Project on Ethnic Relations New Report: Leadership, Representation, and the Status of the Roma

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Subject: Project on Ethnic Relations New Report: Leadership, Representation, and the Status of the Roma

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Project on Ethnic Relations New Report: Leadership,
Representation, and the Status of the Roma


LEADERSHIP, REPRESENTATION AND THE STATUS OF THE ROMA
KRAKOW, POLAND
MARCH 9-10, 2001

PREFACE

Who speaks for the Roma?

The Romani community has been recognized as a legitimate ethnic
minority only in the past decade. It had had virtually no political
elite; its leaders were "traditional," with little formal education
and only limited interest in political engagement. At the same time,
the new leadership that has recently begun to emerge brings little
direct political experience. One result is that the Romani community
has been constantly subjected to the paternalism of majority
politicians.

The Project on Ethnic Relations has been involved for the last decade
in helping to identify and to prepare a modern Romani elite to be an
independent force in the interethnic dialogue about the Romani
communities of Central and Southeastern Europe. PER has encouraged
young Romani leaders to take responsibility in representing, debating,
and negotiating Romani interests with the majority. However, the
number of new leaders who are interested in politics is still very
small, while those who are involved often lack political skills. These
young leaders, products of the ongoing democratization processes
taking place in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe, are still in
search of an articulated political identity.

It is difficult for the Roma to find definitive examples in the
experiences of other ethnic minorities. These minorities typically
benefit from longer political experience and better organization, and
sometimes enjoy support from a "mother country." Moreover, other
minority communities generally do not suffer from the extreme
discrimination and poverty that reduce the Roma�s capacity for
political participation. Nor can their outlook provide a clear answer
to the question of whether the Roma should proceed on "ethnic" or
"civic" principles in asserting their claims, since other minorities
themselves are sometimes divided on this issue.

The Project on Ethnic Relations (PER) and its Romani Advisory Council
(PERRAC) organized a seminar on "Romani Representation and Leadership
at National and International Levels" in Krakow, Poland, on March
9-10, 2001. The seminar gathered a group of senior Romani leaders and
representatives of Romani parties and Romani NGOs from Central,
Eastern and Southeastern Europe to debate and discuss the most
important questions that the Romani elite now faces. 

The discussion in Krakow centered on the meaning of legitimacy,
traditional versus modern and democratic leadership; the quality of
leaders� performances; positive and negative examples of
representation; and the role that leaders should play. Some
participants criticized the limited interaction between modern Romani
leaders and their communities, and emphasized the importance of
regular consultations with constituencies. The participants also
extensively discussed the experiences of Romani nongovernmental
organizations as well as Romani political parties, their development
over the last decade, and their different roles and responsibilities.
The Romani leadership now faces the challenge of how to observe
democratic rules and procedures, devise stable organizational
structures, and enhance the quality of its own performance.

The participants also discussed the issue of Romani political
participation, which is of great importance to international
organizations, governments, political, and civic organizations as well
as to Romani leaders. International organizations, wishing to
encourage the Roma to participate in society and in politics and to
include the Roma in decision-making processes, need legitimate and
responsible partners in the Romani community.

The future political status of the Roma was another major topic of the
Krakow seminar. Participants examined two trends: the formal
recognition of the Roma as minorities within their respective states,
already achieved in many countries; and aspirations of some Roma to
self-determination, that is, recognition of the Roma as a
non-territorial nation.

The pros and cons of these opposing orientations were considered, as
was their impact on the construction of a Romani identity,
representation, and the evolution of political strategies and
programs. As was to be expected, there was considerable debate and
disagreement about these topics.

This report was written by Andrzej Mirga, chair of the PER Romani
Advisory Council and co-chair of the Council of Europe Specialist
Group on Roma/Gypsies and was edited by PER staff in Princeton, in
particular Kerry Hoke, program officer. Gyula Vamosi translated the
preface of this report into the Romani language. Participants have not
had the opportunity to review the contents before publication, for
which PER assumes full responsibility.

Allen H. Kassof, President
Livia B. Plaks, Executive Director
Princeton, New Jersey
October 2001


TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preface 1
Angluni Vorba 4
A Note on Terminology 6
Introduction 7
The Political Legitimacy of The Romani Leadership 11
The Traditional Romani Community and Its Leadership 13
The Modern Romani Leadership and Its Performance 15
The Modern Romani Leadership and Romani Tradition 19
The Romani Civic Sector and Political Organizations:
The New Role of the Romani Leadership 20
Romani Politics and Romani Interests 25
Romani Political Representation 30
The International Romani Union (IRU) Project�Romani Nation 33
The IRU Project�Concerns and Objections 35
The IRU Project and the Romani Delayed Nationalist �Test Stage� 37
Alternative Projects on Romani Issues 42
Conclusion 43
List of Participants 47
Other PER Publications 48

-----------------
For the full text of the report (.pdf), go to
http://www.per-usa.org/roma.htm
-----------------

-------------------
Alex N. Grigor'ev
Program Officer

Project on Ethnic Relations
15 Chambers Street
Princeton, NJ 08542, USA
Tel. 609-683-5666
Fax 419-858-4443 or 609-683-5888
Office e-mail: [email protected] or [email protected]
PER Web Site: www.per-usa.org

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