ERRC: Letter to Italian Prime Minister
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Date: Tue, 30 May 2000 21:41:31 +0200 (EET)
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Subject: ERRC: Letter to Italian Prime Minister
From: MINELRES moderator <[email protected]>
Original sender: European Roma Rights Center <[email protected]>
ERRC: Letter to Italian Prime Minister
On May 30, 2000, the European Roma Rights Center (ERRC), an
international public interest law organisation which monitors the
rights of Roma and provides legal defence in cases of human rights
abuse, sent a letter to Italian Prime Minister Giuliano D'Amato to
express concern about abusive raids by authorities on Romani
settlements which took place in the early morning hours of May 28.
During the raids, authorities destroyed property and dwellings
belonging to Roma, evicted Roma from a number of locations, used
abusive language, and reportedly expelled at least one Romani family
from the country. In its letter, the ERRC urged Prime Minister D'Amato
to take a clear stand in condemning abusive police behavior and racist
acts against Roma. The ERRC additionally urged thorough investigation
into allegations that officers exceeded their legally sanctioned
powers during the May 28 raids, and punishment of officers guilty of
abuse. The ERRC additionally called on Prime Minister D'Amato to
ensure that possessions impounded be restored to Roma forthwith, and
destroyed property be compensated. The text of the ERRC letter
follows:
Honourable Prime Minister Amato,
The European Roma Rights Center (ERRC), an international public
interest law organisation which monitors the rights of Roma and
provides legal defence in cases of human rights abuse, is deeply
concerned about recent abusive raids by authorities on Romani
settlements in Italy.
According to on-site monitoring by the ERRC, eyewitness testimony
provided to the ERRC and to the Italian non-governmental organisation
ARCI, as well as media reports, in the early morning hours of May 28,
2000, more than 1000 municipal police officers, carabinieri (police
reporting to the Ministry of Defence) and members of the military
conducted raids on the municipal "camps for nomads" of Arco di
Travertino, Muratella, via Candoni-ATAC, la Rustica and Vasca Navale
in Rome.
At the Via Candoni-ATAC camp, more than 200 municipal police officers
and carabinieri arrived in riot gear, carrying rifles and truncheons,
with military buses, two ambulances, four tow trucks and bulldozers.
They entered the camp at approximately 2:15 AM and began ordering
individuals out of their places of residence - camper vans and shacks.
The 200 inhabitants were told by authorities to pack their belongings
and that they would be transferred to another camp. Some camper vans
were towed away with belongings inside, however. Romani inhabitants of
the Via Candoni-ATAC camp were taken to the Muratella camp. One
family, the T. family from Bosnia, was reportedly expelled from Italy
with four children and sent to Bosnia, though no official had
confirmed the expulsion as of May 29. Advisor for Nomad Affairs for
the City of Rome Dr Luigi Lusi was present at the raid on the Via
Candoni-ATAC camp and told the ERRC that "this is a simple and legal
operation to give these people a better living space." When queried as
to why the operation took place in the dead of night and without being
announced, Dr Lusi told the ERRC, "when working with criminals, one
has to move in secrecy, or else they will all escape."
Members of the non-governmental organisation ARCI and other observers
arrived shortly after the raid began. According to their testimony,
police used excessive force. During the raid, officers pushed one ERRC
representative and used discriminatory and abusive language against
Roma present. Officers refused to provide identification or to provide
names and titles to the ERRC or to journalists present at the raid.
At the Vasca Navale camp, in response to a prior tip that the camp
would be raided, all but three of the ninety inhabitants fled the
scene before police arrival. The three inhabitants remaining were
taken by police to the Muratella camp. Officers told them that camper
vans in Vasca Navale would be impounded, but that inhabitants of the
camp would be allowed to recover their belongings later. Instead,
twenty vehicles were destroyed, four or five were impounded, all
shacks were torn down and the camp was closed. City council member Mr
Amedeo Piva later told members of the non-governmental organisation
ARCI that the destruction of the camper vans had been a "mistake" and
that they would be replaced.
At the Arco di Travertino camp, more that 100 municipal police
officers and carabinieri arrived in riot gear and carrying rifles and
truncheons, at approximately 1:30 AM. Officers arrived with a police
bus, ambulance and two tow trucks. The Arco di Travertino camp is
authorized by the city of Rome and is equipped with utilities and
sanitary services. There were, at the time of the raid, forty
inhabitants living in the camp. With the exception of one individual,
all are either Italian citizens or have valid residence permits.
