Recent Romnews postings
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Date: Thu, 30 Sep 1999 18:30:28 +0300 (EET DST)
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Subject: Recent Romnews postings
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Recent Romnews postings
(RNN Correspondent) Mariefred/SWEDEN, September the 14th, 1999
The Swedish supreme court have determined that it is illegal
discrimination to forbid women in long skirts enter a shop.
Owners to a supermarket in Mariefred was previously convicted for
illegal discrimination for refusing a Roma women, dressed in here
traditional skirt, to enter there store.
They also had to pay the women 5 000 Swedish crown in damages. The
supermarket owners had also made a general prohibition for women
dressed in long skirts in the supermarket, saying that it's easy to
hide stolen gods under the skirts. The prohibition was clearly aimed
against Roma people.
The shop nears were not satisfied with the conviction and went to the
supreme court with their case but lost. The Roma woman has previously
got a court in S�dert�lje to convict a foot store for the same crime;
illegal discrimination.
Carl-Johan Bauler for RNN
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Roma Community Center "DROM" - Kumanovo - Macedonia
Lokalitet Serava - zgrada 106 - prizemje 5/7a
91300 Kumanovo - Macedonia
tel:fax:++38990127558,
E- mail: [email protected]
APPEAL
Roma Community Center "DROM"- Kumanovo is working with the refugees
from the beginning of NATO attacks in Yugoslavia. The momental
situation of the Roma refuges in Macedonia is 7000 people, 2400 in the
camp Stenkovac, 200 persons in the camp Dare Bonbol, the rest of the
refugees are accommodated in private houses.
Two members of our organization took part in the conference held in
OSCE-Vienna on 06.09.99. We were amared because some of the
participants were not supposed to be there, two members from Kosovo
claimed that the situation is perfect and Roma people are living
peacefully without any problem with the Albanians and KLA in Kosovo,
such disinformation raised the tensions on the conference.
>From the contacts with UNHCR the camps in Macedonia will be working
until 28.09.1999 and after that they will be closed. UNHCR is making
efforts the refugees to be accommodated in private homes, deals for 6
months stay have been made with the hosters and for compensation their
houses to be adapted, with paid taxes for electricity and water for 6
months. The most of the foreign donators will stay in Macedonia until
the end of this year and we are asking ourselves what is going to
happen with the Roma refugees from Kosovo, they don't see their future
in Kosovo but outside in foreign countries.
The requests of the Roma refugees from Macedonia, that we agreed with
and insisted on the conference in Vienna on 06.09.99 are:
1. actualization of the problems of Roma refugees from Kosovo.
2. improvement of the situation in the camps.
3. making corridor for the Roma people from Kosovo.
4. Macedonia to become transit country and the refugees to be sent in
other countries to receive Roma refugees from Macedonia.
5. OSCE to press the western countries to receive Roma refugees from
Macedonia.
We hope that Roma refugees in Macedonia will receive help. The Public
must know that the above mentioned camps are strictly with Roma
refugees but it's not mentioned in any media that there are Roma
refugees from Kosovo
and they are terrorized.
The problems of the refugees from Kosovo will be discussed on the
meeting in OSCE-Vienna on 22.09.1999 and it will be solved positively,
i.e. the request of the refugees.
With respect,
Ahmet Jasharevski
RCC "DROM" Kumanovo, Macedonia 14.09.1999
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Kumanovo / MACEDONIA (RNN Correspondent) September the 23rd, 1999
New Roma refugees from Kosovo are waiting to enter Macedonia
Visit http://www.romnews.com for pictures from Kosovo Roma
Roma from the camp Krusevac near Obilic considering the bad situation
in the camp started with preparations to leave the camp on Monday,
20.09.1999. A group of over 500 Roma went toward the Macedonian border
- Blace. There were small children, pregnant women, invalids, old
persons. While walking on the road people had unwanted contact with a
group of revolted Albanians and few Roma got hurt. After 6 hours
walking they arrived in the village Ljaplje - Serbian settlement, but
they were not allowed to take a rest and were welcomed with the same
hostility. They finished their trip at one gas station owned by
Albanian and spent the night there. Tomorrow morning they took a bus
to the border provided by UNHCR-Kosovo. At 16 o'clock they arrived at
the border and when they tried to pass they were sent back by the
Macedonian authorities with the explanation that Macedonia can not
accept them, the war is over, their lives are not in danger and KFOR
is responsible for their security in Kosovo. And so the Roma refugees
were forced to stay at the borderline by the buses they arrived with
and to improvise their own tents. On Wednsday, 22.09 the situation
maintained the same.
The private TVs and the independent newspapers in Skopje informed
about the event. On Thursday, Sep. 23rd at 14.00 with the help of
Mr.Jan - a representative of OBSE-Macedonia and with the understanding
of Mr. Blagoja Kotev, the representative of the Macedonian police at
Blace, the members of RCC "DROM" Kumanovo (Ramis Osmanovski, Martin
Demirovski and Asmet Elezovski) were allowed to visit the Roma
refugees on the no man's land between Macedonia and Serbia. We were
informed about everything mentioned above.
