ERRC letters to authorities of Yugoslavia, Slovenia and Hungary
Date: Sat, 08 Nov 97 21:05:36 -0500
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Subject: ERRC letters to authorities of Yugoslavia, Slovenia and Hungary
From: MINELRES moderator \ Internet: ([email protected])
Original sender: Claude Cahn <[email protected]>
ERRC letters to authorities of Yugoslavia, Slovenia and Hungary
On November 7, 1997, the European Roma Rights Center, an international
public interest law organisation which monitors the situation of Roma in
Europe and provides legal defence in cases of human rights abuse, sent a
letter to the General Prosecutor of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia,
expressing concern over recent instances of ethnically-motivated violence,
including the beating death of a Romani boy named Dusan Jovanovic. The text
of the letter is as follows:
General Prosecutor of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Vukain Jokanovic
Vlakoviceva 10
11 000 Belgrade
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
Fax: (381-11) 324 20 97
Budapest, November 6, 1997
Honourable Mr. General Prosecutor,
The European Roma Rights Center, an international public interest law
organisation which monitors the situation of Roma in Europe and provides
legal defence in cases of human rights abuse, is deeply concerned about the
racially motivated killing of 14-year-old Dusan Jovanovic by a group of
skinheads in Belgrade on October 18, 1997.
According to information made available to the ERRC, Dusan was on his way to
a store in the evening of Saturday, October 18, 1997, when he was stopped by
a group of skinheads who demanded money from him and then started beating
and kicking him all over his body. Dusan died on the street as a result of
the beating, which evidently included smashing in his skull with a section
of drainpipe. It has been reported that the police arrested several persons
involved in the attack. According to the press, among those arrested are two
seventeen-year-old skinheads who face charges for murder.
According to media reports, earlier in October of this year, skinheads
attacked and beat to death a pregnant woman as she was walking with her
children on Skadarska Street in Belgrade. On October 27, a group of
skinheads severely beat two Roma, also in Belgrade. Romani activists in
Yugoslavia have stated that violence against Roma by skinheads has increased
considerably over the past few years and that attacks against them have
occurred with impunity.
Honourable Mr. General Prosecutor, the ERRC welcomes the initial measures on
the part of the law enforcement bodies of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
in arresting alleged perpetrators for the killing of Dusan Jovanovic. We
urge you to see to that a prompt and impartial investigation be carried out
into the crime and that those responsible be brought to justice and punished
accordingly.
We additionally urge that all racially-motivated crimes against Roma in the
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia be firmly condemned and swiftly prosecuted.
We kindly ask you to keep us informed about further developments in the case
..
Sincerely,
Dimitrina Petrova
Executive Director
----------------------------
On November 7, the ERRC sent a letter to the prime minister of Slovenia,
expressing concern about the deterioration of relations between Roma and non
-Roma as a result of attempts by local authorities to house Roma. The text
of the letter is as follows:
November 7, 1997
Prime Minister Janez Drnovcek
Gregorciceva 20
SI - 1000 Ljubljana
fax: (386-61) 178 17 21
cc: Chairman of Parliament Janez Podobnik
Subiceva 4
SI - 1000 Ljubljana
fax (386-61) 125 81 73
Honourable Prime Minister Drnovcek,
The European Roma Rights Center, a public interest law organisation which
monitors the rights of Roma and provides legal defence in cases of human
rights abuse, is concerned about recent developments in the towns of
Grosuplje, Malina and Mlacevo, Slovenia.
According to articles appearing in the Slovene press, relations between Roma
and non-Roma have deteriorated considerably in recent weeks due to vocal
racist opposition by non-Roma to a series of local government decisions
aimed at the integration of Roma. In one incident, non-Roma in the town of
Malina prevented a Romani family from moving into a house in the village, in
acts described by locals as "defending the territory". In a
similar event, attempts by local authorities to legalise two of five local
Roma settlements met with open protest, with local non-Roma bearing signs
with slogans such as, "Roma get rights, workers get taxes!" The settlements
concerned presently lack running water and electricity. One area mayor, Mr.
Joze Tanko told the Slovene daily Vecer that although there are many
locations where adequate housing possibilities exist for proper housing for
Roma, all efforts have been blocked because local authorities do not want to
fight "the will of the people" for the rights of Roma. Local Roma reportedly
now fear recrimination if they attempt to claim housing which has been
legitimately allocated to them.
