MINELRES: Romania: Bulletin DIVERS on Ethnic Minorities no. no. 2 (245) / January 22, 2007

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Divers Bulletin no. 2 (245) / January 22, 2007

News
JEWS IN BUCHAREST COMMEMORATE VICTIMS OF LEGIONNAIRES' POGROM 
MUSLIM LEADER FEARS RELIGIOUS EXTREMISM IN ROMANIA 
ONLY ONE THIRD OF HUNGARIAN CHURCHES' RETROCESSION CLAIMS SOLVED 
OFFICIALS TO START CAMPAIGN FOR PREVENTING EARLY MARRIAGES AMONG ETHNIC
ROMA 
COURSE OF TV JOURNALISM FOR ETHNIC ROMAS 
ASYLUM SEEKING ROMANIAN GYPSIES GET COLD SHOULDER 
------------------------------------------------------------

News

JEWS IN BUCHAREST COMMEMORATE VICTIMS OF LEGIONNAIRES' POGROM 
BUCHAREST - Federation of Jewish Community in Romania, or FJC, and
Community of Jews in Bucharest organized Monday, January 15, at Coral
Temple, a ceremony commemorating the victims of legionnaires' pogrom in
Bucharest, between January 21 and 23, 1941.
The ceremony was attended by tens members of the Jewish communities in
Bucharest, old people who lived during that period and who annually meet
at the Coral Temple to commemorate the people killed 66 years ago by
legionnaires with the "Iron Guard." 
FJC president, deputy Aurel Vainer, opened the ceremony by remembering
the Pogrom history. "We commemorate the martyrs killed for being Jews
and us all, Jews or not, have the duty to commemorate a black page of
the Romanian people's history. We should remember this tragedy every
year to forbid it from happening again," Vainer said. People attending
the commemoration prayed for Romania and Israel, and lit six candles in
honor of the six million Jews killed during the Holocaust.
Author: DIVERS - http://www.divers.ro/


MUSLIM LEADER FEARS RELIGIOUS EXTREMISM IN ROMANIA 
CONSTANTA - Head of Muslim Cult in Romania, Mufti Muurat Iusuf, said
during an interview he fears religious extremism in the Balkan country.
The Mufti said that some 150,000 Muslims currently live in Romania, most
of which are Turks and Tatars ethnics, the rest coming from the East and
Africa. 
The religious dwellings in Romania are practically serving adepts of all
Islamic branches and schools. Muurat Iusuf said the national Muslims are
not used to violent manifests for settling some points of view or to
defend their own principles like those from other cultural areas. 
"I will patronize all Muslims in Romania and Allah forbids us from
happening something, as I should morally answer for other people's
actions and I would not want the Turks and Tatars in Dobrogea are
related to such radical actions towards their conational ethnics, of
other religion," Mufti Muurat Iusuf said. 
Author: DIVERS - http://www.divers.ro/


ONLY ONE THIRD OF HUNGARIAN CHURCHES' RETROCESSION CLAIMS SOLVED 
BUCHAREST - A third of the over 2,000 claims of the Hungarian churches
in Transylvania, on the retrocession of dwellings, fields and connected
fields that belonged to religious cults in Romania were solved,
according to official data. 
The vice-president of the Commission, Marko Attila, member of the
Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania, or UDMR, said Wednesday,
January 17, he hopes retrocession pace becomes more rapid.
A report on December 21, 2006 said the special commission authorized
some 44.97% of the 675 requests of the Hungarian religious cults, while
55.03% of the 826 requests submitted by other religious cults were
authorized.
Marko Attila said that out of the aggregate 2,000 requests, 500 could be
subject to the retrocession of forests and agricultural fields, which
will be automatically sent to the special commissions with Ministry of
Agriculture.
Author: DIVERS - http://www.divers.ro/


