cafebabel.com

Finland's Sami minority: new cultural centre but no land rights

('English language version of cafebabel.com',) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 17:15:00 -0000

Finland's Sami people are slowly gaining legal recognition, with a new cultural centre in Inari being launched in 2012. However, the minority continues to suffer injustice with respect to land-law. Tanja Joona from the northern institute for environmental and minority law explains a problem which doesn't look set to disappear

Obituary: Vaclav Havel, master of peace

('Annie Rutherford',) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 14:00:00 -0000

The dissident, thespian and president, who was a symbol of change in the 1989 velvet revolution in Czechoslovakia, died on 18 December at the age of 75 after a serious illness. Homage to a European master of peace, as a three-day mourning period officially begins on 21 December

My beautiful camp: Italy's Roma success stories

('Tom Gale',) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 10:00:50 -0000

Between a Roma camp claiming to be an example of social integration and a laundrette which is a supposed symbol of multiculturalism, profound problems linger at the heart of Rome’s gypsy communities

'Our School' documentary: segregated Roma schools despite EU funds

('Linda Krajcso',) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 13:40:25 -0000

When directors and producers Mona Nicoară and Miruna Coca-Cozma followed three Roma children in a small Romanian village for four years, their film initially about a success story of integration became one about the realities of ethnic segregation. Interview

Ascanio Celestini: 'I denounce verbal violence of our time’

('Annie Rutherford',) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 10:00:00 -0000

He is the mouthpiece of contemporary Italian theatre, a critic of power, an anthropologist who depicts the evils of our time better than anyone else. The 39-year-old actor, director and author talks about coming from outside Rome and where his one-man-show gets its inspirations from

Baking a state for Palestine at the United Nations kitchen

('hkeet',) — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 16:22:08 -0000

64 years ago, the UN granted the Palestinians a state on 43% of the former mandate Palestinian territory. This state never came into being. The bid for this and UN membership will likely take place on 24 September. A divided EU once again shows its reluctance to form a common foreign policy with the member states’ 'for', 'against' and 'wait-and-see' positions

‘Webouting’ site publishes list of ten ‘gay’ politicians in Italy

('English language version of cafebabel.com',) — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 12:00:00 -0000

On 23 September, an Italian LGBT movement ‘outed’ ten homophobic politicians who they have esteemed have ‘ulterior motives’ for their overt phobia online. Is it a criminal action or justifiable revenge? 75% of the country’s gay community have agreed with the US-based blog's initiative

Roma and Hungary’s extreme right: the hunt in Gyöngyöspata

('Annie Rutherford',) — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 15:08:30 -0000

In Hungary, a village of 2, 500 inhabitants outside Budapest embodies tensions between the Roma (gypsy) community and the extreme right. Since March, paramilitary militia have been arriving in Gyöngyöspata to march the town's streets. On top of that, Oszkár Juhász, a member of the extreme right-wing party Jobbik, has been elected as mayor

The hills are alive with the sound of Viviane Reding

('Annie Rutherford',) — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 11:00:00 -0000

The EU commissioner for justice, fundamental rights and citizenship ‘comes from the heart of Europe,’ insists former EC president Jacques Delors, as he introduces her to French students at Paris’ political institute Sciences Po. Meanwhile, Reding goes all out to be less bureaucratic than she is

Romania's stray dogs, souvenirs of a communist past

('ReeAix',) — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 12:48:03 -0000

On 26 July, the European court of human rights criticised Romania’s inability to deal with the stray dogs roaming its streets. Legislation introduced by parliament to allow the euthanasia of the stray dogs has however provoked controversy. How have the strays, known as ‘maïdanezi’, become mired in political debate?

Czech, Belgian, French and Austrian press on Libyan rebels taking Tripoli

('eurotopics',) — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 15:00:00 -0000

According to their own reports, the Libyan rebels now have practically all of the capital Tripoli under their control. Three of Muammar al-Gaddafi's sons have been taken prisoner by the rebels, while the leader himself has apparently fled. Commentators cast doubt on the rebels' democratic intentions and discuss Europe's tasks after power changes hands

Easter in Istanbul with Turks and Turkish Armenians

('English language version of cafebabel.com',) — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 10:15:00 -0000

When Turkish Armenian soldier Sevak Shahin Balikci was accidentally shot dead by an army colleague on 24 April, both Turks and Armenians came together to pay their respects. 24 April also marks the fact that easter coincides with the commemorations for the Ottoman-era genocides of Turkey's Armenian minority for the first time. There are positive signs that relations may be improving in Istanbul, especially since assassinated Turkish Armenian journalist Hrant Dink's killer was sentenced on 25 July

Is gay OK in catholic Croatia?

