Marches in in Prague and London against racial attacks on Roma

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From: MINELRES moderator <[email protected]>
Date: Wed, 8 Aug 2001 09:31:18 +0300 (EEST)
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Subject: Marches in in Prague and London against racial attacks on Roma

From: MINELRES moderator <[email protected]>

Original sender: Ariel Eliyahu <[email protected]>

Marches in in Prague and London against racial attacks on
Roma


Original sender:   ustiben.2 <[email protected]>
 
 
STOP O DUITO PORAJMOS - STOP THE SECOND GENOCIDE
 
*************************
MARCHES HELD IN PRAGUE & LONDON
 
Demonstrations were held both in Prague and London on Monday (6
August) over increasing racial attacks by neo-fascist groups bent on
ethnic-cleansing of Roma.
 
In London a delegation from Europe-Roma and Romani Kris/Gypsy Council,
spent the morning visiting the embassies of the Czech Republic,
Slovakia, Romand and Poland.
 
At the Czech Embassy, Ladislav Balaz, chairman of Europe-Roma, made a
strong request for the removal UK Immigration controls from Prague
airport. He said blatant racial discrimination was taking place with
Roma being prevented from seeking asylum in Britain.
 
"We are alarmed at the rising number of murders by neo-fascists," he
said in an interview with Czech Television. "Czech authorities must
crackdown on these groups. They are terrorising our people, who have
no alternative but to flee the country". A similar message was
delivered by Florina Zoltan, of Romani Kris/Gypsy Council to the
Romanian Embassy. Ms Zoltan, herself the victim of a mob attack on her
village, said many thousands of Roma had been forced to leave Romania.
Hundreds of Roma homes had been burnt in organized pogroms where
police had failed to protect families. During half an hour at the
embassy, Ms Zoltan presented an outline of recent outrages. She also
dreaw attention to a recent speech by Congressman Christopher Smith
who denounced racial attacks and police brutalities taking place in
Romania, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary.
 
"As long as this situation continues," Ms Zoltan told a Romania radio
reporter, "You will see more and more Roma becoming refugees. We have
to seek asylum abroad because it is no longer safe in our so-called
home countries."
 
Meanwhile, in Prague, protesters were scheduled by 2 pm to assemble
outside the EU Mission. Members of the IRU, RNC, ROI and GRRP
participated together in the demonstration.

In the evening, some 100 demonstrators held up banners outside the
four embassies in London demanding "Stop o Duito Porajmos" - "Stop the
Second Genocide". They included Roma owners of Woodside caravan park,
north of London, who are facing eviction by local authorities. "We are
here to show solidarity with our Roma brothers," Woodsider Cliff
Codona told this writer. "Now we face ethnic cleansing too - we are
not even left to live on our own land." Bedfordshire County Council
has voted to spend � 80,000 on evicting some 40 families from the
licensed caravan site.
 
Grattan Puxon
Ustiben Working Group
 
Telephone in London:   + 44 - 1026 523 524
Write to:   ustiben.2 <[email protected]>

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