MINELRES: Romania: Bulletin DIVERS on Ethnic Minorities - 16 (99)/2004

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Divers Bulletin no. 16 (99) / May 10, 2004

News

     ROMANIA DECLARED OCTOBER 9 HOLOCAUST DAY

     ROMANIA JOINS UN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION

     UDMR RUNNING OWN CANDIDATE IN CLUJ LOCAL ELECTIONS



News

ROMANIA DECLARED OCTOBER 9 HOLOCAUST DAY

Romania bowed to pressure from Jewish groups Friday and agreed to set
October 9 as the country's official memorial day for victims of the Nazi
Holocaust, related UPI. "The government decided that the day of October
9 will be the Holocaust Day," said Rares Petrisor, an adviser to Prime
Minister Adrian Nastase, cited by Reuters. The day will commemorates the
mass deportation of Jews to ghettos and forced labour camps in 1941 by
Romania's war-time marshal and Nazi ally Ion Antonescu. Holocaust Day is
part of a series of measures agreed by Bucharest after the diplomatic
row, including setting up an international commission to bring light on
the events of the time and teaching about the Holocaust in Romanian
schools. Historian Lya Benjamin said the government and the Jewish
community would draw a plan on marking the day. Romania's Jewish
community welcomed the decision, saying it would help shine the light on
Romania's role in the Holocaust. "It is a laudable initiative, a
Holocaust Day in Romania was necessary," said Sorin Iulian, general
secretary of the Federation of Jewish Communities in Romania. Romania
got into a major row with Israel last year after refusing even to admit
the Holocaust had taken place on its soil. Around 400,000 Jews from
Romania are known to have died during World War II.
Author: DIVERS
summary


ROMANIA JOINS UN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION

Romania on 4 May became a member of the UN Commission on Human Rights
for the period 2005-2007, according to a
Romanian Foreign Ministry press release, RFE/RL related. The press
release said Romania is highly interested in actively participating in
the committee's work and also trying to make it more efficient. The
protection of minority rights and prevention of all kinds of
discrimination are priorities of both the committee and Romania, the
press release stated.
Author: DIVERS
summary


UDMR RUNNING OWN CANDIDATE IN CLUJ LOCAL ELECTIONS

The Hungarian Democratic Federation of Romania (UDMR) nominated Andras
Mate on 28 April as its mayoral candidate in the June local elections in
Cluj, RFE/RL reported. UDMR Cluj branch Chairman Sandor Hamar Konya said
his party might withdraw Mate's candidacy if an agreement is reached
with the Social Democratic Party (PSD) ahead of the elections. According
to Konya, such an accord would be contingent on the PSD agreeing to
several UDMR conditions that include the opening of two
Hungarian-language faculties at Cluj's Babes-Bolyai University, ending
archeological excavations around Cluj's Hungarian Roman Catholic
cathedral, and displaying official bilingual and trilingual (Romanian,
Hungarian, and German) street signs in Cluj. Controversial Cluj
journalist Sabin Gherman also announced on 28 April that he will run for
mayor as a candidate of the Christian Democratic Party. Gherman is the
author of a 1998 manifesto calling for the dismemberment of the unitary
state and for enlarged regional autonomy.
Author: DIVERS
summary


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