World

France: Roma may file charges against Interior Minister for inciting hatred

Paris, 22.3.2013 15:52, (ROMEA) The Romani community of France is considering filing charges against Interior Minister Manuel Valls for incitement of racial hatred after he was quoted in the right-wing paper Le Figaro as saying that Romani people who come to live in France "obviously do not want to integrate into society". The community accuses the minister of targeting Romani people on the basis of their ethnicity and race.  full story

ENAR and UNITED for Intercultural Action: The charter for political parties for a non-racist society: a message for elections

Amsterdam/Brussels, 21.3.2013 13:40, (ROMEA) On the occasion of International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, ENAR and UNITED for Intercultural Action call upon political parties across Europe to re-affirm the principles of the Charter for political parties for a non-racist society and to speak clearly against racism and other forms of discrimination against minorities.  full story

ERIO: It is our collective obligation to combat anti-Gypsyism

Brussels, 21.3.2013 13:12, (ROMEA) On the International Day for the Elimination of Racism, ERIO would like to remind people and governments of the negative and destructive consequences of racial discrimination. History shows that racism is often a key ingredient in the development of violent conflict, and has been responsible for some of the worst atrocities committed by mankind.  full story

Joint Statement on International Day for Elimination of Racial Discrimination

Vienna, 21.3.2013 11:39, (ROMEA) he social fallout from the ongoing global economic crisis must not become an excuse to allow racism and prejudice to go unchecked, said Morten Kjaerum, Director of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), Ambassador Janez Lenarčič, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), and Eva Smith Asmussen, Chair of the Council of Europe's European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI), in a joint statement to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.  full story

Giving Roma people the opportunities they deserve as EU citizens

Brussels, 20.3.2013 0:29, (ROMEA) Never in recent history has a European minority been more neglected and discriminated against. For decades Roma people all across Europe have been faced with systematic discrimination and denied the most fundamental rights to decent living conditions and opportunities. The lack of integration of Roma is not new. EU member states have long expressed their concerns about the situation but lacked the political will to truly act on it.  full story

Council of Europe Congress launches the European Alliance of Cities and Regions for Roma Inclusion

Strasbourg, 20.3.2013 0:25, (ROMEA) A major priority of the Council of Europe, to improve the situation of Roma people, will move a step closer to being realised with the launch of the European Alliance of Cities and Regions for Roma Inclusion during the 24th Session of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities.  full story

Roma Exclusion in Europe: Do you know? Do you care?

Brussels, 19.3.2013 23:48, (ROMEA) European Roma Grassroots Organizations Network (ERGO) staff and members walked out, last Friday, on a European Commission (EC) conference with the aim of signalling to the organizers and speakers that systematically ignoring Roma people and Roma experts during the process of formulation of policies targeting the Roma is unacceptable.  full story

videoBulgarian man shoots dead three Romani people before committing suicide

Sofia, Bulgaria, 19.3.2013 19:44, (ROMEA) On Monday evening in Sofia a man of Bulgarian nationality allegedly shot dead three members of a Romani family who were his neighbors before committing suicide. Media reports say the tragedy took place in a part of the capital predominantly inhabited by Romani residents.  full story

videoLatvia: Hundreds celebrate Nazi "legionnaires", Russians counter-protest

Riga, Latvia, 18.3.2013 23:40, (ROMEA) Hundreds of Latvians marched on Saturday 16 March 2013 through the capital, Riga, to celebrate armed Latvian SS units who fought side-by-side with the Germans during WWII against the Soviet Union. Anti-fascists and representatives of the Russian minority protested against the "legionnaires' march", as is now traditional.  full story

videoSlovakia: MPs, Mayor of Bratislava unable to block neo-Nazi march

Bratislava, Slovakia, 16.3.2013 22:13, (ROMEA) Approximately 100 demonstrators did not manage to blockade a march today by promoters of the ultra-right who gathered in Bratislava on the occasion of the 74th anniversary of the creation of the fascist Slovak state. Around 200 followers of the ultra-right Slovak Solidarity association (Slovenská pospolitost - SP) met in front of the office of Slovak President Ivan Gašparovič after 14:00 to march through the streets of Bratislava to the grave of wartime leader Jozef Tiso at the Martinský Cemetery. Tiso was sentenced to death for war crimes and executed in 1947.  full story

