Romania: Roma ethnicity record in police files     

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Subject: Romania: Roma ethnicity record in police files      

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Romania: Roma ethnicity record in police files


CONVENTION OF COOPERATION OF ROMANI ASSOCIATIONS OF ROMANA ROMA PARTY. 
ROMANI CRISS - The Rom Center for Social Intervention and Studies.
ASTRA-THE ASSOCIATION OS STUDENTS AND YOUTH AGAINST RACISM
PoBox 22-68, Bucuresti, Romania Tel/Fax : O1/ 40/659 .7813
________________________________________________________________
Statement for the OSCE Implementation Meeting on Human Dimension,
Warsaw, October-November, 1998.

(First draft, English not yet improved; a second text, corrected, will
be send next days)

Prevention of Criminality or Criminalization of Roma?

The Romanian Police practice of discriminatory recording and
publishing of supposedely Roma/"Tigani" criminal offenders, is
fuelling the hate speech in Romanian public life. Over the last years,
the Roma associations have repeatedely protested the practice of the
Romanian Police to keep records of the Roma population of the country
and to publish statistics on criminality, in which the supposed "Roma
ot "Tigan"/Gypsy ethnic affiliation is imputed to some offenders.
In such statistics is not indicated the ethnic/national background of
any other offenders, except in case of foreign citizens residents in
Romania. Such statistics, plus similar information given by Police
officers to the press in specific cases of criminal offences, are
feeding the hate and the anti-Roma/Gypsy hostility which dominate the
public discourse on Roma in Romania.

Such a recent Police statement was published by the Romanian press on
August 7, 1998. Presumed offences were imputed to persons identifed as
"Roma/Tigani", without any specification of the proceedings to
establish someone's ethnic background; comments are made on the
"incresead criminal activity" of the Roma ethnic population, as a
whole.

This Police statement was soon followed by an inflamatory declaration
of Mr. Corneliu Vadim Tudor, the leader of the extrem-nationalistic
party "The Great Romania", on August 16. In a ten-points "program to
run the country" in case of gaining the elections, Mr. Tudor annouced,
among others, the intention to "...isolate the Roma criminals in
special colonies.." in order to ".. stop the transformation of Romania
in a Gypsy camp.. ". Mr Tudor also warned the Western countries on the
interational dimension of the "Gypsy problem ". He announced that the
Great Romania Party "...will open the borders of Romania and will
expell the Roma criminals precisely in those countries which pretend
to care about their fate". (our translation)

We remind that the Great Romania Party is represented in the Romanian
Parliament and that Mr. Tudor, its leader, is a member of the Senate,
the upper chamber of the Parliament of Romania. Mr. Tudor has been
repeatedely charged by offences of calomny and defamation by many
political and civic personalities and organisations in Romania.
Actually, he is involved in ten such file cases, but he benefits from
the immunity granted by the Romanian Parliament.

The practice of Police disclosing prejuduced records on criminality,
which overtly discriminate against Roma population of Romania and the
hate speech of Mr.Tudor remained till now (August 25th) not condemned
by the Romanian State's authorities.

The statement of the Romani Associations presents the pro and con
arguments presented by Police in answering the criticism of Roma
associations, including the Romanian Police refferences to similar
practice of law-enforcement agencies in the Western countries. Senior
Romanian Police officers were part, over tha last years, of many
training seminars and stages provided by Western countries and by the
Council of Europe.

The Romania Police justify the practice of surveillance of Roma
population, including its distinct recording in the Police files, by
the concept of "prevention of criminality" and "the social integration
of Roma population"
(see letter of the General Police Inspectorate, Press service,
answering Romani associations' protest, 391/14:08/ 1998).

An Institute on Prevention of Criminality was recently established
within the General Police Inspectorate of the Minister of Internal
Affairs; among other measures special police officers at district
levels are assigned as "contact points" with Roma communities. There
is no other such "contact points" in the relation of Police offices
with other minority communities.

The concept of "police surveillance" and "prevention of criminality"
are used to justify disproportinate use of the Police force in some of
their actions in Roma communities. In the early morning of 28-29 July,
Police forces of Calarasi district (South-East Romania) had rounded up
the Roma settlement of Sarulesti in one of its regular "razzias" in
this community. After illegal break-in of the Police in its house, Mr.
Mihai Gabriel, 28 years old was shot and severly wounded, being
"confused" with a presumed criminal offender.

General Nicolae Berechet, The General Inspector of Police, has
answered the protest of Roma associations against this abuse of the
Police forces (letter Nr. 38.724/13/O8/1998). He claims that the
Police shooting of Mihai Gabriel was in answer of his refuse to obey
the warning and that its case is under the investigation of the
military Prosecutor. Mr. Berechet comments the incident in Sarulesti
saying that: "(...) The activities undertook by Police look for the
prevention and combat of criminality ...without any manifestation of
racism, xenophobia and intolerance".
 
The Roma associations of Romania consider that this controversial
practice of the Romanian Police is in contradiction with international
standards which reglement the recording, storing and public use of
personal data, especially of those concerning the ethnic identity of
persons belonging to minorities with a past of stigmatization and
persecution, which is the case of Roma/Gypsies in Romania and
elsewhere.

The Romanian Police or other official bodies, do not "(...) collect
and publish on a regular base, data about crimes that are based on
prejudice as to race, ethnic identity or religion, including the
guidelines used for the collection of such data" (Report of the CSCE
Meeting of Experts on National Minorities, Geneva, 1991; chapt VI.)

Also, the practice of the Romanian Police contradict the
reccommendations formulated by the European Commission for Combat of
Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) of the Council of Europe. In March 1998,
ECRI has adopted the General Policy Reccommendation N.3 "Combating
Racism and Intolerance against Roma/Gypsies" and the General Policy
Reccommendation N 4 "National Surveys on the Experience and Perception
of Discrimination and Racism from the Point of View of Potential
Victims".

The Roma associations ask the advise of the national and international
expert bodies and intersted NGOs on this  particular problem. They are
in solidarity with the German Central Council of Sinti and Roma which
have recently sued the Bavaria authorities for the unlawful and
discriminatory recording of persons of "Sinti/Roma appeareance".

We are equally inviting the UNHCR to analyse the situation of Roma in
Romania, similar to the opinion provided by the UNHCR Guidelines
Relating to the Eligibility of Slovak Roma Asylum Seekers, An analysis
of the conditions in the country of origin, and the Application of
UNHCR criteria for granting refugee status (UNHCR Regional Office,
Vienna, 10 February 1998; Idem, for the situation of the Czech Roma).
 
We kindly ask the Office for Democratic Instituions and Human Rights
of the OSCE to circulate this statement to the Delegations to the OSCE
Implementation Meeting on Human Dimension, to be held in Warsaw,
October-November, 1998. They ask for comment, advise and exchange of
information on positive experience in connection to the implementation
of such OSCE committements as, for example,  those concerning the
States' willigness to "control the activities of the internal security
and intelligence service and the police" (Document of the Moscow
Meeting of the Conferenc of the Human Dimension of the CSCE, October
1991,par. 21).
 
Drafted by Nicolae Gheorghe,
CRISS, Convention of Roma Association, Romania.
 
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