MINELRES: Romania: Ethnic Minority Briefs No. 72

[MINELRES moderator]

Original sender: Divers Bulletin <edivers_buletin-admin@mediafax.ro> 


 No. 72 / September 29, 2003 
  
DIVERS
- reporting ethnic diversity - 
 
SUMMARY
 
1. ROMANIA, HUNGARY SIGN AGREEMENT ON STATUS LAW IMPLEMENTATION.
2. APPEAL TO KEEP PSD-UDMR ALLIANCE
3. MORE THAN 400,000 ASK FOR HUNGARIAN ID CARDS IN ROMANIA.
4. UDMR TO ASK MAGYARS TO VOTE IN FAVOR OF CONSTITUTION
5. TENSE ATMOSPHERE IN ROMANIAN TOWN AFTER ROMANY PROTEST
6. JOBS FOR ROMA IN SUCEAVA

FEATURE
7. FRANCE VOWS TO KEEP UP DEPORTATION OF ROMANIAN GYPSIES DESPITE
CRITICAL REPORT 
 

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ROMANIA, HUNGARY SIGN AGREEMENT ON STATUS LAW IMPLEMENTATION
BUCHAREST - Prime Minister Adrian Nastase and his Hungarian counterpart,
Peter Medgyessy, signed an agreement on 23 September concerning the law
on the status of the ethnic Hungarian minorities in neighboring
countries. The agreement envisions reciprocal standards for Romanians
residing in Hungary. According to RFE/RL, Nastase described the
agreement as another "battle for Europe that we have won together." The
agreement stipulates that Hungarian ID cards must not carry the insignia
of Greater Hungary, not resemble passports, and only be issued in
Hungary. Financial aid for the purpose of preserving Hungarian culture
is to be granted only to institutions, not to individuals. The two
premiers also discussed the issue of the Liberty Monument in Arad, but
apparently no final decision was reached on the Romanian "compromise
proposal" to place the monument in a "reconciliation park" alongside
statues representing Romanian historical figures. Speaking in Romanian
(he was born in Cluj, Transylvania), Medgyessy said he expects the
Romanian government to respect its promises. He also said Romania and
Hungary must follow the model of French-German reconciliation. 
 
summary 

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APPEAL TO KEEP PSD-UDMR ALLIANCE
BUCHAREST � Into a letter addressed to UDMR leader, three
representatives of the civil society demand further cooperation between
the Union and the governance party, despite the numerous violations of
the protocols between the two parties. "We also know that the refuse to
erect the Statue of Liberty in Arad represents violation of the protocol
signed by PSD and UDMR. But we also remind that agreements, implicit or
explicit, signed with Magyar partners have been constantly violated by
the Romanian structures, starting 1990, since UDMR agreed with leading
cooperation with CDR", as indicates the letter signed by Gabriel
Andreescu, Biro Bela and Agoston Hugo. The three mention some violations
of the agreement signed with UDMR: "sabotage " on public administration
Law during CDR-PD-UDMR alliance; the refusal to create public university
with courses held in Magyar language, which almost triggered shattering
of coalition in 1998; PSD�s delay in implementing the same Law of local
administration, or its partial implementation; as well as SRI Report
about the situation in Harghita-Covasna, in 2001, or even the access to
justice to be approached in mother language, into the current
Constitution bill. The signers mention possible consequences of breaking
agreement between UDMR and PSD: to create atmosphere adequate to
nationalist forces, just before the beginning of the electoral campaign
in 2004; hindering deployment of further UDMR projects; failed UDMR
policy� consideration of the Magyars, first of all � to cooperate with
the Romanian political forces; inducing pressure between Budapest and
Bucharest, in a moment when the two Capitals seemed to have overcome the
difficulties created by the status Law. (DIVERS) 
 
summary 

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MORE THAN 400,000 ASK FOR HUNGARIAN ID CARDS IN ROMANIA
BUCHAREST - Over 400,000 members of the Hungarian minority in Romania
have applied for receiving Hungarian ID cards under the provisions of
the amended Hungarian Status Law, a press release by the Hungarian
Democratic Federation of Romania (UDMR) shows, quoted by RFE/RL. Taking
into consideration the results of the 2002 census, this means that 27.89
percent of Romania's ethnic Hungarians have applied for the ID cards. 
 
summary 

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UDMR TO ASK MAGYARS TO VOTE IN FAVOR OF CONSTITUTION
BUCHAREST - UDMR Council decided on September 24 the political party to
back the law reshuffling Constitution and to make appeal to all ethnic
Hungarians from Romania to attend the referendum and to vote "in favor
", stated UDMR chairman, Marko Bela. He pointed out that the changes
brought improve the Constitution and are significant for the development
of the state, for the efforts in Romania�s integration to EU, and in the
sector of human rights and in minorities� protection. (DIVERS) 

