MINELRES: Romania: Bulletin DIVERS on Ethnic Minorities - 23 (151)/2005
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Tue Jun 21 18:22:01 2005
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Divers Bulletin no. 23 (151) / June 20, 2005
News
ETHNIC HUNGARIANS REMAIN DIVIDED AS REGARD THE AUTHONOMY
UDMR LEADER CALLS FOR UNITY ON MINORITIES LAW
UCM OPEN TO DIALOGUE WITH CIVIC FORUM
TRAIAN BASESCU: "WE HAVE CONSTRAINTS ON GIVING ROMANIAN CITIZENSHIP�
''ROMA PEOPLE OF THE 21st CENTURY'' � SEMINAR FOR ETHNIC ROMA IN ROMANIA
CRAIOVA MAYOR FINED AFTER INSULTING ETHNIC ROMA
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News
ETHNIC HUNGARIANS REMAIN DIVIDED AS REGARD THE AUTHONOMY
BUCHAREST - Hungarian Democratic Alliance (UDMR) group in the Chamber of
Deputies and the Senate decided last week not to submit to the Parliament the
law draft on the National Szeckler�s Council (CNS) on the autonomy of the
Szeckler�s County, this decision being subsequently harshly criticized by
several ethnic Hungarian autonomous leaders.
UDMR deputy Marton Arpad stated on Thursday, June 9, the parliamentarians of
the Union claim that by now, this group has focused on the law draft on the
national minorities and the Union must also focus upon this issue and not on
CNS�s law draft.
Marton stated the law draft on the autonomy of the Szeckler�s County (a region
in southern Transylvania were majority of the population is of ethnic Hungarian
origin) cannot be submitted to the Parliament as it has many mistakes and its
current draft has already been rejected by the Parliament last year.
According to UDMR deputy, subsequent to the enactment of the law draft on the
national minorities, the next problem to be solved is that of decentralization,
of passing a law in that respect.
The decision of UDMR parliamentarians was harshly criticized by the leadership
of Covasna Civic Ethnic Hungarian Union. The chairman of the local branch Gazda
Zoltan stated that through this decision, UDMR has clearly sent the message
that UDMR dignitaries "serve their own interests and those of the Government
and not the interests of the ethnic Hungarian community".
According to him, "the ethnic Hungarian nation is betrayed through such
criminal and sinful actions". UCM Covasna leader stated that half a year ago,
UDMR leaders "were shouting Autonomy for the Szeckler�s County!�, and now CNS�s
law draft on the autonomy of the Szeckler�s County is being rejected. According
to Gazda, despite the fact UDMR group in the Senate and in the Chamber of
Deputies decided not to submit CNS bill to the Parliament, UCM Covasna is
drawing the attention that through individual attention, a parliamentarian
could honour the request of the National Szeckler�s Council.
In answer, UDMR Sfintu Gheorghe chairman Toth Birtan Csaba stated during a
press conference, the law on the minorities does not solve all the complaints
of the ethnic Hungarian community in Romania, but it is �a good starting
point''.
The leaders of the National Szeckler�s Council (CNS) summoned in an open
letter, UDMR parliamentarians, especially those in counties Covasna, Harghita
and Mures, to submit to the Parliament the law draft on the autonomy of the
Szeckler�s County. CNS shows that in May, he addressed all UDMR
parliamentarians, a request to submit the Parliament the statute of autonomy,
but no answer was received.
Author: DIVERS
UDMR LEADER CALLS FOR UNITY ON MINORITIES LAW
CLUJ-NAPOCA - Hungarian Democratic Alliance (UDMR) leader Marko Bela asked
Hungarians opposed to the law for national minorities not to mislead the
Hungarian community in Transylvania.
He said the national minorities' law draft, which was developed by his party,
was opposed by both Romanian ultranationalists and some Hungarians who "would
do anything to prevent it from coming in effect."
He said the Hungarians' opposition in this case is mostly directed against his
party, not the law itself. Marko also asked those who oppose the law not to
mislead the whole Hungarian community.
Author: DIVERS
UCM OPEN TO DIALOGUE WITH CIVIC FORUM
GHEORGHENI - Hungarian Civic Union (UCM) Gheorgheni organization invited the
Romanian Civic Forum from Harghita and Covasna counties to a debate in order to
clarify aspects of its territorial autonomy.
UCM officials said they are expecting the representatives of the forum to
contact them. According to the press office of the Romanians' Civic Forum from
Harghita and Covasna Counties, its leaders will respond to the UCM's press
release after consulting its members. The forum was officially constituted in
the beginning of June and encompasses 13 foundations and associations of
Romanians living in Harghita and Covasna counties.