('bistra andreeva',) — Tue, 03 May 2011 13:15:55 -0000

The Balkan cliché of a traditional patriarchal society of machos is stable. We have all heard what happens every time the Serbs decide to have a Gay pride parade. But we are in Croatia now – a country that does not even count itself Balkan anymore, and which adopted a same sex partnerships bill in 2003

Poland, Lithuania, Romania: inside Europe's Guantanamo Bays

('Ems_8674',) — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 16:00:00 -0000

A white horse struggles to drag itself along after abandoning the exhausted body of Vincent Gallo through the snow. The animal is soiled with human blood. Such is the breathtaking epilogue of Essential Killing, the latest feature length film from Jerzy Skolimowski, where the American actor portrays a Taliban deported to a secret CIA base hidden in a forest in Mazovie, Poland. In the screenplay by the Polish writer, the prisoner still has the possibility to escape. Terrorist suspects who land in total secrecy in the airport of Szymany in Poland do not have such luck. An investigation ensues.

Life as a journalist in Montenegro: punchbags and missionaries itching to do their job

('Carol Howard',) — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 15:30:00 -0000

Physical threats or threats of court action, unstable salaries and a lack of recognition. In a country which only ranked 104th on the 2010 world press freedom index compiled by reporters without borders (RWB), the journalist’s profession entails quite a number of downsides. This is one of the many paradoxes in Montenegro, for given the lack of political opposition the journalist is also the sole representative of the public interest. So they tell us

Irish elections: expats can't vote on 25 February 2011

('Denis Fitzgerald',) — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 10:07:23 -0000

The Dail is dissolved! Irish citizens will be electing a new government to oversee recovery from the worst economic crisis in the state's history. However, many of them forced to leave by the four-year-old fianna fáil-green government's malfeasance will be denied a ballot

Liu Xiaobo: Chinese prisoner and Nobel peace prize winner

('eurotopics',) — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 16:45:00 -0000

The detained Chinese civil rights activist Liu Xiaobo was awarded the nobel peace prize in absentia in Oslo on 10 November; the Serb, Russian and Ukrainian governments were three of 19 world countries absent too. The Chinese government fears social change and is only harming its own interests with Liu's detention, write the Danish, Austrian, Belgian and Lativa press

Alice in Belarus (Wonderland): politician tries to enter local elections

('Peter Robbins',) — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 12:50:27 -0000

This is the story of Olga Karatch, a Belarusian dissident and 'Nash Dom' human rights activist, and her participation in local elections in Belarus. Those were in May 2010, but Olga’s testimony has lost none of its relevance. Unfortunately, it's all too synonymous with the state of Belarusian politics as a whole, and with elections looming on 19 December

'Branding Romania' scandal: next step, brand Roma?

('Nabeelah Shabbir',) — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 12:30:00 -0000

Romania's brand, funded by EU money, was finally launched at the Romanian pavilion at the Shanghai world expo on 29 July – though the 'Explore the Carpathian garden' campaign hasn't (yet) gone down a treat

Summer of riots: French of 'foreign origin' to lose citizenship, president warns

('Sarah Truesdale',) — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 16:30:00 -0000

'French nationality should be stripped from anybody who has threatened the life of a police officer or anybody involved in public policing,' announced Nicolas Sarkozy on 30 July. A Frenchman looks at how the European media react

France's 'war on criminality' aside, focus on Parisian Roma in 'social insertion villages'

('English language version of cafebabel.com',) — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 14:19:08 -0000

Four years after their creation in Europe, 'social integration villages' are being presented as a 'Roma paradise'. European associations for minority protection expose some of the difficulties facing the most discriminated community in the EU. Meanwhile, the French government has since planned to dissolve 300 Roma settlements, whilst the UK is seeing its biggest Romany gypsy site, Dale Farm in Essex, bulldozed

Lech Garlicki on judging Europe’s religious fabric

('James Friscia',) — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 17:15:37 -0000

The Polish jurist, who has been a judge at the European court of human rights since 2002, on religious symbols in schools, the burka, security and the status of women

Perspective: what has the EU done for LGBT rights?

