Government of the Czech Republic
Ms. Monika Šimůnková
Government Human Rights Commissioner
nábřeží Edvarda Beneše 4,
118 01 Praha 1
In Prague on 10 October 2012
Dear Ms. Šimůnková,
We are writing to you on behalf of the Czech Council of Christians and Jews. This citizens’ association was founded under the patronage of the then President Václav Havel in 1991. One of the founder members is the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs Karel Schwarzenberg. Our association focuses on the support of good relations between the two faiths and the promotion of tolerance and dialogue. An accompanying agenda of our society is the support of relations among the two aforementioned faiths and Islam.
We observe with concern that violent conflicts of political and religious nature have been taking place in some countries recently. As a consequence, inhabitants are departing their homelands and searching for asylum and safety in other places. Egypt and Syria represent current examples of such countries. Among others, Christians and Jews are also involved in this development.
Some of these people are approaching Czech authorities with requests for resident permits or political asylum on the grounds described above. We beseech you to monitor the course of action of the respective authorities regarding these cases and to support their responsive attitude to these people.
Sincerely yours,
Members of the Board:
Pavol Bargár Adam Borzič
Pavel Hošek Jan Kirschner
Tomáš Kraus Ivan Štampach
Mikuláš Vymětal