Author: DIVERS
TRAIAN BASESCU: "WE HAVE CONSTRAINTS ON GIVING ROMANIAN CITIZENSHIP�
BUCHAREST � During a meeting with the students from Faculty of Sociology in
Bucharest president Traian Basescu stated the accession to the European Union
required the enactment of some standards limiting the procedure to grant
Romanian citizenship. "We have constraints on granting the Romanian
citizenship, which we settled ourselves", said Basescu, cited by agency
Romanian Global News. Through the signup of the Accession Treaty to the EU,
Romania settled certain standards in the relation with the Romanian ethnics
around the borders, especially with those in the former Romanian areas,
Republic of Moldova (also known as Bessarabia) and Bucovina (now in Ukraine),
seriously affected by the introduction of the visa system, the case of Ukraine
or the re-acquirement of the Romanian citizenship, in case of Bessarabia. Most
of the unofficial dissatisfactions showed during this conference came from the
Romanian students in Bessarabia who "saw" the president�s intervention on
reacquiring Romanian citizenship like an exaggerated diplomacy within the
context that countries such as Bulgaria are having an aggressive upfront
campaign to grant Bulgarian citizenship to the Bulgarian ethnics in Bessarabia.
Basescu explained the slow rhythm to reacquire the citizenship is caused by the
agreements signed by Romania on rendering the Schengen area safer as well as
the tight relations between Kishinev and Bucharest in the last seven years. The
President tried to outline the Romanian-Moldova relationship, stressing upon
that only complying with the sovereignty of Moldova it is reached a
constructive dialogue. "If we start from the premise we are the same nation but
two independent and sovereign states, we have much to gain. We settled this
with president Voronin and I think that at that time we underwent a
constructive dialogue based upon mutual respect. This style is preferable to a
superior position, which has been enforced by now", also stated Basescu.
Author: DIVERS
''ROMA PEOPLE OF THE 21st CENTURY'' � SEMINAR FOR ETHNIC ROMA IN ROMANIA
BUCHAREST � The organization Project on Ethnic Relations (PER) � Center for the
South-Eastern Europe organized on June 15 the seminar ''Ethnic Roma in the 21st
century. Structural Funds � support of the policies for ethnic Roma'', which
was focused on urging the implementation of the National Plan to Develop the
Structural Funds of the EU in the field of policies for this ethnic minority.
Especially meant to eliminate the discrimination and to improve the ethnic Roma
poor living conditions, the structural funds could be accessed for the benefit
of the ethnic Roma in our country, immediately after the accession in 2007,
provided the authorities hurry up.
Representatives of the directly involved funds, Ministries of Labour and Public
Finances, UNDP, National Council to Fight Discrimination as well as the non-
governmental organizations of the ethnic Roma approached issues such as:
existence of a strategy on the ethnic Roma community and whether this has the
expected impact upon the difficult situations of the ethnic Roma in Romania,
the way there are accomplished the national and regional consultations on these
issues between the main players involved or the way the ethnic Roma themselves
collaborate to draw up the National Plan and the Operational Program etc.
Out of the communitarian perspective, the funds � about EUR14 bn stipulated for
this sector for the stage 2007-2013 � are meant only for the economic increase,
job recruitment and not for the passive social support (social aids, pensions,
allowances etc.) or for the construction of houses, for example. Thus, the
important problems of the community connected to the weak professional
training, the restrained access to the properly paid jobs or to education are
solved with money from the European Community.
''Undoubtedly, the European Commission and the European Parliament are giving
special care to the problems of the ethnic Roma in the countries that have
recently adhered or are about to adhere to the Union. Many improvements have
been registered in the past years and many problems are still to be solved
among the community in Romania. We all realize the situation of the ethnic Roma
could not be rapidly solved but the correct use of the Structural Funds will
bring about a radical change'', stated PER chairman Livia Plaks.
The Development Plan must be finalized by 2006 and the negotiations must start
up at Brussels, for the ethnic Roma to benefit from these funds immediately
after the accession. ''Romania is moving too slowly as regards the funds
management. We want to boost the development of the action plan. There is still
a discrepancy between the political declarations in Bucharest and the reality
of the ethnic Roma living status � this is not only the case of Romania.
Everything can be solved with political will. Unless we stipulate a special
chapter for the ethnic Roma in the National Plan, the funds can be used for
everything else except for changing the faith of the community'', also said
Silvia Plaks.
For the time being, in Romania, the ethnic Roma are officially declared ''a
disadvantaged social group subjected to the exclusion'', and at the level of
the Ministry of Labour, Social Solidarity and Family and Ministry of Finances,
starting May 2004, there have been established inter-institutional working
groups specialized on each of the main problems of the community.
Author: DIVERS
CRAIOVA MAYOR FINED AFTER INSULTING ETHNIC ROMA
BUCHAREST � National Council to Fight Discrimination (CNCD) penalized Antonie
Solomon, the mayor of Craiova (southern Romania) with a fine of ROL15 mn (some
Eur 400). In an interview given to a central daily, Solomon also referred to
some of the ethnic Roma who live in the same city as he does, according to
CNCD, "in an offending and insulting manner", which created "a hostile and
degrading atmosphere". Solomon relapsed after having previously
made "discriminatory statements regarding some African football players of FC
Universitatea Craiova".
Author: DIVERS
DIVERS - News bulletin about ethnic minorities living in Romania is edited
every week by MEDIAFAX, with the financial support of King Baudouin Foundation,
Belgium and Ethnocultural Diversity Resource Center. Partial or full
reproduction of the information contained in DIVERS is allowed only if the
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