('AMR',) — Mon, 17 May 2010 12:45:00 -0000

The international day against homophobia and transphobia is celebrated on 17 May in over fifty countries around the world, and as the Baltic Pride parade in Lithuania on 8 May showed, people are taking action in even the most homophobic places

Europe: ready for birth of abortion law?

('Nicola Potter',) — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 11:00:00 -0000

On 13 April, the first-ever 'Brussels March For Life' took place in Belgium, which legalised abortion in 1990. Almost a month earlier though, women's rights pioneer Simone Veil became the sixth women ever to be 'immortalised' at the French academy. But 35 years after her 'Veil Law' legalised abortion in France, the topic remains a controversial issue

Abortion in Spain: revival of conservatism?

('James Friscia',) — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 12:30:00 -0000

On 7 March - the eve of international women's day - thousands held a 'march for life' on the streets of Madrid. They were protesting against the voting in of the law on abortion without restriction, as adopted on 24 February by the socialist government of José Luís Rodríguez Zapatero. A French reaction on the law that has caused feelings to run high

Zaher Rezai: dead after eight kilometres of illegal immigration

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 11:48:04 -0000

In December 2008, the 13-year-old died under the wheels of a lorry after trying to evade Italian immigration officials. A year on, artist Gianluca Constantini's cartoon strip tells the story

Almost 50 journalists behind bars: 'all young Iranians are potential journalists'

('Jude Lister',) — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 10:00:00 -0000

On 11 February 2010, both opponents and supporters of Ahmadinejad were in the streets to celebrate the 31st anniversary of the Islamic revolution. We speak to the Iranian lawyer and 2003 nobel peace prize laureate Shirin Ebadi

Homophobia in Rome, the 'capital of gay murders'

('Helen Swain',) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 10:20:04 -0000

Letter bombs on homosexual communities versus documentaries to fight ignorance and rights which don't exist. On 10 October, gay rights groups in Rome are planning a march to protest an ongoing spate of homophobic violence

Afghan asylum seekers: refugees everywhere, human beings nowhere

('Alexandra Baxter',) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 14:00:00 -0000

They cross Iran, Turkey, the sea, and then Greece and Italy with the hope of finally reaching an EU member state. But because of the terms of the Dublin Convention II, they find themselves stuck in Italy, hostages of the right to asylum. Report

Facebooking Afghani refugee children in Italy

('Alexandra Baxter',) — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 15:15:00 -0000

‘In December 2008 I met four young Afghani children on a bus. I was struck by their smiles, the commotion they caused and the racism of other passengers on the bus. They had arrived that very evening, on foot, the night that the Tiber flooded. I took them with me that evening, but things didn’t turn out as expected...'

What the fridge is the charter of fundamental rights really about?

('ClaireBrunel',) — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 07:45:00 -0000

The founding treaties of the European communities focused on the original objective of economic integration and did not include any provision relating to the protection of human rights. The EU charter of fundamental rights arrived at the opportune moment to fill this gap

Lost in Europe: the long story of Dublin II, national laws and EU immigrants

('Helen Swain',) — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 14:15:00 -0000

Clandestine immigrants, regular immigrants, asylum seekers, refugees or repatriates; these many types of status all boil own to just one condition, that of immigrants faced with a legislative system that is constantly being redefined to be European. They come from so many different places, but in the majority of cases, the only destination awaiting them is temporary detention centres

No European asylum support office until 2010

('Alexandra Baxter',) — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 00:15:00 -0000

As MEPs, the UN high commissioner for refugees and a number of NGOs voice concerns over the failings of the Dublin II regulation, the European commission has decided to establish an office to improve the processing of asylum applications. The Roure report on asylum seeking in the EU highlights particular points of concern

Eutelsat blocks independent Chinese TV channel

('Benjamin Lasry',) — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 11:26:27 -0000