 
summary 

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TENSE ATMOSPHERE IN ROMANIAN TOWN AFTER ROMANY PROTEST
CRAIOVA � Some 200 members of the Roma community in Craiova (southern
Romania), armed with swords, clubs and other light weapons, took to the
streets to find justice by themselves, local press reported. The
conflict flared last week between members of a Gypsy clan and the owners
of a series of restaurants who banned their entrance. Police special
forces were forced to intervene and protect the restaurant owners. The
revolt of the Roma started shortly after midnight when hundreds of them
attacked a local restaurant that belonged to a close acquaintance of
Mihai Parvu, with whom the Gypsy have had a series of conflicts related
to "businesses" of interest for both parties. The gang destroyed the
restaurant where they were banned to enter, then tried to go downtown,
armed and all, but were stopped by some 200 police who became the target
of stones and other flying objects, witnesses said. Besides, Police
managed to block access to the town center. In a statement distributed
by the Federation of Roma Organization in Romania (FORROM), its
chairman, Vasile Ionescu, said the tense atmosphere in Craiova was the
result of authorities neglecting to take measures against racist
manifestations and against bodies such as the Organization for the
Struggle Against Gypsies. Ionescu said that despite appeals from the
FORROM, the Craiova local authorities never bothered to reply to FORROM
warnings. Ionescu said Romania is "facing the danger of falling back
into the Middle Ages." He also said FORROM is protesting against the
media coverage of the Craiova "racial disturbances."

 
summary 

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JOBS FOR ROMA IN SUCEAVA
SUCEAVA � As a result of a project financed by the European Union in
order to improve life standard of the Roma in Dumbrava village, Suceava
County, 25 jobs were created. Head of European Commission�s Delegation
in Romania, Jonathan Scheele, present early this week in Suceava County,
visited workshop wherein construction materials are produced, following
the activity to be expanded in case of other products, too. The local
authorities presented plans to expand the electricity network in the
area inhabited by the approximately 200 Roma ethnics in Dumbrava. Head
of European Commission�s Delegation in Romania, Jonathan Scheele,
appreciated the results of the projects and seemed strongly impressed by
the solidarity of the community and how the citizens of Roma ethnicity
involved in deploying the project. "It is very important that when the
people become the owners of the areas they will contribute to the
development of the community and we certainly should not face situations
of social exclusion ", said Scheele. The European official expressed his
wish to hear speaking Romanes language, thanks being expressed to him in
this language. The Roma representatives in Dumbrava indicated that not
long ago these groups were some Nomad families, while at present, as a
result of this programme, they settled down. (DIVERS)

 
summary 

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FEATURE 
  
FRANCE VOWS TO KEEP UP DEPORTATION OF ROMANIAN GYPSIES DESPITE CRITICAL
REPORT
By AFP staff
NANCY, France - France vowed on 22 September to continue its policy of
deporting Romanian Gypsies despite a human rights report criticizing the
policy as a "total failure" which exposed the returnees to poverty and
discrimination. "I totally back the decision of the government to send
back to Romania people who are in France without the proper papers,"
Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy told reporters as he turned up for a
meeting in Nancy, eastern France. "I'd like someone to tell me why on
earth France should keep people without proper papers on its territory?"
he said, adding that, as for the conditions of the Gypsies in Romania,
"I remind you that I'm not the Romanian interior minister."
His comments came the same day as French police stormed a Gypsy camp in
a northern Paris suburb, arresting almost all its 200 inhabitants in a
crackdown on prostitution that allegedly involved several minors. The
scores of officers swooped on the 16 caravans and makeshift houses that
made up the camp in Ile-Saint-Denis as part of investigations into
pimping, inciting minors to commit crimes, illegal immigrant smuggling
and the buying and selling of stolen property.
Since taking up his job after elections in May last year, Sarkozy has
overseen a hardline approach to the issue of illegal immigration in
France, closing down a Red Cross-run refugee center in Sangatte,
northern France, and green lighting the forced repatriation of
undocumented immigrants from Africa and Romania. He has sought to soften
the policies with promises of financial incentives for illegal
immigrants to return home and to speed the handling of genuine asylum
applications. In August 2002, he went to Romania to sign an accord under
which Paris would help Bucharest clamp down on clandestine emigration to
France by providing deported Gypsies who asked with 153 euros (140
dollars), a ticket to their home village and, in some cases, social aid.
But the Paris-based groups Medecins du Monde (Doctors of the World) and
the International Federation for Human Rights issued a joint report
Monday saying the initiative had proved unsuccessful. The groups
estimated that around 1,500 Gypsies had been expelled from land they
were squatting in France and that 30 of them had been sent back to
Romania.
Of that number, fewer than 10 were said to have taken up the offer of
financial assistance and many instead had only one idea in their heads:
to return to France as soon as possible. The report's authors said that,
of the four people they spoke to who had accepted the aid package, three
of them had their passports confiscated by Romanian authorities and had
to use the French cash payment to purchase a ticket to their villages,
where no support was offered. Discriminated against in Romania, they
were shunned because of a perception that they had been sent back as
criminals, the report said. In any case, "it is impossible for the Roms
(Romanian Gypsies) sent back from France to find in Romania comparable
resources to those they secured from begging or undeclared work" in
France, it said. The rights groups called on France to provide temporary
visas for the Gypsies, and for Romania to cease its practice of
confiscating passports. Romania's Anti-Discrimination Council rejected
the findings as "a premature evaluation" and said authorities were
working to put into place the educational and social aid provided for in
the accord. "It is impossible 
 
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