OFFICIALS TO START CAMPAIGN FOR PREVENTING EARLY MARRIAGES AMONG ETHNIC
ROMA 
BUCHAREST - Two under-aged girls in an ethnic Roma community in
Rimnicelu, Buzau (southern Romania), have been recently declared
pregnant by medics, local press reports. Police investigates the two
cases and the girls' husbands were drawn up criminal files for sexual
intercourse with under-aged persons. The girls' parents are also subject
to criminal investigations for instigation to sexual intercourse between
under-aged persons.
The above news alerted the authorities that took a stand against this
phenomenon.
National Agency for Roma, or ANR, does not encourage early marriage,
which turn children into parents, within the ethnic Roma tradition, the
ANR president Mariea Ionescu said. On January 12, she attended a meeting
held at the headquarters of Buzau Prefecture, to analyze the situation
among the ethnic Romas in Rimnicelu commune, where girls are ussualy
getting married at 8 or 12 years old.
Authorities aims to develop and enforce a plan of measures on briefing
the ethnic Roma community in Rimnicelu, mainly based on legal, sanitary,
school and civic training. 
Author: DIVERS - http://www.divers.ro/


COURSE OF TV JOURNALISM FOR ETHNIC ROMAS 
BUCHAREST - Resource Center for Roma Community (CRDE) in partnership
with TV studios TVR Craiova, TVR Cluj and TVR Timisoara, has launched
the TV journalism training program for young ethnic Romas, within the
project "Roma Media - More Professional Roma Media in Romania, focusing
upon the anti-discrimination legislation." 
The program aims to train a body of young TV ethnic Roma journalists who
bring their contribution to informing the Roma and non-Roma youngsters
upon the problems faced by the ethnic Roma communities. 
The program is financed with Phare funds, and consists in four training
modules to take place in Iasi, eastern Romania, and a training module in
Cluj-Napoca, western Romania. The four training modules will teach basic
notions on: drafting TV news, interviews, relationship with cameraman,
and with the other TV crew members. 
Author: DIVERS - http://www.divers.ro/


ASYLUM SEEKING ROMANIAN GYPSIES GET COLD SHOULDER 
DUBLIN - Asylum applications by more than 200 Roma gypsies from Romania
have been rejected without even being considered, Justice Minister
Michael McDowell revealed. But civil liberties campaigners warned there
was confusion as to how they ended up in the system as they are citizens
of the European Union and had a right to freedom of movement, Irish
Times reports.
The 220 Romas applied for asylum to the Office of the Refugee
Applications Commissioner in the last week.
But outlining what he said was "firm action to deal with influx of
Romanian asylum seekers", Mr McDowell said he would apply an EU treaty
which blocked applications from EU citizens unless there are exceptional
circumstances such as human rights abuses.
Mr McDowell said: "I am taking this firm action now in order to prevent
the institution of asylum and our asylum determination process being
resorted to for purposes other than those for which they are intended.
"It is abundantly clear that this is the situation which applies in the
current circumstances and requires immediate firm action."
The Department of Justice said the Romanians, on their asylum
applications, said they wished to improve their economic well-being and
to access the labour market. And the department also said they indicated
an intention to avail of health and housing services in the state.
Under law, Romanians and Bulgarians, despite becoming EU citizens on
January 1, cannot come to Ireland to work, nor can they claim benefits
on arrival. But it is understood they could travel to Ireland and stay
for three months without applying for asylum or registering their
presence in the country.
Officials could however block their entry on the grounds that they had
no financial means to live or are a threat to national security. It is
understood a number of NGOs working with refugees believe the Romanians
made the applications by mistake.
And Peter O'Mahony, chairman of the Irish Council for Civil Liberties,
said there was confusion over how the Romanians ended up in the asylum
system. "I can't think of a good reason why Romanians or Bulgarians
would voluntarily go into the asylum system where they are going to be
in fairly rigidly controlled accommodation and guaranteed a cash income
of only EUR19.10 a week," Mr O'Mahony said.
"They are not allowed to work. They are limited in access to education
for adults and their children almost uniquely have no entitlement to
child benefit."
The Romanians do have the right to stay in Ireland for three months,
after that they must seek permanent residency but it is understood some
of them are already making arrangements to return home. 
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 Project on Ethnic Relations - Regional Center for
Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe. 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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