MINELRES: Romania: Ethnic diversity briefs, No.19

[MINELRES moderator]

Original sender: Mediafax <divers@mediafax.ro>


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No. 19 / August 19, 2002

DIVERS
- reporting ethnic diversity -

SUMMARY
1. BUCHAREST CONCERNED ABOUT ETHNIC ROMANIANS IN HUNGARY
2. UDMR SUPPORTS AN "OPPRESIVE REGIME", HUNGARIAN LEADER SAYS
3. ROMANIA STARTS DIGGING AT A SUPPOSED GRAVE FROM WWII
4. CNA BANS ETHNIC DISCRIMINATION ON TV
5. HOLLYWOOD STARS TO CELEBRATE ANNIVERSARY OF JEWISH THEATRE
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BUCHAREST CONCERNED ABOUT ETHNIC ROMANIANS IN HUNGARY
BUCHAREST - Ethnic Romanians in Hungary are in danger of losing their
identity, and that their image received a negative shade because of the
Magyar gypsies, who falsely declare their origin as Romanian, stated on
August 12, Doru Vasile Ionescu, official within the Ministry of Public
Information, and the responsible of govermnmental Romanians from
Diaspora Department.
"The problem is a concerning one, as some non-Romanian structures
purloin from the funds granted by the Hungarian Government to the
Romanian ethnics. Besides, many more non-speakers of Romanian language
will join the public life, increasing the amount of the assimilated
people, not to speak about the negative image maintained as regards the
members of the Romanian ethnicity", emphasized the state secretary.
Ionescu referred to the situation of the Romanian minority's
self-governments in Hungary, organizations representing the ethnical
groups in the relationship with the Budapest authorities. In Hungary,
ethnical minorities are grouped in self-governments, a sort of local
mini-parties receiving subsidies from the Hungarian state.
Self-government can be made of at least 5 members from one ethnical
group or another, and their leaders are to be appointed in elections,
the competition being practically non-existent in such a small group.
The governmental responsible announced that, local elections are
scheduled in Hungary in October, when the ethnical minorities'
self-governments will be also voted.
(DIVERS)

UDMR SUPPORTS AN "OPPRESIVE REGIME", HUNGARIAN LEADER SAYS
BUDAPEST - The honorific leader of Hungarian Democratic Federation of
Romania UDMR, Laszlo Tokes stated that the Union should bring truth to
light and ask for compensations for the church properties confiscated
during the communist regime, instead of acting as an ally and supporting
the current "oppressive regime" from Romania. In Budapest, Tokes
attended a conference of the World Federation of Hungarian Calvinists,
where said is trying to draw up a survival and development strategy for
ethnic Hungarians in Romania. Tokes mentioned that the World Federation
of Hungarian Calvinists plans to organize a series of consulting
meetings this autumn with Hungarian organisations in order to draw the
survival strategy. 
(DIVERS)

ROMANIA STARTS DIGGING AT A SUPPOSED GRAVE FROM WWII
IASI - The Romanian authorities last week started digging on a common
grave in Popricani (Iasi County) where few hundreds killed Jews during
WWII where supposedly burried, local press reports. An allegedly pogrom
against local Jewish community took place in July 1941, in Iasi, and
almost 12,000 people seem to have been killed. The number of victims it
is disputed by Romanian historians, who mention a number of several
hundreds victims at most, adding their assassination was justified as a
retaliation for the behavior of the Jews when Romanian army entered
Besssarabia in 1941. 
(DIVERS)

CNA BANS ETHNIC DISCRIMINATION ON TV
BUCHAREST - The Romanian Broadcasting Council (CAN) last week took
several measures to protect human dignity and the right to one's own
image. Thus, "the action of broadcasting any forms of anti-Semite or
xenophobe manifestations within audiovisual programs is banned". At the
same time, "any discrimination for reasons of race, religion,
nationality, sex, sexual orientation, ethnicity" is also not allowed. 
(DIVERS)

HOLLYWOOD STARS TO CELEBRATE ANNIVERSARY OF JEWISH THEATRE
IASI - Hollywood stars Barbra Streisand and Dustin Hoffman are to attend
a festival to mark the 100th anniversary of the world's first Jewish
theatre, local press reports. They have accepted invitations to the
Avram Goldfaden festival in Iasi, Eastern Romania. The celebration will
be held at the National Theatre in Iasi in mid-October. The two
Oscar-winning stars accepted the invitations from the Romanian-born
Canadian director Alexander Hausvater, the daily "Ziua" reported. 
(DIVERS)

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