WASHINGTON - The Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe today announced a forthcoming public hearing:   The Road to the OSCE Istanbul Summit and Human Rights in the Republic of Turkey Thursday, March 18 10:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Room SR-485, Russell Senate Office Building Open to Members, Staff the Public and the Press The hearing will provide a timely opportunity to review U.S. policy and strategy for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) as preparations get underway for the OSCE Summit Meeting scheduled to convene in Istanbul later this year. Key decisions are expected to be announced at the summit, including the adoption of a Charter on European Security. The hearing will also focus on human rights in Turkey in light of Ankara’s OSCE human dimension commitments. Witnesses: The Honorable Marc Grossman, Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs The Honorable Harold H. Koh, Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Mr. Stephen Rickard, Director, Washington Office, Amnesty International USA Mr. Douglas A. Johnson, Executive Director, The Center for Victims of Torture Mr. Neil Hicks, Senior Program Coordinator, Middle East and North Africa Program, Lawyers Committee for Human Rights Additional experts have been invited to testify.

WASHINGTON - Commission Co-Chairman Rep. Christopher H. Smith (R-NJ) today called upon the authorities of the Russian city of St. Petersburg to act immediately to prevent the murder of Inga Ivanova, director of the Prins Maurits school of Open Christianity. “Local officials must intervene immediately to prevent another murder similar to that of human rights activist and Duma member Galina Starovoitova,” said Smith. “Great issues are at stake here for the Russian people. Are they to be at the mercy of thugs and brigands, or live in a nation of law and justice? It is up to the current officials to insure that it is the latter.” Smith was referring to recent alarming reports that on the night of February 17 Inga Ivanova was seized by three men, pulled into a car and threatened with death if she continued to fight for the legal right to keep the building where the school is located. Fearing for her life, Ivanova fled to the Netherlands. Earlier, on the evening of February 17, St. Petersburg television had aired a program depicting the school with its 150 children and the 40 students of the pedagogical academy as being run by “sects” and representing a threat to Russian society. “Who runs St. Petersburg, the law or the criminals?” asked Smith. “The armed threats on the life of Inga Ivanova over a piece of property are another indication that the civil authorities have abdicated their responsibilities to protect life and have turned the streets over to criminal elements. One would think that with the still unsolved murder of Galina Starovoitova last year, and with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly scheduled to meet this July in St. Petersburg, city authorities would struggle to prevent letting thugs run rampant in the city. I urge Governor Yakovlev to stop these threats against Inga Ivanova, find the purveyors of this assault and bring the parties guilty of this latest outrage to justice.” The Open Christianity school was established in the early 1990s as an ecumenical private school. According to records provided by Ivanova, the building that houses the school was given “in perpetuity” to the Open Christianity organization by city officials under the condition that the building be restored. Volunteers from the Netherlands, United States and Russia have assisted in the restoration. Nevertheless, city officials are now trying to seize the building for alleged breach of contract, sending police to forcibly seize the premises.

WASHINGTON - Meeting with Czech Deputy Foreign Minister Martin Palous in the U.S. Capitol last night, Commissioners Co-Chairman Rep. Christopher H. Smith (R-NJ) and Ranking Minority Rep. Steny H. Hoyer (D-MD) complemented the Government of the Czech Republic for allowing the Radio Farsi/Radio Free Iraq station to be placed in its country, for standing firm against municipal plans to wall off Roma and President Havel’s new “Holocaust Phenomenon” initiative. At the same time, they urged the Czech leader to condemn the wave of anti-Roma, anti-Semitic and anti-foreign violence that plagues the Czech Republic. “We welcome this opportunity to discuss with Mr. Palous several matters of mutual concern and to express our appreciation for the support his government recently provided Radio Free Europe in agreeing to host the Radio Farsi/Radio Free Iraq station. I believe that the experience of Radio Free Europe demonstrates the value of such a medium and am gratified that the Czech Republic shares that perception,” said Smith. Smith also commented that he was “…gratified to learn that your government announced on January 11 that it would block the construction of a wall in the village of Usti that, if built, would effectively create a Roam ghetto. Such walls have no place in modern Europe. In fact, Mr. Minister, it is regrettable that it took as long as it did for your government to reach this conclusion—or at least to publicly announce its decision.” Mr. Hoyer pointed out that he was, “deeply concerned by the general failure of high-level Czech officials to condemn anti-Roma, anti-Semitic and anti-foreigner acts. Xenophobia is out of place in contemporary Europe, and must not be tolerated nor ignored. President Havel has made such statements, but he stands virtually alone. There does not appear to be a serious willingness to ensure that such acts are vigorously prosecuted. We are not asking more of you than of any other countries, nor than what Americans ask from us when our own country experiences acts of intolerance.” The Commissioners and Mr. Palous discussed the case of Bob Joyce, the American teacher beaten in November for defending a Rom against skinhead harassment. (Note: At last July’s Commission hearing on Romani human rights the Czech Republic was cited as one of the worst countries on this issue.) In a similar vein, they discussed the ongoing problems with the citizenship law of the Czech Republic, specifically those provisions which deny citizenship to thousands of Czech Roma who previously had Czechoslovak citizenship. “I hope that a new law will be adopted quickly,” said Smith. “In particular I hope that the new law will provide citizenship ex lege; if Roma and others are required to go through a cumbersome application process, that will inevitably be subject to abuse at the local level and financially burdensome to implement.” The Commissioners expressed encouragement over President Havel’s new initiative, called the “Holocaust Phenomenon,” which is designed to provide greater insight into what happened to Jews and Roma during the war. They expressed hope that a full and complete copy of the archives from the Lety camp—the only archives from a Roma concentration camp known to exist—would be given to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) fulfilling a four-year-old pledge. In addition, they urged the USHMM be given rapid access to Czech-held Waffen-SS and related archives. Mr. Palous was urged to have the Czech Republic repeal its criminal defamation law, which violates international norms protecting free speech and a free press. “Although President Havel has pardoned everyone who has been convicted under this law, what will happen when someone else becomes President?” asked Smith. “This is an unnecessary legacy of the communist past.” The Czech Republic was urged to follow Hungary’s example, which repealed its criminal defamation law in 1994.

