MINELRES: Romania: Ethnic Minority Briefs No. 58

[MINELRES moderator]

Original sender: Divers Buletin <edivers_buletin@mediafax.ro>


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No. 58 / June 9, 2003

DIVERS
- reporting ethnic diversity -

SUMMARY

1. NATIONAL COUNCIL OF MAGYARS AIMS AT MORE AUTONOMY
2. CNM ACTION, IGNORED BY UDMR LEADERS
3. FIRST COMPANIES PENALIZED FOR DISCRIMINATION AGAINST THE ROMA
4. MORE THAN 22, 000 ROMA UNEMPLOYED REGISTERED
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NATIONAL COUNCIL OF MAGYARS AIMS AT MORE AUTONOMY
SFINTU-GHEORGHE � The attendants to Sfintu Gheorghe Forum, organized by 
the National   Council of  the Magyars  from  Transylvania (CNM) passed
a  statement referring  to the  accomplishment of territorial autonomy
in  Tinutul Secuiesc,  proposing  to establish  an internal
"mother-country".  "We still   feel  the grief  which  we  have been
subject to  for  a century,  while our  goods  were seized,  we were
expelled from the political  life, our economic and social condition is
lamentable, not to mention  about the undermined condition of our
ethnical and democratic unity", says the statement. CNM, which is an
organization gathering Magyar ethnics of radical vision, at the same
time announced it would  announce two bills conferring more cultural
and  territorial   autonomy   to  the   Magyar  ethnics.    (DIVERS)

CNM ACTION, IGNORED BY UDMR LEADERS
BUCHAREST �  UDMR chairman, Marko Bela,  deems "there is no novelty"
about the critics raised against  the leadership of the Union within
CNM Forum, which took place at Sfintu Gheorghe, thus pointing out he
does not pay  too much attention to  such matters. "I do not believe
that our part  is to make comments upon  what has been said there or
to start polemics  ", stated Marko  Bela. UDMR chairman said he does
not want  to take into  account such  actions, as  they are less and
less  significant, reflected   in decreasing  number  of attendants.
(DIVERS)

FIRST COMPANIES PENALIZED FOR DISCRIMINATION AGAINST THE ROMA
BOTOSANI � Two commercial companies from Botosani municipal (East of
Romania) were  penalized by the  inspectors of  National Council for
Fighting  Discrimination (CNCD),  on the  grounds that  they did not
allow Roma ethnicity persons to  enter their bars. The owners of the
two bars  stated they  would  further interdict  the access  of such
persons into the units as they  stir scandals and keep their clients
away. CNCD penalized  the two companies  after the inspectors in the
territory checked  out the truthfulness of  the complaints referring
to discrimination  against  the Roma  applied in  that  area. Corina
Macoveanu, member of  CNCD Managing Board, said  she found in one of
the bars a note posted on  a wall saying "No services for the Roma".
(DIVERS)

MORE THAN 22, 000 ROMA UNEMPLOYED REGISTERED
BUCHAREST  �  In Romania  there are  over 22,  000 Roma  unemployed
egistered by the  National Agency for Employment (ANOFM). The latest
statistics published by ANOFM indicates that of approximately 22,355
Roma jobless people in the entire country, most of them can be found
registered by the county agency from Galati, (2,950 Roma people have
no job),  followed  by  Bihor (2,916  persons) and  Hunedoara (2,674
persons). Statistics  was carried  out by means  of new ANOFM forms,
wherein ethnicity  mark can be  filled in, still  it is optional, as
stated State secretary  in Ministry of  Labor and Social Solidarity,
Ioan Cindrea. (DIVERS)

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