MINELRES: Romania: Ethnic Diverity Briefs, No.18

[MINELRES moderator]

Original sender: Mediafax <divers@mediafax.ro>

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No. 18 / August 12, 2002

DIVERS
- reporting ethnic diversity -

SUMMARY
1. NATIONAL COUNCIL AGAINST DISCRIMINATION STARTS WORK
2. SPECIAL POLICE DEPARTMENT FOR STOPPING BEGGAR IMMIGRATION
3. FINLAND REJECTS ROMANIAN ROMA'S ASYLUM APPLICATIONS
4. ROMANIA'S UDMR HONORARY CHAIRMAN RESUMES CRITICISM OF LEADERSHIP
5. HUNGARIAN FOREIGN MINISTER AMBIGUOUS ON TRIANON TREATY
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NATIONAL COUNCIL AGAINST DISCRIMINATION STARTS WORK
BUCHAREST - Romania's National Council Against Discrimination started
work 1 August, nearly three months against the terms announced
initially. The new institution, which has a staff of 30, will be
responsible to all cases related to sex, age, religion and ethnic
discrimination. The council will act on complaints received by those
affected but will also initiate its own investigations. It is holding a
budget of ROL 3bln (USD 92,000) for this year. The government on August
7 appointed Cristian Jura, to head the Council for seven years. Jura,
30, PhD, is a former director within the Government's law rmonization
direction. (DIVERS)

SPECIAL POLICE DEPARTMENT FOR STOPPING BEGGAR IMMIGRATION
BUCHAREST - Romania tightened measures to fight illegal immigration of
beggars and handicapped persons, monstly of Roma origin, to Western
Europe by setting up a special police unit in charge of stopping the
immigrations. The group's members will take special measures so as to
discover and dissolute the beggars traffic. Police officers also account
on organizing some meetings with leaders of Roma people, in order to
lead collaboration in deploying a program meant to prevent and fight
against illegal migration and human traffic. The government also plans
to change legislation to reflect that beggars who have been deported
back to Romania from abroad will be deprived of their international
passports for at least three years. The immigration is causing a wave of
discontent among the Schengen countries and even some proposals for
re-introducing Schengen visas for Romanians. (DIVERS)

FINLAND REJECTS ROMANIAN ROMA'S ASYLUM APPLICATIONS
HELSINKI - All the applications for asylum submitted by Romanian
citizens of the Roma minority have been rejected, and the applicants are
to be sent back to Romania, Finnish media reports. Finnish officials
found that the asylum applications lacked merit, and that the people in
question were primarily economic migrants. A total of 525 Romanians
applied for asylum in Finland starting this year, and many of them have
already been sent back to Romania on two chartered flights. Finnish
sources said some 300 of the Roma from Romania have already left
Finland, 100 by their own means and the others flown out. In previous
years groups Roma from various Central and Eastern European countries
have arrived in Finland to apply for asylum here. (DIVERS)

ROMANIA'S UDMR HONORARY CHAIRMAN RESUMES CRITICISM OF LEADERSHIP
BUCHAREST - Hungarian Democratic Federation of Romania (UDMR) Honorary
Chairman Bishop Laszlo Tokes said on 8 August that the UDMR leadership
is "collaborating with an oppressive regime" in Romania, RFE/RL
reported, citing Romanian media. He said the UDMR leadership indulges in
"self-pity" when deploring the confiscation of church properties by the
communist-era regime instead of "telling the truth and demanding
immediate restitution." Tokes spoke in Budapest at a meeting of the
World Federation of Hungarian Calvinists, of which he is chairman. In
related news, Mures County UDMR Chairman Attila Kelemen said on 8 August
that his organization is demanding that the county prefect fine three
mayors. Kelemen said the mayors of Sighisoara, Ludus, and Iernut have
not displayed bilingual street signs, as stipulated by the Law on Local
Public Administration for localities where national minorities make up
20 percent or more of the local population. (DIVERS)

HUNGARIAN FOREIGN MINISTER AMBIGUOUS ON TRIANON TREATY
BUDAPEST - Foreign Minister Kovacs said last week that international
debates should begin over the significance of the Trianon Treaty and the
Benes Decrees, but at the same time he added that "past grievances must
not spill over into today's political discourse," RFE/RL reported on 8
August, citing Hungarian media. He stressed that Hungarian politics must
show "no trace of nationalist rhetoric." Kovacs also said that ethnic
Hungarians in neighboring countries should enjoy full minority rights
and be able to preserve their national identity while pursuing
well-being in their own homeland. (DIVERS)

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