MINELRES: Bulletin DIVERS on Ethnic Minorities - 37 (120)/2004

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Divers Bulletin no. 37 (120) / October 25, 2004
News

CRITICIAL REPORT ON COMPLYING WITH THE MINORITY RIGHTS IN ROMANIA

HEALTH MINISTRY NOT TO GIVE-UP SANITARY MEDIATORS FOR ROMA COMMUNITIES

HUNGARIAN MINORITY CONCERNED ABOUT PARLIAMENTARY REPRESENTATION...

...AND WANTS AUTONOMY FOR HUNGARIAN MINORITY BY AMENDING THE
CONSTITUTION


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News

CRITICIAL REPORT ON COMPLYING WITH THE MINORITY RIGHTS IN ROMANIA

BUCHAREST � Non-governmental Organizations Romani Criss and European
Roma Information Office (ERIO) published a report stressing out some
progresses regarding policies meant for Roma minority, through the
enactment of governmental measures, a proof in that respect being an
anti-discrimination legislation.
Through implementing the Governmental strategy of improving Roma�s
condition, important steps are made for ameliorating the living standard
of this ethnic, but concrete results are still missing. �We could speak
about a blockage, the governmental strategy is worrying, the political
will exists but it is not enforced. It is generous, but it a long road
from Victoria Palace to a village�s mayoralty�, claims Costel Bercus,
CEO with �Romani Criss�.
On the other hand, the report mirrors cases of discrimination and abuse
from some representatives of public institutions. 
Author: DIVERS


HEALTH MINISTRY NOT TO GIVE-UP SANITARY MEDIATORS FOR ROMA COMMUNITIES

BUCHAREST � Health Ministry (MS) decided to keep in 2005 the system of
sanitary mediators in the local communities, after during MS�s College
session, an evaluation of this year�s activity was performed. The
community assistants and the sanitary mediators have been working in the
local communities and in the Roma communities since 2002.
Nowadays, 330 community assistants are working with the socio-economical
depressed population in 18 counties countrywide covering 390
communities. The assistants� task is to monitor the population medically
for identifying the persons unsubscribed on the lists of family medics,
especially the pregnant women and the children. In addition, through the
counseling offered the families and especially to pregnant women it is
aimed at decreasing the number of abandoned children.
The community sanitary mediator is coming from Roma communities and
enables the Roma population�s access to preventive and curative
services, provides information on the modality to acquire the quality of
insured in the system of health insurances as well as first aid notions.
A number of 168 sanitary mediators are working in 37 counties
countrywide, subsequent to their activity over 45,000 persons being
registered in the system of health insurances.
Author: DIVERS


HUNGARIAN MINORITY CONCERNED ABOUT PARLIAMENTARY REPRESENTATION...

CLUJ - Hungarian Democratic Federation of Romania (UDMR) parliamentary
Deputy Arpad Marton told journalists on 15 October that the Hungarian
minority might fail to be represented in the next parliament because of
the Hungarian Civic Union (UCM), which intends to run on separate lists,
RFE/RL reported. Marton said the UCM does not stand a chance of passing
the 5 percent electoral hurdle but might garner enough support to keep
the UDMR from reaching that threshold. Former UDMR Honorary Chairman
Bishop Laszlo Toekes on 17 October offered to help establish a dialogue
between the UDMR and the UCM. UCM members refused to participate in the
UDMR internal primaries that designated candidates for its lists. UDMR
Chairman Bela Marko said in Cluj on 15 October that the UDMR wants to
achieve autonomy for Romania's Hungarians by amending the constitution
and that this is possible only by dialogue with the ethnic majority. The
UCM accuses the UDMR of having abandoned that goal.
Author: DIVERS


...AND WANTS AUTONOMY FOR HUNGARIAN MINORITY BY AMENDING THE
CONSTITUTION

CLUJ � UDMR supports the accomplishment of autonomy for the Magyar
community through amending the Constitution of Romania, informs the
electoral program of the Union "Dialogue for autonomy", launched, on
Friday, October 15, at Cluj-Napoca.
UDMR�s vice-president Koto Jozsef, the coordinator of the commission for
drawing up the program, stated during a press conference, it is required
the amendment of the Constitution "for a real self-governing in the
field of culture and education". "The program must become a regional
strategy so that this area is prosperous", stated Koto Jozsef.
On his turn, UDMR�s chairman Marko Bela stated during the same press
conference, the Magyar minority hopes to get different forms of autonomy
after the elections, only through dialogue with Roma majority.
In its electoral program, UDMR settled legislative tasks in the interest
of establishing a community autonomy, the first being the Constitution
amendment.
"It is required the enactment of the constitutional guarantees according
to which the admission to the EU and the admission protects and supports
the Magyar national identity in Transylvania. The autonomous public
local administration should be considered an independent power within
the system of state power division as well as the transfer of some tasks
of state sovereignty to the institutions of national communities",
informs the program "Dialogue for autonomy".
Author: DIVERS


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