental treatment of Polish projects or applications from municipalities have been registered in the Těšínsko area.
ROMA MINORITY66)
Estimates put the number of Roma inhabitants living in the Czech Republic at approximately 150,000 – 250,000. The largest communities live in the Ostrava area and in north Bohemia (Děčín, Ústí nad Labem). Unfortunately, many Roma – for various reasons – do not claim Roma nationality, which is not good.67)
Of the roughly 250 Roma organizations registered, more than 20% are inactive. The Roma minority urgently needs elected legitimate Roma representatives with a mandate to defend the interests of the Roma minority. However, it has become evident that this process will not be easy.
At present, the Roma minority does not have a representative in the Czech Parliament or in any of the new regional assemblies. A couple of individuals have been elected to the assemblies of what are generally small towns and municipalities. Roma are employed at the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, but it would be advisable for the latter ministry to recruit another 2-3 Roma representatives, mainly in the employment section.
The Roma minority has representatives in the Czech Government’s advisory bodies:
- each region has a Roma representative in the Council of the Government of the Czech Republic for Roma Community Affairs, which has 26 members;
- the Roma minority has three representatives in the Government Council for National Minorities, who were appointed for the first term of office.
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Note by the submitter of the report: The Council does not have the competence to intervene in the relations of individual municipal chairman and head teachers, but could initiate meetings on this issue in cooperation with the relevant committees for national minorities.
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This documentation was prepared by the Council member Cyril Koky. 67)
Note by the submitter of the report: The reasons for not claiming membership of the Roma nationality cannot be considered solely as intentional denial of Roma identity. A larger section of the Roma community understood the category of nationality to mean citizenship. For more details, see, for example, Moravcová, M. - Bittnerová, D.: Kdo jsem a kam patřím? [Who am I and where do I belong?] Prague 2005. Furthermore, government policy in relation to the Roma community in this matter is based on actual need, not on the results of the census.
RUTHENIAN MINORITY
The minority’s representative did not express any comments on this matter.
RUSSIAN MINORITY
As in previous years, the representatives of this minority’s organizations work in commissions for national minorities at the city halls in Prague and Brno.
GREEK MINORITY68)
The Association of Greek Communities in the Czech Republic gives a positive rating to the participation of representatives of the Government Council for National Minorities, as well as the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports in the Czech Republic at official events such as the Greek Days in Krnov and the unveiling of a monument to the Greek citizens of the same place.
The Greek Community of Bohumín highlights the cooperation with the Bohumín municipal authority in relation to the celebration of significant Greek days.
The Greek Community of Šumperk cooperates with Vila Doris, which is a villa run by Šumperk municipal authority for extra-curricular cultural activities for children and young people in Šumperk. The Greek Community of Šumperk also mentioned the regular participation of representatives of Šumperk municipal authority at social events organized by this municipality in the region.
The Greek Community of Prague gives a good rating to visits by the representatives of the Council Secretariat and Prague City Hall to important events held to mark the celebration of significant days of the Hellenic Republic.
The Greek Community of Brno was satisfied with the support and participation of representatives of the local authority in events organized by this community, held to mark Greek public holidays, especially representatives of the Committee for National Minorities at Brno City Hall.
The Lyceum of for Greek Girls in the Czech Republic appreciated the cooperation with local authorities which took place at the level of Brno City Hall in the form of meetings with individual representatives of the city and members of staff from the culture department and the social welfare department. Meetings were held with assembly representatives at the level of the Jihomoravsko Region.
SLOVAK MINORITY
Cooperation with local authorities in 2005 relied on the programme and specific activities of minority organizations. The common denominator was the attempt to present Slovak culture and the interest of local authorities in this culture. Cooperation is very good with the City of Prague. The Slovak minority is represented here in the national minorities commission. Meetings are attended by two members of civic associations - Mária Miňová (Limbora civic association), and M. Beňo (Community of Slovaks). The Club of Slovak Culture (KSK), Slovak-Czech Club, Slovak Literary Club and Limbora made organizational contributions to an international conference on the identity of national minorities, including the cultural programme. Cooperation is very good in the organization of the international festival Prague
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In addition to the information provided by the Council member, the submitter of the report states that the Hellenika endowment fund cooperated with the leadership of the Municipality of Mikulov in implementing the project On the trail of Greek emigration, and with the Council for National Minorities of the Jihomoravsko Region in the implementation of the project Greek Regions – Macedonia.
Heart of Nations and other cultural programmes where the main organizer is Limbora. This association cooperates very well with the municipal authorities of Praha, 2, Praha 3 and Praha 4. In these municipal wards, the association is popular for its folk programmes - Dožínky, Vinobraní, Folk without Frontiers, etc.
The Club of Slovak Culture cooperates very well with the self-governing bodies of the City of Prague and the municipal authorities Králíky, Aš, Liberec, Ústí nad Labem and Karlovy Vary. The most significant project run by the Slovak-Czech Club is the Days of Slovak Culture in the Czech Republic. In 2005, this event took place in nine towns and municipal wards. In České Budějovice, Moravská Třebová and Praha 7 the municipalities were the co-organizer; in Tábor the event was supported by grants from the town and the Jihočesko Region, and the situation was similar in Kroměříž, Jihlava, Plzeň, Brno and Olomouc. There is also good cooperation in the cities of Brno, Rožnov pod Radhostěm, Teplice, Třinec and Karviná.
SERBIAN MINORITY
The Serbian Association of St Sava cooperated with the Ministry of Culture, specifically the department for regional and national culture, the media and audiovisual department, the secretariat of the Minister for Culture and the director of this secretariat, the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic and its Chairperson, Prague City Hall and its Commission for National Minorities, and the municipal wards of Praha 1, Praha 2 and Praha 4. Talks at all levels were exceptionally constructive and there were always attempts to comply with the association’s needs and requirements. It is a generally accepted truth that the conduct and decision-making of authorities is protracted, but in the experience of the representatives of the minority this has never been the case. The Minister for Culture, who assumed the patronage of the event Second Days of Serbian Culture, which he also personally opened (and even addressed those present in Serbian several times), and the Chairman of the Chamber of Deputies and members of staff from his secretariat were exceptionally constructive and professional. The representative of the minority appreciates the assistance of members of staff of the Ministry of Culture from the above-mentioned departments, who helped cope with specific problems on more than occasion.
UKRAINIAN MINORITY
The representative of the Ukrainian minority appreciates the cooperation with Prague City Hall, the mayor of Chomutov, the deputy mayor Rudolf Kozák, who is also the chairman of the committee for national minorities, and the Ukrainian association Bells of Hope, whose chairman is also a member of the committee (Days of Culture in the Czech Republic – autumn 2005).
He also appreciates the cooperation with the following cities: Poděbrady (in the administration of graves and the columbarium of the intelligentsia in this city), Ostrava (its support of the local organization SUPU, chaired by Vasil Vaník), Liberec (multi-cultural educational concerts called Living Together), Brno (Masaryk University in Brno – Ukrainian- based activities and lectures) and Prague (Charles University in Prague – Ukrainian-based activities and lectures).
JEWISH COMMUNITY