MINELRES: Romania: Bulletin DIVERS on Ethnic Minorities no. 42 (238) / November 20, 2006

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Divers Bulletin no. 42 (238) / November 20, 2006

News

RIOT AMONG THE ETHNIC ROMAS IN ROMANIA'S CAP CITY GHETTO 
ULTRA-NATIONALIST ORGANIZATION UNDER PENAL PURSUIT FOR DISCRIMINATION
ACTIONS 
ROMANIA, HUNGARY HOLD JOINT GOVERNMENTAL MEETING, SIGN ACCORDS 
STEP AHEAD TO RECONCILIATION AMONG HUNGARIAN ETHNICS 
INTERNATIONAL SEMINAR "HISTORY AND EDUCATION IN CONTEMPORARY EUROPE" 

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News

RIOT AMONG THE ETHNIC ROMAS IN ROMANIA'S CAP CITY GHETTO 
BUCHAREST - Tens ethnic Romas in Ferentari, namely a poor district of
Romania's capital city Bucharest, revolted Tuesday, November 14, because
they were disconnected from electric power supply network.
They said that people have to illegally connect to the electric power
network as the employees with the City Hall of district 5 refuse to sign
their contracts with Electrica electric power supplier. Some 200
inhabitants in this particular district Tuesday set on fire tires to
block the traffic and broke the window of firefighters' vehicle. The
protesters were dissatisfied with the lack of interest from the city
hall's representatives who refused to meet them. 
Some politicians used the dissatisfaction of the people in Ferentari,
most of which are ethnic Romas, for gaining political capital. 
Over 990 persons or 410 families live in Zabrauti area, Ferentari
district, a social investigation revealed. Some 110 of these persons do
not have legal identity papers. The investigation covers 70% of the
inhabitants in this area. 
Author: DIVERS - http://www.divers.ro/


ULTRA-NATIONALIST ORGANIZATION UNDER PENAL PURSUIT FOR DISCRIMINATION
ACTIONS 
BUCHAREST - Romania's Council to Fight Discrimination, or CNCD,
penalized several members with the ultra-nationalist Noua Dreapta
organization for having published on the organization's website several
defamatory articles against the ethnic Roma minority. 
Roma organization Romani CRISS lodged a complained on April 28, 2006,
regarding the fact the website www.nouadreapta.org contained several
articles with a degrading, humiliating and offending content against the
ethnic Roma minority. Thus, penal complaints were lodged at CNCD, and
the Prosecutors' Office attached by the district 1 Courthouse. 
The Ministry of Administration and of the Interior was submitted an
address on this issue. Romani CRISS lodged a penal complaint against the
Noua Drepta organization and against its leader, Tudor Ionescu. The file
is currently under penal pursuit with the Prosecutors' Office attached
by the Bucharest Courthouse. 
Author: DIVERS - http://www.divers.ro/


ROMANIA, HUNGARY HOLD JOINT GOVERNMENTAL MEETING, SIGN ACCORDS
A host of mutual co-operation issues were on the agenda of a joint
meeting of the Romanian and Hungarian governments. It ended in Budapest
on November 16 with the signing of a series of agreements, including
ones related to Hungarian minority in Romania, SE Times reports.