Honourable Prime Minister, the ERRC views the present out-pouring of anti-
Roma sentiment reaching the public ear as a valuable opportunity for your
government to take a firm stand against racism and in favour of the
integration of Roma in Slovenia. We welcome all efforts by your government
to see to it that plans for the legalisation of settlements or proper
housing for Roma are not blocked by anti-Roma sentiment at a local level,
and that Roma who wish to move from illegal and unsafe settlements are not
prevented from doing so by extra-judicial or vigilante acts.
Sincerely,
Dimitrina Petrova
Executive Director
-------------------------------
On November 7, 1997, the ERRC sent a letter to the General Prosecutor of
Hungary, expressing concern over allegations of police abuse in the
Hungarian town of D=F6ms=F6d and urging thorough and impartial investigation
. The text of the letter is as follows:
To: Dr. Kalman Gergyi
General Prosecutor of the Republic of Hungary
1055 Budapest, Mark F3 u. 16.
Honourable General Prosecutor,
The European Roma Rights Center, an international public interest law
organisation which monitors the rights of Roma and provides legal defence in
cases of human rights abuse, is concerned about allegations of abuse and
irregularities in procedure by local and national police and private
security guards in the town of D=F6ms=F6d, 48 kilometres southwes t of
Budapest.
According to the ERRC's information, at 9:00 AM on August 1, 1997,
28-year-old Romani man named B=E9la Tyukodi was at his home in D=F6ms=F6d,
asleep in bed, when two or three police officers entered his house, woke him
up and took him to the police station. He was held from 9:00 AM until 7:00
PM during which time he was interrogated by two police officers, one of whom
, the victim states, is named Cs.L. (name withheld by the ERRC, but sent in
the original letter). While interrogating Mr. Tyukodi, the officers
allegedly beat him a number of times all over his body, including his arms
and groin. The police officers wanted him to confess to breaking into a
house. Mr. Tyukodi told the ERRC that the police officers did not let him go
to the toilet all day and that he didn't receive any food while in detention
. After being released at 7:00 PM, he went to the doctor to obtain a medical
certificate documenting his wounds. Mr. Tyukodi did not report the beating,
however, because on August 2, Officer Cs.L. allegedly threatened that if he
filed a complaint against the police officers, they would set fire to his
house.
Mr. Tyukodi resides in an area of D=F6ms=F6d called Tokert, a neighbourhood
in which approximately 250-300 people live, only one family
of which is non-Roma. According to witness and victim testimony, at
approximately 11:30 PM on September 19 and at approximately 8:00 PM on
September 26, local police and special police units under the command of the
National Police conducted raids in T=F3kert. According to witnesses, 30
officers from the national police and approximately 10 local police officers
wearing masks went to Tokert to find two men who were, according to the
police, suspected of blackmail. These officers surrounded the community and
shouted at local Roma to come out of their houses and to lie on the ground.
They allegedly put guns to the heads of women and children. According to
witnesses, officers shouted anti-Roma slogans and threats such as, "We will
sweep out the garbage out of Tokert! Dirty Gypsies, put your hands up and
don't move, or we will kill you!" According to local Roma, police officers
also accused them as a group of only knowing how to steal, and told them
they would be raided repeatedly.
During the raid on September 19th, police detained nineteen people. They
released fourteen of them after 72 hours, on September 22. They subsequently
released two more individuals a short time later. During the raid on
September 26, these two people were again detained. Five Romani individuals
are presently being held under suspicion of blackmail. Laszlo
Boross of the Pest County Police confirmed that the raids had taken place,
and stated that witness accounts concerning the number of officers involved
were correct. He told the ERRC, "We had to take the necessary measures.
Naturally if there are children present, we are more careful." Speaking
unofficially, the chief of the R=E1ckeve Police told the ERRC that,
following the September 26 raid, all suspects are now in custody.
Following the two larger raids, the R=E1ckeve police have driven
demonstratively around the Roma community of Tokert two or three times
per day every day since. The chief of the R=E1ckeve police told the ERRC
unofficially that the raids are intended to intimidate the community into
"behaving". On October 22, the ERRC attended a human rights seminar in D=
F6ms=F6d during which two, and later only one police officer walked,
uninvited, in the hall outside the gathering for the entire length of the
proceedings.
Roma in Tokert also report regular intimidation by private security guards,
who stand outside the mayor's office. Roma report instances physical
aggression by the guards, as well as being insulted on ethnic grounds.
Honourable General Prosecutor, the European Roma Rights Center urges your
office to undertake thorough and impartial investigation into the human
rights situation of Roma in D=F6ms=F6d and to strictly sanction any
unprofessional, unlawful or racist activity by national and local police or
private security guards. We kindly request to be kept informed of the
results of the investigation.
Sincerely,
Dimitrina Petrova
Executive Director
--
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