Authorities announced that Romani inhabitants of the camp at Vasca
Navale would be transferred to the Arco di Travertino camp and that
the present inhabitants would be expelled from the camp. At
approximately 10:30 AM Sunday, after a nine hour siege, the police
evidently abandoned plans and left the premises.
During all of the raids, police closed roads in a one-mile radius
around the camp areas. The operations took place during a strike by
Italian journalists, precluding effective public scrutiny of the
abusive raids. In a press release of Sunday May 28, 2000, the City of
Rome's Advisor for Nomad Affairs Dr Luigi Lusi stated: "This
initiative [was] coordinated by the City of Rome, all police forces
and immigration services. Apart from dismantling illegal camps, [we]
managed to evict dangerous criminals. We found objects in their
possession worth more than 1 billion lira (approximately five million
euros) and large and expensive cars." Dr Lusi did not elaborate
further on the nature of the objects "found" or whether they had been
impounded by authorities. He also did not elaborate as to the nature
of charges against "dangerous criminals" or how the public had
benefited from their eviction. Referring to unspecified individuals -
and by inference all of the Roma concerned - Mr Lusi stated: "The City
of Rome confirms their battle against criminality and delinquency. We
have sent away the delinquents."
Honourable Prime Minister Amato, abusive raids and the violent
disruption of the homes of Roma in the middle of the night stands in
violation of Articles 3 and 8 of the European Convention of Human
Rights, prohibiting inhuman and/or degrading treatment, and protecting
the right to home and family life respectively. The ERRC is
additionally concerned that the stigmatisation of groups of Roma as
"delinquents" and "criminals", without clear specification as to the
nature of criminal offenses, numbers of individuals charged with
criminal acts, and without expressed decisions in specific criminal
cases by courts of law, may violate international legal provisions to
which Italy is a party including Articles 14 and 26 of the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Articles 2 and 5
of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Racial Discrimination, and Articles 6 and 14 of the European
Convention on Human Rights. The international community has repeatedly
condemned abusive practice vis-a-vis Roma by Italian authorities. Most
recently, the ERRC appealed to the office of your predecessor, Prime
Minister D'Alema, on March 7, 2000, to condemn abusive behaviour by
the Rome police and to provide remedy to Roma targeted in raids on the
Tor de' Cenci and Via Carucci settlements. The ERRC received no
response to the March 7 letter, and notes conspicuous silence on the
part of Italian authorities in the face of a rising tide of abuses
against Roma in Italy.
Honourable Prime Minister Amato, the ERRC urges you to take a clear
stand in the early days of your tenure in office to condemn abusive
police behavior and racist acts against Roma. The ERRC additionally
urges your office to initiate thorough investigation into allegations
that officers exceeded their legally sanctioned powers during the May
28 raids, and to punish strictly officers guilty of abuse. Possessions
impounded should be restored to Roma forthwith, and destroyed property
should be compensated. We kindly request to be informed of the results
of any such investigations and of any disciplinary and compensatory
measures taken.
Sincerely,
Dimitrina Petrova
Executive Director
Persons wishing to express similar concerns are urged to contact:
Prime Minister Mr Giuliano Amato
Fax: +39 066798648
Minister of Internal Affairs Mr Enzo Bianco
Fax: +39 046549534
Minister of Defence Honourable Professor Sergio Mattarella
Fax: +39 06 4885756
Foreign Minister Mr Lamberto Dini
Fax: +39 0636912092
Mayor of Rome Mr Franceso Rutelli
Fax: +39 06 67102175
Advisor Responsible for Nomad Affairs for the City of Rome Dr Luigi
Lusi
Fax: +39 06 676 92 865
*****************
The European Roma Rights Center is an international public interest
law organisation which monitors the rights of Roma and provides legal
defence in cases of human rights abuse. For more information about the
European Roma Rights Center, visit the ERRC on the web at
http://errc.org.
European Roma Rights Center
1386 Budapest 62
P.O. Box 906/93
Hungary
Telephone: (36 1) 42 82 351
Fax: (36 1) 42 82 356
*****************
SUPPORT THE ERRC!
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individual donors for its continued existence. If you believe the ERRC
performs a service valuable to the public, please join in enabling its
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transfers are preferred. Please send your contribution to:
European Roma Rights Center
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99P00402686
1054 Budapest
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