MINELRES: II Roma World Congress - CONGRESS PRESS RELEASE

[Roma World Congress]

II Roma World Congress					Lodz, Poland	3rd of May 2002


PRESS RELEASE


The II Roma World Congress was held on May 1st -3rd, 2002 at Lodz in Poland,
65 years after the first Congress in 1937. Nazism and Communism have
prevented the Roma people to adequately organise themselves internationally
in order to improve their social, economic and cultural living conditions
through international recognition and compensation.

In twenty  years from to-day however, Roma will be 30 millions in around 40
European countries. This social reality constrains everybody responsible to
act promptly and efficiently to avoid this social bomb to burst.

The II Roma World Congress has thus decided to set-up a political European
body named "European Roma Forum" [www.EuropeanRomaForum.org], whose
membership is open to all Roma organisations, leaders, churches and
institutions willing and ready to act with transparency, democracy and for
the common good of the Roma nation. This body will claim from the dominant
society authorities respect of the internationally recognised legal
principles of self-determination and equal footing as of respect of the Roma
unique and precious cultural difference in order to organise as soon as
possible a real bottom-up program of actions conceived, implemented and
empowered by Roma local, regional and national structures.

The II Roma World Congress appointed for one year an Executive Committee of
7 highly respected Roma in charge of setting-up the statutes and by-laws of
the Roma Council of Europe, to propose priorities of action and to organise
its first meeting in Autumn 2002. The Executive Committee will also take
part to the coming discussions with the Council of Europe as regards the
recent recommendations of a "Roma Forum" taken by the European Parliamentary
Assembly of the CoE.

Furthermore the II Roma World Congress has resolved to set-up in Geneva,
Switzerland, a Roma Financial Foundation which will be the recipient of any
monies got for compensation for the Holocaust. The Geneva-based association
GIRCA has been entrusted to take any further steps considered fit and proper
for getting such direct compensation from the Swiss Shoa Fund, the IBM case
pending in Geneva, the German Foundation "Remembrance, Responsibility and
Future" in Berlin  and from the Swiss Banks Holocaust Assets in New-York.

Roma have to take their political international destiny in hands and to join
the battle of the other 5000 indigenous peoples and hundred of thousands
local traditional communities who fight for their right to cultural
difference and against rampant genocide through destructuring of their
social and economic living conditions.

For an fully II WRC coverage please visit www.RomaWorldCongress.org
On 3rd of June 2002 you will find on the RWC Website:
- Videos from all important speeches
- Presentation Videos from the elected European Roma Forum
- Elected results of the Working Groups
- Pictures
- Comments
- Statements

For updates on the European Roma Forum please visit
www.EuropeanRomaForum.org