Dokument #1091795
IRB – Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (Autor)
Representatives of two Slovak organizations
in the Czech Republic indicate that they are not aware of any
discrimination against Slovaks in that country (Demokratická
aliancia Slovákov 28 Feb. 1999; Klub slovenské
kultúry 9 Mar. 1999).
A representative of Klub slovenské
kultúry (Slovak Cultural Club) stated that "[w]ith regard to
work, accommodation and civic rights there can be no talk of any
discrimination" (9 Mar. 1999). He continued:
the Slovak minority is exceptional. [The] main problems of other ethnic minorities (Poles, Germans, Romanies and others), ie preservation of their native culture, traditions and language, do not really concern the Slovaks. Irrespective of that, their rights as an ethnic minority are fully respected by the Czech government. After the division of Czechoslovakia, several Slovak societies and groupings were founded, predominantly in Prague. Their activities, mainly of a cultural nature, are financed by the Czech ministry of culture. There were several attempts to open schools with Slovak as a main teaching language. These failed because parents showed no interest. Czech and Slovak languages are so similar that [at] a number of universities in Prague (Brno, and others) some of the lecturers give their lectures in Slovak and the Czech students have no problem understanding them (ibid.).
The Demokratická aliancia
Slovákov (Democratic Alliance of Slovaks) representative
concurred that there is little interest in the Slovak community for
Slovak language schooling (28 Feb. 1999). He added that the
country's minority do not live in a concentrated area and therefore
are not able to provide enough students to meet the minimum
requirement for setting up a special class (ibid.). One Slovak
primary school was set up in the north east of the country, but it
never had more than 500 pupils and has had trouble since the
transition filling the classes; it has since been incorporated into
another school in Karviná District (ibid.). There has never
been a Slovak secondary school (ibid.). He is on a committee to set
up a Slovak-language gymnasium in Prague 4, but there have been
problems generating enough interest (ibid.).
The Demokratická aliancia
Slovákov representative was unaware of any incidents of
discrimination against Slovaks with respect to obtaining
employment, relations with police, finding housing or accessing
social services (28 Feb. 1999). When asked, he was unable to
suggest any other areas of friction between the communities
(ibid.). He added that the incidence of intermarriage between
Slovaks and Czechs is high (ibid.). He added, anecdotally, that
ethnicity might come up in certain situations, such as personal
disputes or incidents in bars (ibid.).
There are 12 Slovak organizations in the
Czech Republic (Klub slovenské kultúry 9 Mar. 1999),
nine of which work under the umbrella Forum of Slovak Activities
(ibid.).
According to the 1998 Country Report on
Human Rights Practices:
Slovaks, of whom there are an estimated 300,000, are almost all "Czechoslovaks" who elected to live in the Czech Republic after the split. Many serve in high positions in the civil service. For the most part, these Slovaks define their interests in the context of Czech politics, not along ethnic lines ....
The Czech Helsinki Committee makes one
reference to ethnic Slovaks, stating that they have been
encouraging the government to no avail to pass a law specifically
safeguarding the rights of national and ethnic minorities,
including language and education rights, as stipulated in the
country's Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms (1998).
This Response was prepared after
researching publicly accessible information currently available to
the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is
not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any
particular claim to refugee status or asylum.
References
Country Reports on Human Rights
Practices for 1998. 1999. United States Department of State.
Washington, DC: United States Government Printing Office.
[Internet] www.state.gov/ [Accessed 1
Mar. 1999]
Czech Helsinki Committee (CHC).
1998. Report on the State of Human Rights in the Czech Republic
1997. Prague: CHC. [Internet] www.helcom.cz [Accessed 29 Jan. 1999]
Demokratická aliancia
Slovákov. 28 February 1999. Telephone Interview with the
Research Directorate.
Klub slovenské kultúry. 9
March 1999. Correspondence received by the Research
Directorate.