MINELRES: Romania: Bulletin DIVERS on Ethnic Minorities - 25 (108)/2004

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Original sender: Edivers Buletin <edivers_buletin-admin@mediafax.ro>



Divers Bulletin no. 25 (108) / July 12, 2004
News

CRITICAL REPORT ON COMPLYING WITH THE RIGHTS OF ETHNIC MINORITIES 

FDGR AIMS AT BECOMING A PARLIAMENTARY GROUP

BUDAPEST WANTS ETHNIC HUNGARIAN YOUNGSTERS TO REMAIN IN TRANSYLVANIA 

Focus

OFFICER FIRED FOR REFUSING TO MARRY COUPLE


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News

CRITICAL REPORT ON COMPLYING WITH THE RIGHTS OF ETHNIC MINORITIES 

BUCHAREST � "Discrimination continues to be a problem as long as the
institutions defending minority groups� rights are weak and undecided
and the legislation continues to enclose discriminatory stipulations or
to provide inadequate protection", informs a report of Foundation for an
Open Society (FSD), Dept. of Juridical Resources (CRJ), Institute for
Public Policies (IPP) and of the Partnership Dept. for Equality.
National Council to Fight Discrimination (CNCD) faces major problems, as
following: "decreased visibility", "lack of transparency", "minor"
activity in preventing discrimination, many decisions lacking the
motivation in identifying a discriminatory attitude, which render this
institution "vulnerable when facing lawsuits". The report also
criticizes the stipulation in the electoral legislation � problem also
raised within the Council of Europe � that restrains the participation
at elections of the organizations of non-represented minorities within
the Council of National Minorities.
Author: DIVERS
summary


FDGR AIMS AT BECOMING A PARLIAMENTARY GROUP

SIBIU � After the surprising victory registered at the local elections
in Sibiu, the Democrat Forum of the Germans in Romania (FDGR) gets ready
for the local elections and aims at becoming a parliamentary group,
local press reported. According to the leadership of the German Forum,
the first step to be made is the change of statute enabling the members
of different ethnic to enter the party. Martin Botesch, namely the new
chairman of Sibiu County Council, recently elected chief of FDGR Sibiu
county organization, launched this idea. �We want to attract members of
different ethnic but with a similar vision�, stated Botesch.
Author: DIVERS
summary


BUDAPEST WANTS ETHNIC HUNGARIAN YOUNGSTERS TO REMAIN IN TRANSYLVANIA 

TUSNAD> � Hungarian Premier Peter Medgyessy attended on July 5 the
opening of the seminary on "Youngsters and the European Union", which
took place at Tusnad (central Romania) and stated the youngsters in
Transylvania should remain on "their mother land", for their sake as
well as for the sake of Transylvania. According to Medgyessy, Hungary
will support the youngsters, will grant them short-time training
scholarships in Hungary as long as they return to Transylvania, as this
area should develop. Medgyessy claims the ethnic Hungarians should be
proud of their own values, which they must keep even after Romania�s
admission to the EU. Altogether, the Premier insisted upon the
particular importance of a "Hungarian-Hungarian" dialogue in
Transylvania, as unity is required under the context of Romania�s
admission to the EU and implicitly of Transylvania. 
Author: DIVERS
summary


Focus

OFFICER FIRED FOR REFUSING TO MARRY COUPLE

CLUJ - A marriage officer who refused to marry three couples because
they said "yes" in other languages before repeating it in Romanian was
fired last week, a city hall official said quoted by the Associated
Press.
The city of Cluj has asked the fired civil servant, Vasile Gherman, to
pay it 50 million lei (US$1,500, euro1,200) to compensate for damages it
had to pay after being sued by the couple he refused to marry, said city
hall spokesman Rares Niculescu.
Gherman refused to officiate the marriage in 2001 because the couple
used the Hungarian "igen" in addition to the Romanian "da" when saying
their marriage vows.
Then in June, Gherman refused to marry an ethnic Hungarian man with dual
Romanian and French citizenship to a Romanian woman after he said yes
first in Hungarian, then in Romanian and finally added the French "oui."
The June incident was the third time Gherman refused to marry a couple
on the grounds that they did not voice their consent first in Romanian,
Niculescu said.
Cluj, a city of 320,000 with an ethnic Hungarian population of almost 20
percent, until June was led by a nationalist mayor, Gheorge Funar, whose
dislike of ethnic Hungarians was well-known. Funar was unseated in last
month's local elections, after 12 years in office, by a candidate from a
centrist party.
A law that took effect in 2001 grants ethnic minorities the right to use
their mother tongue in legal affairs that take place in parts of Romania
where their minority group exceeds 20 percent of the population.
Although Cluj's ethnic Hungarian population falls slightly short of
qualifying the city for that law, the three couples broke no rules
because they used Romanian in addition to other languages.
Author: DIVERS
summary


DIVERS - News bulletin about ethnic minorities living in Romania is
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