MINELRES: ERRC: Anti-Romani Racism in Russian Local Elections

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Original sender: European Roma Rights Center <errc@errc.org> 


Anti-Romani Racism in Russian Local Elections

On December 5, 2003, the European Roma Rights Center (ERRC) sent a
letter to Ms Tatjana Merzljakova, Commissioner on Human Rights of the
Sverdlovsk County, Russia, expressing concern about intense anti-Romani
racism accompanying the local elections campaign in the city of
Jekaterinburg, Russia. The ERRC was alarmed to learn that one of the
candidates for mayor of Jekaterinburg campaigned for the demolition of
the local Romani settlement. Anti-Romani attitudes have been fostered
also through hate-mongering and stigmatising publications in the local
media. The ERRC urged the Commissioner to denounce publicly
manifestations of racial intolerance toward Roma and appeal to the media
to observe the principles of tolerant portrayal of minorities. The text
of the ERRC letter follows:

Dear Ms Merzljakova,

The European Roma Rights Center (ERRC), an international public interest
law organisation that monitors the human rights situation of Roma and
provides legal defence to Romani victims of human rights abuse, is
concerned about calls to hatred, in particular, directed against Roma
("Gypsies"), and about instances of incitement to racial hatred in the
Sverdlovsk County of Russia.

The Jekaterinburg-based Romani organisation Roma Ural provided the ERRC
with newspaper articles taken from the local newspaper Uralskije Vesti
(Ural news), which overtly called on people living in Jekaterinburg to
support an initiative put forward by one of the candidates for the
position of the mayor of Jekaterinburg, Mr O. Gusev, to demolish the
"Gypsy settlement". On November 13, 2003, in an opinion poll conducted
by the newspaper, the following question was put: "Do you support the
initiative put forward by Mr O. Gusev concerning the liquidation of the
Gypsy settlement and building on its place municipal blocks of flats for
dwellers of the city?"

In another issue of the same newspaper, in an article entitled "Shacks
and palaces", Roma were identified as "thieves", "deceivers", and "drug
dealers" (Uralskije Vesti, No 34, November 20, 2003). The fact that all
this takes place as part of an election campaign increases the tension
in society.

The ERRC believes that such publications incite to racial hatred and
contribute to a climate of intolerance towards Roma. The ERRC would like
to remind you that racism has been a subject of serious international
concern which, in particular, is embodied in the Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, of which Russia is a
signatory state.

Dear Ms Merzljakova!

The ERRC urges you to publicly condemn the increasing number of various
manifestations of racial intolerance in the media as well as to call
upon journalists to refrain in their work from inciting anti-Romani
sentiments.


Sincerely,
Dimitrina Petrova
Executive Director
European Roma Rights Center


Persons wishing to express similar concerns are urged to contact:

Ms T. Merzljakova, Commissioner on Human Rights of the Sverdlovsk County
Oktyabrskaya square 1
Ekaterinburg 620031
Russia
Fax +7 (3432) 178872
E-mail: ombudsman@midural.ru

_____________________________________________

The European Roma Rights Center is an international public interest law
organisation which monitors the rights of Roma and provides legal
defence in cases of human rights abuse. For more information about the
European Roma Rights Center, visit the ERRC on the web at
http://www.errc.org.

European Roma Rights Center
1386 Budapest 62
P.O. Box 906/93
Hungary


Phone: +36 1 4132200
Fax:   +36 1 4132201

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