ABSTRACT
Liberal democracy and capitalism have required further tools for the survival of Roma in the Central Eastern European region (CEE) during the period of transition since the 1990s. The Canadian Embassy argued that the programmer presented only one side of the argument and picked out half-truths which distorted reality and practically invited the exodus of large groups of Czech Roma, concealing a number of facts. The government policy could not influence public attitudes towards Roma, so a high level of prejudice remained. When Canada introduced visa requirements for Czech citizens the main reaction was with reference to legislative efforts and results for Roma equality. The first surge in asylum applications, and especially its impact on Hungarian political life, as well as media and networking within the Roma community. It was described in a comparative project managed by the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in 2000-01 just before visa restriction was implemented.