WASHINGTON - Meeting with Czech Deputy Foreign Minister Martin Palous in Washington last evening, Commissioners Co-Chairman Rep. Christopher H. Smith (R-NJ) and Ranking Member Rep. Steny H. Hoyer (D-MD) praised the Government of the Czech Republic for standing firm against municipal plans in the village of Usti nad Labem to wall off Roma, for plans to resolve long-standing problems of statelessness for Roma and discrimination against Czech Americans in the Czech property restitution/compensation law, and for allowing the Radio Farsi/Radio Free Iraq station to be placed in the Czech Republic. They also discussed regional security issues, including the crisis in Kosovo. At the same time, they underscored the need for Czech leaders to condemn the wave of anti-Roma, anti-Semitic and anti-foreigner violence that plagues the Czech Republic. Following the meeting, Smith welcomed the many positive messages brought to Washington by the Deputy Minister. Smith noted “I was deeply gratified to learn that the Czech government has announced that it would block the construction of a wall in the village of Usti nad Labem that, if built, would effectively create a Roma ghetto. Such walls have no place in modern Europe. I hope this decision reflects a new and deeper political will on the part of the Czech Government to combat manifestations of xenophobia.” Hoyer emphasized that “the key to this effort is a strong government reaction” when xenophobic attacks occur. “President Havel has, for too long, carried the burden of reacting to such acts. It is time for other Czech leaders, including Prime Minister Zeman, to be equally assertive in condemning hate crimes.” The Commissioners provided Deputy Prime Minister Palous with a list of recent xenophobic attacks, including one against Bob Joyce, a 61-year-old American teacher who was beaten unconscious in November for defending a Rom against skinhead harassment. In a similar vein, they discussed the citizenship law of the Czech Republic which has left stateless thousands of Czech Roma who previously had Czechoslovak citizenship. “I was deeply heartened by my discussion with Mr. Palous on this issue,” said Smith. “Not only does there appear to be a fast-track timetable for moving legislation forward, but Mr. Palous has assured us of his government’s commitment to ensure that new citizenship procedures will not entail a lot of bureaucratic red tape.” Hoyer added, “the adoption of the new citizenship law, which Minister Palous said will permit dual citizenship, will also be a first step towards resolving the discrimination Czech Americans have faced in making claims for restitution or compensation for property that was wrongly taken from them by the previous Communist regime.” The Commissioners and Mr. Palous also discussed the status of the Lety archives—the only known archives from a Roma concentration camp—and welcomed news that Mr. Palous had brought copies of one-third of the archives with him to deliver to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. “I am gratified that this moves towards fulfilling a pledge made to me over four years ago, and I hope that the remaining two-thirds of the archive copies will be delivered soon,” said Hoyer. The Commissioners also urged Mr. Palous to seek the repeal of the Czech Republic’s Communist-era criminal defamation law. “Criminalizing people because of their criticism of the government, its offices or its personalities is simply contrary to international norms and contrary to the Helsinki Final Act,” said Hoyer. “Although President Havel pardons everyone who gets convicted under this law, what will happen when someone else becomes President?” asked Smith. “This is an unnecessary legacy of the Communist past.”