Government agency to combat ghettoisation

The government is to create a special body aimed at combating the existence of ghettos in the Czech Republic. The new agency will operate in 12 places in Bohemia and Moravia and aims to turn ghettos, which are mostly populated by Romany citizens, into ordinary districts. It will focus on increasing co-operation between local authorities, schools, the police, labour offices, NGOs, companies and local people. The plan was devised by the minister for minorities and human rights, Džamila Stehlíková, and was approved by the cabinet on Wednesday. Around 300 districts and even individual apartment buildings in the Czech Republic have been classed as ghettos; inhabitants suffer from a range of social problems, including high unemployment.