MINELRES: Romania: Ethnic Diversity Briefs, No.45

MINELRES moderator [email protected]
Tue Mar 4 16:31:41 2003


Original sender: Mediafax <[email protected]>


No. 45 / March 3, 2003 
  
DIVERS
- reporting ethnic diversity - 
 
SUMMARY 

 
1. FUTURE CONSTITUTION TO GRANT MORE RIGHTS FOR ETHNIC MINORITIES
2. BISHOP TOKES TO SET UP NEW FORUM FOR ETHNIC HUNGARIANS
3. THE FIRST ALMANAC OF ROMA PEOPLE FROM ROMANIA
4. CONFERENCE ABOUT "MECHANISMS OF HOLOCAUST"
5. GAGAUZ-YERI GOVERNOR WANTS REGION TO BE THIRD COMPONENT OF FUTURE
MOLDOVAN FEDERATION 

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FUTURE CONSTITUTION TO GRANT MORE RIGHTS FOR ETHNIC MINORITIES
BUCHAREST - The ad hoc parliamentary commission that examined possible
constitutional amendments ended its work last week. The basic document
include an article that would allow the use of mother tongues in
contacts with local administrative bodies and in courts in those
localities where a minority has "a significant weight" in the
population. The commission did not specify what constitutes a
"significant weight." The recommendation is obviously a compromise
between the Hungarian Democratic Federation of Romania's demand that 20
percent be specified as the criterion for national minority
representation and the stances of other parliamentary parties
represented on the commission. The introduction of subsidization
principle and the redefinition of national minorities did not collect
the necessary number of votes. Democratic Party Deputy Chairman Emil Boc
abstained, saying his formation does not agree with such an amendment,
Radio Free Europe reported. The Greater Romania Party has boycotted the
commission's debate all along, saying the constitution does not need to
be amended. The commission's recommendations are to be debated by
parliament. (DIVERS) 


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BISHOP TOKES TO SET UP NEW FORUM FOR ETHNIC HUNGARIANS
CLUJ-NAPOCA - The protestant bishop Laszlo Tokes, former honorary
chairman of Hungarian Democratic Federation of Romania (UDMR), wants at
midst of March to summon up a forum of Magyars from Transylvania,
announced the daily from Cluj in Magyar language "Szabadsag". The forum
aims at setting up the initiative committee of Self-governance of
National Magyar Community from Romania (ACNMR). As pertaining Tokes's,
quoted by MTI, the Self-governance should become the representative
forum of the Magyars in Romania and would take over the tasks of UDMR
Representatives. The role Tokes intends to give to the self-government
of the ACNMR is the same as played by the Hungarian National Council in
the Vojvodina of Serbia. (DIVERS). 


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THE FIRST ALMANAC OF ROMA PEOPLE FROM ROMANIA
BUCHAREST - The Social Democrat Roma Party (PRSD) has recently issued
the first number of "Almanahul Rromilor" (Roma Almanac) publication,
according to Roma News agency. The work provides wide presentation of
the Roma Party county subsidiaries' leaders, some issues relating to the
implementation of the Strategy for Roma condition improvement,
interviews with PRSD members. The author of the almanac, Gheorghe Paun
Ialomiteanu, also enclosed significant articles about religion,
education, history, science, economy, entertainment, as well as some
elements of Roma folklore and literature. (DIVERS)
 


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CONFERENCE ABOUT "MECHANISMS OF HOLOCAUST " 
BUCHAREST - On Monday February 24, the Swedish Embassy in Bucharest
organized, together with the Romanian Ministry of Public Information and
the Ministry of Education and Research, the conference called
"Mechanisms of Holocaust". On this occasion, Hedi Fried, a Swedish
writer and psychologist of Romanian origin, who survived the Holocaust
during WWII, underlined that mankind should not forget and ever repeat
the atrocities happened on that time and that the young generations
should know the truth. Hedi Fried presented her two books enclosing
testimonies about the tragedies suffered at Auschwitz. (DIVERS) 


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GAGAUZ-YERI GOVERNOR WANTS REGION TO BE THIRD COMPONENT OF FUTURE
MOLDOVAN FEDERATION
CHISINAU - Gagauz-Yeri Governor Georgii Tabunshik on 20 February said he
is confident the autonomous region will become the third component of
the envisaged Moldovan federal state, alongside Moldova and the
Transdniester, RFE/RL reported. He said that since the autonomous region
has been granted special status within the current unitary state, it
could not possibly be ignored and not become a separate component of a
federal state. (DIVERS) 


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DIVERS is a weekly news bulletin edited by the Mediafax News Agency with
financial support from 
Ethnocultural Diversity Resource Center (EDRC) in Cluj.
For now, the full version of the bulletin is only available in Romanian
and can be found at www.divers.ro
e-mail: [email protected] 

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