Emphasising the importance of leaving behind historical disputes,
Romania and Hungary vowed las week to work together in the EU and to
promote common and regional interests. We will co-operate "for the
consolidation of a united Europe, a Europe based on the fundamental
values of democracy, human rights and the state of law," Romanian Prime
Minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu said, quoting a declaration he and his
Hungarian counterpart, Ferenc Gyurcsany, signed at the end of a daylong
joint governmental session in Budapest. 
Taking place less than seven weeks before Romania's entry into the EU on
January 1st, the meeting -- the second in this format in 13 months --
focused on the co-ordination of the two countries' economic development
plans and joint projects in various sectors, including transportation
and infrastructure. 
One of the issues discussed Thursday was a project for the construction
of a gold mine at Rosia Montana in Romania, some 190km east of the
country's border with Hungary. The project involves the use of a
cyanide-based technology for the extraction of gold. Hungary is worried
about the potential for an environmental catastrophe similar to the one
caused by another Romanian mine in 2000. 
"We are full of concerns because we have questions about a series of
issues," the AP quoted Gyurcsany as saying at a joint press conference
with Tariceanu after Thursday's meeting. Tariceanu assured him that the
project, which is opposed by Greenpeace and other environmental
watchdogs, "will be carried out if all international and European
environmental criteria" are met. "At the moment it is too early to give
an opinion since not all of the [environmental impact] studies have been
completed," he added, promising, "total transparency". 
Another item on the agenda concerned the issue of autonomy for ethnic
Hungarians in Romania. The countries still differ over this. 
According to the Hungarian news agency MTI, a total of ten agreements
were signed at the end of the meeting, including on EU-related
activities, the Danube and Tisza rivers, simplifying the cross-border
regime and on projects in the infrastructure and transport sectors,
including the construction of a natural gas pipeline between the cities
of Szeged in Hungary and Arad in Romania. The two cabinets also agreed
on the establishment of a joint commission to work on the drafting of a
common history handbook by 2010. 
Speaking at Thursday's joint press conference with Tariceanu, Gyurcsany
said Hungary plans to partially open its labour market to Romanians
after their country joins the EU. 
"We want to open it up as much as we can without endangering Hungarian
interests," Gyurcsany said. He also announced plans to establish a
12m-euro - 19m-euro fund in support of small and medium Hungarian
enterprises that want to enter the Romanian market. 
Author: DIVERS - http://www.divers.ro/


STEP AHEAD TO RECONCILIATION AMONG HUNGARIAN ETHNICS 
TARGU-MURES - The Standing Bureaus with the National Szeckler's Council,
or CNS, and the National Council of Hungarians in Transylvania, or CNMT,
held a joint meeting on November 11, in Targu Mures, which symbolized
the reconciliation between the representatives of the two organizations
after two years of conflicts.
CNS leader Fodor Imre believes this reconciliation comes at the right
time, prior to Romania's accession to the European Union on January 1.
All demands, including those on the territorial autonomy of the
Szeckler's County and on the personal autonomy of the Hungarians in
Transylvania should be submitted to the European Parliament and to the
European Union as well. Some politicians criticize the lack of a unitary
conception on the autonomy, the demand on autonomy coming whether from
CNS, CNMT or from the Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania, or
UDMR, Fodor said.
"The demands were chaotically presented and no result was reached but
the situation will be settled by December, following the joint request
of all organizations and Hungarian churches in Transylvania," Fodor
said.
CNMT president Tokes Laszlo also announced the upcoming Meetings of
Standing Bureaus of CNMT and CNS as well as the Plenary Meeting of CNMT,
to solve the conflicts between CNS and CNMT.
"The support of the Szeckler members will help us solve these
organizational, structural issues for a tighter and efficient
collaboration," Tokes said. 
Author: DIVERS - http://www.divers.ro/


INTERNATIONAL SEMINAR "HISTORY AND EDUCATION IN CONTEMPORARY EUROPE"
BUCHAREST - National Institute to Study the Holocaust in Romania's
capital city Bucharest held Thursday, November 9, the international
seminar on "History and Education in Contemporary Europe." 
Targeting the history teachers in secondary, high school and academic
education as well as the students, the meeting aims to inform the
participants on the Holocaust and the way people perceived it after the
-90s, Rompres said. The meeting gathered teachers, diplomats, important
persons of the scientific and cultural life countrywide and abroad, and
promoted the ideals of the "Task Force for International Cooperation on
Holocaust Education, Remembrance and Research" (ITF).
Prof. univ. dr. Paul A. Levine, director with the program to study the
Holocaust and genocide issue within the University in Uppsala, Sweden,
said Romania's history during the Holocaust was "difficult." He also
said "the recognition of the Holocaust is a European pass for Romania,"
"a normal standard whose denial alienates us from a civilized world." 
Historian Viorel Achim, researcher with the National Institute to Study
the Holocaust Archives said in turn the simple Romanians in villages and
towns protested against the ethnic Romas deportation order of marshal
Ion Antonescu, but not against the Jews deportation order. 
"During the Second World War, Antonescu's policy on ethnic Romas
deportation lacked the consent of the Romanian people," Achim said. 
Author: DIVERS - http://www.divers.ro/



DIVERS - News bulletin about ethnic minorities living in Romania is
edited every week by Balkan Investigative Reporting Network, 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 source is
mentioned. You can send messages and suggestions regarding the content
of DIVERS bulletin at Balkan Investigative Reporting Network, at the
e-mail address:
marian@birn.eu.com

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