FARE Media Information

UEFA Cup events to close FARE Action Week

(2 November 2006) The 7th edition of the FARE Action Week, after hitting the highest point with a series of high profile and grassroots events at the week-end of the 28-29 October, closes with a prominent symbolic action at the UEFA Cup match between FK Partizan and AS Livorno on 2 November in Belgrade. The players of both teams will carry onto the pitch two big banners with the Partizan motto “We don’t divide, black – white, we unite“. The Partizan and Livorno players as well as the referees will wear anti-racism message T-shirts. To demonstrate that racist gestures will not be tolerated both teams will present to their fans a sign saying “POKAZI RASIZMU CRVENI KARTON” (Show racism the red card). After a dispute with the UEFA competitions department, the European football governing have now given the green light to AS Nancy-Lorraine to wear the slogan ‘non au racisme’ on their shirts in their UEFA Cup match against Polish side Wis³a Kraków at the Stade Marcel Picot on Thursday 2nd November. UEFA has given the French club special dispensation to keep the anti-racism slogan for the game to mark the FARE Action Week. UEFA’s communication and public affairs director William Gaillard said:I am happy to say that we have been able to find a compromise, given UEFA’s campaign against racism in football.

Enhancement of Jewish Arab co-existence in Israel

This is the first year that Israel will be taking part in the pan-European week of action against racism and discrimination. The central anti-racist event has been delayed until November 4th, so that it can take part prior to the Israel Premier League’s biggest game, at Teddy Stadium between Betar Jerusalem and Maccabi Haifa, Israel’s champions. The overall aim is to combat racism against Israel’s Arab ethnic minority, immigrant players and overseas Black players. Prior to the FARE Action Week Israel’s Deputy State Prosecutor Shay Nitzan has reminded the police in a letter that racist chants at football matches are prohibited according to a law passed in 2005. He said that police who are present at a sporting event and hear racist chants, such as “Death to Arabs,” by groups or individuals, should begin collecting evidence with a view to bringing the perpetrators to trial.

Further information from:

Kurt Wachter, FARE partner FairPlay-vidc, Tel  0043 1 7133594-90, fairplay@vidc.org Leon Mann, FARE partner Kick It Out, Tel. 0044 207 684 4884, leon@kickitout.org

Notes

The List of Activities during the FARE Action Week is published on http://www.farenet.org/actionweek_events.asp An electronic version of new FARE Action Week poster can also be downloaded from http://www.farenet.org/resources/Poster_ActionWeek06.pdf

Report from the realization of “the game is same for all”

On the behalf of the seventh week of fighting against racism in European football, the National Roma Centrum with support of the FARE network and the municipality of Kumanovo, on the 28th of October organized a football tournament on which 4 teams participated from Macedonian, Roma and Albanian nationality. The event began with a parade through the city where the teams walked through the city with banners and under the motto “The game is the same for all”. The parade ended in front of the Sports Hall in Kumanovo where the tournament began. Three games were played two semifinals and a finale. Between the breaks the audience was entertained by the dance group “MAK”. The teams from Inter Ethnic Project from Kumanovo participated (mixed team) against the Macedonian team. The winners from the Macedonian team were given a football as an award and then on the brief party the players got sandwiches and refreshing drinks and they exchanged their opinions and experiences. The National Roma Centrum put in great efforts so that the competition is successful. We sincerely hope that this action will become traditional and the message which it was carrying would be effective. Part of the happening about preparing of the event can be seen in the photo galery. Most sincere greetings from the team of the NRC

The game is the same for all!

PosterOn behalf of the Week against Racism, the National Roma Centrum in cooperation with the FARE network, which is supported by the football federation UEFA, on Saturday, 28.10.2006 will organize a football contest, on which four football teams from different nationalities from Kumanovo will participate. The contest will begin at 10:00 o’clock in the Sports Hall, and before the begging of the game there will be a short defile through the city. The defile will begin at 09:30 o’clock from the National Roma Centrum to the Sports Hall. For the participants on the game there will be some refreshments and sandwiches for the players. There will be one Roma, one Macedonian and one Albanian team and a mixed team from the members of the National Roma Centrum. The contest is going to be organized in order to promote the Week against Racism, and to abolish the prejudice and stereotypes which exist among these nationalities. The teams will be composed of young people between the ages 15-25.

EZAF against promotion of new Borat’s movie in Germany

The European Center for Antiziganism Research on 16 October has come forward against Sacha Baron Cohen, also known as “Ali G” or “Borat”, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment Germany GmbH and as well as, against Webspaceprovider, Schlund+Partner AG, a charge posed to the Hamburg leading senior Public Prosecutor. Specified the above people-rushing statements become, offense, he is calling toward violation and force against Roma and Sinti, accused that in intentionally more insulting manner mentioned as “gypsies” and calling against equal treatment under the law. The legal service of the European Roma and Travellers Forum in Strasbourg, Rom and Cinti Union – Hamburg, and the European Center for Antiziganism Research have prepared a suggestion for temporary regulation against the movie. A German group representing Roma interests said that it had filed a suit to try to stop British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen showing his latest film (Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan) in Germany. “We are accusing him of defamation and inciting violence against Sinti and Roma (gypsies),” - Marko Knudsen, head of the European Center of Antiziganism Research, told Reuters. Antiziganism refers to hostility to gypsies. The group said it had filed a complaint to prosecutors over the film, “Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan”, saying it treated violence and discrimination against Roma peoples as acceptable behavior. State prosecutors in Hamburg will investigate the allegations before deciding whether to take action. In the satirical film, which is due to open in Germany on November 2, Cohen, creator of the comic character Ali G, plays Borat Sagdiyev, a fictional Kazakh television journalist who travels to the United States to report back on the American way of life. The film’s comic barbs target Gypsies in various manners. For more information and quotations please follow up:

UN Journalism and photography awards

Every year, the United Nations grants awards for excellence in journalism and photography reporting about poverty issues in the country. This year United Nations Journalism and photography awards were handed over the authors during a ceremony which was organized today (24.10.2006) on the occasion of the UN Day. The best TV story prize awarded by the Office of the United Nations Resident Coordinator went to Mr. Dragan Antonovski for the documentary movie “The Key is In Your Hands” initiated by National Roma Centrum. The documentary film for the education of Roma, as part of the campaign “The key is in your hands”, has been announced as a greatest television achievement within the frames of the International week for fighting against poverty, by the UN in Macedonia. The documentary film, initiated by the National Roma Centrum, from Kumanovo, financed by the Roma Education Fund from Budapest, directed by Dragan Antonovski, and produced by Porta FM won the first prize as the best television contribution in the fight against poverty. (more…)

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