Roberta Vaneltsi keeps fighting for access to her kids
Glen Korstrom
Northern News Services
NNSL (July 28/99) - Years of legal wrangling and waiting for child custody have left a Yellowknife mother now hoping the children at least are able to visit.
"That's all I'm after now," Roberta Vaneltsi said.
"I just want them to be able to visit."
Vaneltsi said she talks to her two children, Roman, 13, and Petra, 11, several times each week and Roman now wants to stay in the Czech Republic.
Petra wants to return to Canada, Vaneltsi said.
The custody battle started in 1994 when Vaneltsi and her husband Peter Cerny broke up after being married eight years and both wanted custody of the children.
Before a court date to settle the matter, the two agreed to joint custody.
Cerny went back to the Czech Republic and took the children for the agreed-upon year.
Once the year was up, he kept asking for extensions and refused to return the children.
"It kept getting longer and longer and in the end he said it would be best if the children were not shuffled back and forth," she said.
In April 1997 Vaneltsi approached the Canadian government and was told that if she went to the Czech republic and took the children she could be charged with kidnapping.
Recently, Vaneltsi's cause has been taken up by Mackenzie Delta MLA David Krutko who moved a resolution of support in the NWT legislature April 26.
Vaneltsi sent the letter of support to the Czech president and received a response in late June.
The response contained sympathetic regards but said effectively said the president could not interfere with the justice system and the concern was passed to child welfare authorities in Brno, where the children are.
"I was told by Foreign Affairs in Ottawa that it doesn't matter who I get to write letters to them (on my behalf) there's nothing they can do," she said.
Vaneltsi said because her husband is not working, there is a chance child welfare authorities in the Czech republic will side with her for the good of the children.
Still, she says her best hope is that they will be able to return just for a visit.