French Interior Minister: Romani integration not succeeding

France, 15.3.2013 23:21, (ROMEA) French Interior Minister Manuel Valls (Socialist Party) said today that Romani people coming to France from other EU states evidently do not want to integrate. In his view, the government's efforts to facilitate housing and work for Romani immigrants have met with a lack of interest.  full story

AI: The President’s visit to Ostrava should send a strong signal against discrimination of Roma

Ostrava, 15.3.2013 17:03, (ROMEA) The new President of the Czech Republic is visiting the city of Ostrava today. In Ostrava and the Czech Republic at large, Roma are experiencing widespread discrimination in access to adequate housing, education, healthcare and protection from violence and harassment.  full story

Slovakia: Blockade of Neo-Nazi march in Bratislava tomorrow

Bratislava, Slovakia, 15.3.2013 16:28, (ROMEA) On Saturday 16 March a non-violent blockade of a neo-Nazi march will take place in Bratislava. The blockade will start at 14:00 on Náměstí SNP.  full story

Transnational network wants to help Romani children access education

Bucharest, Romania, 10.3.2013 18:20, (ROMEA) The Romani CRISS organization of Romania, in collaboration with the FXB Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University, the Greek Helsinki Committee, the European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) in Budapest, the Life Together (Vzájemné soužití) civic association in the Czech Republic and the Integro association of Bulgaria are implementing a project called DARE-net - the Desegregation and Action for Roma in Education network. The aim of this project is to create a transnational network of non-Romani and Romani civil society organizations to analyze, together with the academic community, initiatives and processes addressing the segregation of Romani children in the schools of Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, and Romania.  full story

Demonstration in Bratislava: Roma reject welfare, want work

Bratislava, Slovakia, 6.3.2013 17:50, (ROMEA) The TASR press agency reports that about 70 Romani people gathered today in Bratislava in front of the headquarters of the Labor Ministry for a protest march organized by the extra-parliamentary Romani Union Party in Slovakia (Strana romské unie na Slovensku - SRÚS). Protesters demanded the government ensure them a dignified life and jobs.  full story

German legislator: Balkan Romani "tramps" are coming to fill their bellies

Bremen, 5.3.2013 22:33, (ROMEA) The Social Democratic Party (SPD) in Bremen, Germany has a serious problem. Party member Martin Korol, who has been a member of the state legislature for less than a month (since 12 February) has published an attack against Romani people on his website, describing them as "tramps" from the Balkans whom he believes are coming to Bremen for the sole purpose of "filling their bellies".  full story

Lech Walesa wants sexual minorities back in the closet

Warsaw, 5.3.2013 17:16, (ROMEA) Former Polish President and Nobel Peace Prize winner Lech Walesa has taken a stand against sexual minorities. Same-sex marriage is being debated in Poland, and on a television program last Friday evening Walesa let it be known, among other things, that he is bothered by members of sexual minorities being represented among Polish MPs.  full story

Der Spiegel: Germany doesn't want Romani people in Schengen

Berlin, 5.3.2013 16:21, (ROMEA) The latest issue of Der Spiegel magazine reports that while no one in the German government has ever officially stated the policy (and probably never will), it is completely evident whom it targets: Germany has been rattled by the immigration of Romani people from Bulgaria and Romania, which is why it doesn't want to open its doors to citizens from the two poorest states on Europe's border.  full story

Greece: Neo-Nazi agitators focusing on six-year-olds

Greece, 4.3.2013 23:53, (ROMEA) Czech news server Týden.cz reports that the ultra-right Golden Dawn Party in Greece is now targeting children between six and 10 years of age. The party's main aim is to provide the children with a "spiritual awakening".  full story

ROMEA joins declaration of solidarity with Syrian civilians

Prague, 1.3.2013 23:25, (ROMEA) The ROMEA association has joined an initiative expressing solidarity with civilians in Syria afflicted by the armed conflict that has been ongoing there for some time. Through its declarations (an open letter and a petition) the initiative is calling on Czech politicians, the European Union and the United Nations to open cross-border corridors for humanitarian aid, mainly from Turkey. Today aid is primarily not reaching the people living in northern Syria on territory in the hands of the opposition. Below please find the full translation of the declaration:  full story