April 20, 2009, Czech Republic: Roma communities in the Czech Republic are facing increased threats as extremist groups step up attacks and demonstrations against the ethnic minority.

The latest attack came Sunday, when, according to media reports, a Roma couple and their 22-month-old toddler were badly burned after someone threw molotov cocktails into their home in Vitkov, a town in the northeast Czech Republic.

The Dzeno Association, a leading Roma rights group and partner of The Advocacy Project (AP), has covered the attack and reaction on its website.

Police are still investigating the attack, and have not determined whether it was racially motivated.

The incident has been sharply denounced by outgoing Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek and President Vaclav Klaus. Vladimir Spidla, a member of the European Commission, also expressed concerns over the increasing level of aggression against Roma in the European Union (EU).

"The issue of personal safety of Roma is directly related to the broader problem of their being persistently discriminated against and marginalised in European societies," he said in a statement posted on the Dzeno website. "Unless both the EU and the Member States make significant efforts to overcome the exclusion of Roma, they will remain particularly exposed to attacks on their lives and property."

The arson attack comes amid rising political activity of far- right and neo-Nazi groups in the Czech Republic.

On the same night the home in Vitkov was burned, extremists held a highly- publicized march through the northwest Czech town of Usti nad Labem. Earlier this month, far-right groups organized a march (shown at left) through the Roma-populated area in Prerov, where 500 demonstrators chanted “Czechs come with us” as well as anti-Roma statements. Later, the demonstrators clashed with riot police.

Amnesty International delegates, on a research mission to the Czech Republic, observed the Prerov rally and reported on the clashes. Amnesty International has worked for years to combat anti-Roma discrimination and has documented cases of violent attacks against Roma.

About 300,000 Roma live in the Czech Republic, making up less than 3 percent of the population. However, they constitute one-third of the country's unemployed, and are also among the most vulnerable to racially-motivated violence.