January, 2008

Italy

Posted Thu, 01/31/2008 - 1:17pm by admin


Summary

Kosovo

Posted Thu, 01/31/2008 - 12:43pm by admin


Summary

Ethnic Cleansing in Italy

Posted Wed, 01/30/2008 - 3:23pm

"The situation of the Rrom in Italy is getting more and more tragic. Both the central and local authorities are systematically carrying out this ethnic cleansing, in violation of the international laws on human rights. Recently the Italian Home Secretary, Massimo D’Alema, on a visit to the Romanian Home Secretary, Adrian Cioroianu, played down the extent of this persecution against the Rrom in Italy by saying: “We have only expelled 163”. The truth is, the Italian institutions have been carrying out a ruthless “Rrom hunt” for some time.

Saving Sulukule

Posted Wed, 01/30/2008 - 3:22pm

"The Sulukule district has been the home of the Rroms community since the Byzantine period and it became the first sedentary Rrom settlement in the world in the 15th Century under the sultan Mehmet the Conqueror, the protagonist of the fall of Constantinople. The houses, the streets, the entire district of Sulukule are parts of an extraordinary monument that represents an age and an ancient people: a precious and priceless World Heritage Site.

The Ostrava Decision

Posted Wed, 01/30/2008 - 3:21pm

"In a momentous decision for Roma across Europe, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights, by a vote of 13 to four, ruled today that segregating Roma students into special schools is a form of unlawful discrimination that violates fundamental human rights.

The ruling came in D.H. and Others v. the Czech Republic, a case in which 18 Roma children sought legal redress for the practice—widespread in Central and Eastern Europe—of shunting Roma students into “special” schools for children with learning disabilities.

“The court has made clear that racial discrimination has no place in 21st century Europe,” said James A. Goldston, counsel for the plaintiffs and executive director of the Open Society Justice Initiative. “Roma children must have the same access to quality education as everyone else.”

Location

Site of Court DecisionOstrava
Czech Republic
49° 50' 3.984" N, 18° 17' 12.2748" E

Links

Articles

  • Gypsies: Trapped on the Fringes of Europe - Across Europe, Gypsies live in dire poverty and are frequently the target of violence and racism. But some governments are finally taking notice of the continent’s largest minority.
  • Europe's Largest Minority Roma and Sinti Demand Equal Rights - Only if we systematically resist racism and discrimination will majority and minority groups be able to coexist peacefully, with equal rights in all countries of the world.
  • The Roma Series - A short walk from the spectacularly wasted complex at Gazi, a hop skip and a jump from the trendy bars down those back streets, is a place I can guarantee you have never been to and probably do not know it exists. It is a Roma settlement in the centre of Athens.

News and Media

  • RomNews Network Online - A service of the Roma National Congress, Germany.
  • RomaPage - Provides balanced coverage on Roma (Gypsy) issues.
  • Roma in the Czech Republic - Radio Prague reports on traditions, culture and customs of Romani minority in the Czech Republic as well as reports of human right violations and the contemporary situation of Roma.