We recorded some of their stories:
Mevluda Krasnici from Obilic, maried, pregnant in her 9th month, felt
terrible pains and she was taken to hospital in Pristina on Sep. 17th,
Friday. That day she was given a medical treatment by dr.Jemail and
the pain stopped. On Sunday doctors find that the child is dead. On
Monday she was treated by the surgeons, and after that she leaves the
hospital in very bad situation, frightened and maltreated by the
hospital personnel. The mother claims that the doctor killed their
child. Now she is with the other Roma on the border. We asked help
from the Greek organization "Doctors without boundaries". They did
everything to help her and she recovered soon. Small children (they
can't speak and hear) were crying and one of their relatives said that
their father died heavily wounded by a group of Albanians. He was
taken to the hospital, passed away there but nobody knows where he was
burried. Roma people talked in fear for their troubles in Kosovo
saying: "We didn't start the war but now we are persecuted from our
homes, KFOR is not able to give us full protection, we are facing
everyday pressures and maltreatments by the Albanians, because of the
impossibility for survival we had to get away. If we stay there we
will have to wait our death. There is no way back. Believe us that the
only rule there is the rule of the weapons and hate. Most of the
refuges had such statements (Rahman, Ramis, Baskim, Skender, Emina,
Gjusefa). They came mostly from Pristina, Obilic, Kosovo Polje,
Crkvena Vodica, Kosovo B and Kosovo A, places where Roma people were
living and now everything is burned and destroyed. For the last two
days they received humanitarian help from UNHCR from Kosovo. 150
children under age of three needed milk and hygienic means. People are
unwashed for a weeks, and many deseases are threathening. Roma people
were crying instead of talking. Everything around was scaring them.
That day the representatives of UNHCR, those of the Roma refugees and
the representative of Macedonia had a meeting in order to find
possible solution of the situation. We haven't got any official
information about this.
After the situation was considered the representatives of RCC "DROM"
Kumanovo gave information for the Roma NGO network in Europe. The
representatives of DROm left the place and after two hours they were
back with humanitarian help-nutrition articles. The organization
provided bread, milk, juices and food for the children for two or
three days with the means donated by Roma and non-Roma organizations
and individuals from Australia, USA, England, Switzerland. First
organization that joined us was Karitas-Essen - Mr. Ilija, some
considerable amount of cans (fish and pastes), the mayor of Suto
Orizari - Nezdet Mustafa provided mineral water. CRS-Skopje provided
baby food and fruits. The consignment was given to the refugees'
leaders. Leaving the borderline (where KFOR is situated) the Roma
refugees asked the whole world to be informed about their situation.
In the realization of the help for the Roma refugees were engaged the
representatives of RCC "DROM"
Ramis Osmanovski, Ahmet Jasarevski, Samir Demirovski, Toni Vuckovski,
Martin Demirovski, mayor Nezdet Mustafa and Asmet Elezovski.
The requests of RCC"DROM" for the improval and solving of this
situation are:
1. UNHCR to inform the world about the real events and the situation
of the Roma from Kosovo and to provide medical help for the refugees
on Blace border place.
2. KFOR to give bigger protection to the Roma and to stop the further
maltreatments by the Albanians
3. KFOR, UNHCR and the International organizations to be more engaged
in the informing and looking for solution of the current problem of
the Roma people (We therefore ask the European Institutions, OSCE, UN,
is it so difficult for them to find a solution for this problem when
they could solve the problem of the bigger number of Albanian refugees
during the war in Kosovo.)
Our message to the world in this moment is:
STOP THE RACISM AND THE GENOCIDE AGAINST ROMA PEOPLE - DON'T LET THE
HISTORY REPEAT AGAIN !!
Asmet Elezovski
member of board Roma Nacional Congres
[email protected]
Stopanska Banka a.d.-Skopje
SFIFT-STOB MK 2X
40100-623-79
Konto 727150-11174-13
Elezovski Asmet
Ljube Gacev 6
91300 Kumanovo
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Kumanovo / MACEDONIA (RNN Correspondent), September the 29th, 1999
Macedonia changed its mind Tuesday and decided to allow 500 Roma
fleeing Kosovo into the Balkan country after they had been stranded at
the border for almost a week.
The government had earlier refused them entry, saying NATO
peacekeepers should ensure their safety in the province.
"We made an exception for these people, with a clear message to the
UNHCR (the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) that we are
doing this for the last time," Prime Minister Ljubco Georgijevski told
a news conference.
The Roma National Congress in Macedonia and all the Member
Organizations had exerted strong pressure on the government to provide
shelter to their ethnic kind from Kosovo. There are about 55,000 Roma
in Macedonia out of a total population of about two million.
The refugees will be accommodated in a camp in Macedonia. They decided
to leave Kosovo last week fearing revenge attacks by ethnic Albanians
who accuse many of them of siding with Serbs during the Kosovo
conflict earlier this year.
Their homes destroyed, they had stayed in a camp in the Kosovo
capital, Pristina, for three months before deciding to leave for
Macedonia.
Since the Kosovo war ended more than three months ago, about 200,000
Serbs and other non-Albanians have fled Kosovo. There are already more
than 7.000 Roma in two refugee camps and in private places in
Macedonia.
Hundreds of thousands of ethnic Albanians fled to Macedonia during the
war, but most of them returned after the withdrawal of Serbian forces
and the deployment of the NATO-led KFOR peacekeeping force.
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