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The Czech ombudswoman Anna Šabatová says the deputy ombudsman Stanislav Křeček is causing harm to her office. Speaking in Saturday’s edition of Mladá fronta Dnes, the public advocate said Mr. Křeček had a habit of expressing opinions at variance with her office’s official statements. The two recently clashed over a medical school’s ban on Muslim students wearing headscarves; the ombudswoman described the prohibition as indirect discrimination, while her deputy said the institution could decide on its students’ dress. Ms. Šabatová was a leading dissident under communism while Mr. Křeček is a former MP for the Social Democrats and heads a landlords’ organisation.

Another thirty-eight people who risked their lives to stand up to the communist regime in Czechoslovakia between 1948 and 1989 have received recognition from the government for participating in the so-called third resistance. Among those who joined the list of resistance fighters are the former journalist and Charter 77 signatory Otta Bednářová and the former counter intelligence agent Vladimír Hučín. Altogether around 660 people have been awarded this status under a law on the third resistance passed three years ago. Among them are former dissidents, political prisoners and people who saved the lives of others by helping them to flee to the West across the heavily guarded Czechoslovak border.

Responding to criticism regarding alleged discrimination of Romany children in the Czech education system, the Czech Education Ministry said on Friday it was paying exceptional attention to securing equal access to education for all children and considered it to be one of its main priorities. The ministry’s spokeswoman Klara Bila noted that the ministry was systematically working to include socially-disadvantaged children into the education mainstream. One of these measures, which has yet to be put into practice, is compulsory attendance of pre-school classes which would help Romany children integrate and overcome the cultural differences and language barrier that often present a problem.

Britain is refusing to pay the Czech Republic the equivalent of 100 million crowns in unemployment benefits paid out to Czechs who previously worked in Great Britain, Czech Labour and Social Affairs Minister Michaela Marksova Tominova told Czech Radio on Friday. Czechs who worked in Britain for years but retained their “centre of interest” in the Czech Republic were entitled to unemployment benefits if they failed to find work after returning home. Since they paid taxes in Britain the Czech Republic is entitled under European law to demand a refund of those benefits. The respective advisory committee of the EC has ruled that Britain must repay the debt, but London claims the decision is not legally binding. The Czech Republic wants to coordinate its steps with Poland and Slovakia whom Britain also owes money for the same reason.