On the eve of the opening ceremony for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, independent news channel New Tang Dynasty (NTD) asks for its signal to be resumed in China, after it was interrupted on 16 June by the European satellite company

Hosting the Olympics won't improve your life

('Catherine Neilan',) — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 16:30:50 -0000

Enthusiastic as preparations may appear on the world stage, the positive economic and human rights impact of the August Olympic Games will be minimal in China

Petr Uhl: ‘I prefer to call it the Czechoslovak spring’

('Chris Yeomans',) — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 13:20:27 -0000

He stood on the barricades of Paris and Prague in 1968 and later produced the Charter 77 civic initiative. The man who once smoked cigarettes in prison with former president Václav Havel looks back over his sixty-six years, but also to Europe and the future

Burma cyclone: how to force the junta?

('Susannah Readett-Bayley',) — Thu, 15 May 2008 12:00:00 -0000

After a tropical cyclone on 4 May, Burma faces a major humanitarian crisis. The military junta in power will not succumb to international pressure to allow emergency assistance to enter the country. What can Europe do?

Olympic games: Europe up in arms over Tibet

('Susannah Readett-Bayley',) — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 12:00:00 -0000

A huge victory for some, enormous disappointment for others. For the first ever time, the Olympic torch has been extinguished under mass pressure, as Europe makes itself heard

Eyewitness: Tibet out of control

('Nabeelah Shabbir',) — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 12:00:00 -0000

As the tension between the Tibetan monks versus Chinese control escalates, we hear a 25-year-old Swiss tourist's version of events after a week in the capital, Lhasa

Euthanasia: Noel Martin wants to die

('Andrew Burgess',) — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 06:38:00 -0000

The British citizen of Jamaican origin, has been a paraplegic ever since he was attacked by a band of neo-Nazis. In 2007, he made headline news in Germany and is still fighting to be able to decide the date of his death

Hunger strike for illegal immigrants in Belgium

('Sarah Gray',) — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 12:29:00 -0000

162 protestors have came to a provisional deal with the government - but they haven't eaten for 50 days

Remember, the Council of Europe is not part of the EU

('English language version of cafebabel.com',) — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0000

The Strasbourg-based organisation defends human rights in Europe and needs to combat its dwindling visibility

Kosovo independence: your reactions

('Nabeelah Shabbir',) — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 12:00:00 -0000

On 17 February, the state declared independence from Serbia, amidst a split EU outlook. Kosovar, Serb and Russian youth sound out their reactions on the day

Australia: ‘Sorry’ for the Indigenous

('Nabeelah Shabbir',) — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 12:00:00 -0000

13 February. Big screens, daytrips to Canberra, and a historical ‘apology’ by the new Labor government, to the 13, 000 Indigenous children taken from their Aboriginal parents after British colonisation

Feminism in France: the Rose Revolution

('John Smith',) — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 12:32:00 -0000

May 1968 was a turning point in world history, but it was also a rupture for women's history. Feminists of yesterday and today tell us about their war

1968: a tour of Europe's revolts

Wed, 23 Jan 2008 12:00:00 -0000

Spain, Czech Republic, France, Italy, Poland and Germany - spinning through Europe's uprisings during that infamous year of rebellion

Railway to the roof of the world

('Nabeelah Shabbir',) — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 12:00:00 -0000

The world’s highest railway was opened between Peking and Lhasa, the Tibetan capital, in July. It has not only opened the door to modernity, but has aroused new clashes between the Chinese government and the Tibetans

Ho Che Anderson: I never actually said 'hey mom, this is my sex book'

('Nabeelah Shabbir',) — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 00:00:00 -0000

The London-born Canadian graphic novelist, 38, is relaxed and frank as he discusses being chosen as the only black cartoonist to portray Martin Luther King, a series which took him ten long years to complete

Gagging Portuguese soldiers

('Nabeelah Shabbir',) — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 12:00:00 -0000

The facts speak for themselves in southern Europe, where 'disciplined' soldiers are forced to shut up and sign their contracts

Ahiska: exodus into the unknown

('Ed Saunders',) — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 12:00:00 -0000

Three years ago the Ahiska/ Meskhetian Turks resettlement programme began, from Russia to the USA. But what is in store for those who haven’t made it over the Atlantic?