Dženo will send a proposal for the disollution of the “National Party” to the Czech government. The organization hopes that the government will propose such a measure to the Supreme Administrative Court, a court with which Dženo is not legally able to file it’s own suite with; government officials must bring cases before the court.

Dženo argues that the National Party is developing its activities in contravention of regulation Section 4 letters a), c), d) and Section 5 paragraphs 1 and 2 of Law No. 424/1991 Coll., of the Czech constitution. The argument hinges on the fact that the party’s official website (www.narodni-strana.cz) contains policy and program goals that discriminate and violate basic human rights according to language in the Czech constitution.

This action comes on the heels of the National Party’s recent “Final Solution to the Gipsy Issue in the Czech Lands”. The Party proposes to buy land in India and expel all Roma to the purchased land. India is recognized by many scholars as the land of origin for ethnic Roma people. The severe proposal evokes the Nazi Germany’s “Final Solution to the Jewish Issue”, a policy of ethnic cleansing. Such a proposal is not taken lightly as Central Europe continues to fight extremist and neo-fascist groups.

The Dženo Association was started in 1994 by Ivan Veselý as a media outlet for the accurate disemmination of information on Roma issues. Over the years the Association grew in scope and now includes activities ranging from legal and educational support for Roma to ‘Radio Rota’, a radio program broadcast in Romani, spreading Roma cultural and musical traditions. Dženo is one of the foremost authorities on Roma issues with a proven track record as a leading organization for Roma rights in Europe.

This summer Dženo, a long time partner of the Advocacy Project, has taken on a Fellow for Peace to assist in the promotion of Roma rights and culture.

Read more about Roma issues on the Dženo website: www.dzeno.cz

For further information contact:

Colby Pacheco (Advocacy Project Peace Fellow): cpacheco@advocaynet.org or

Ivan Veselý (Dženo Association Chairman): vesely.ivan@wo.cz