The National Council on Ethnical and Demographic Issues grants financial aid to Roma students
03. 12. 2003
Thirteen students from the “ St. St. Cyril and Methodius” University of Veliko Turnovo will receive financial aid at the amount of 1 045 leva. The funds are granted by the National Council on Ethnical and Demographic Issues at the Council of Ministers, chaired by Minister Filiz Husmenova.
The thirteen students study “ Primary pedagogy with Roma language”. This specialty at the Faculty of Pedagogy was introduced first time in 2003.
This is the second time when the National Council on Ethnical and Demographic Issues renders financial support to first year Roma students. In October 2003 it provided help at the amount of 450 leva.
BULGARIA: At The Recent Local Elections Roma Political Parties Won Success On The Background Of Strong Anti-Roma Propaganda
Sofia, November 18-19 Last Wednesday (November 12) one day seminar devoted to the issue For whom the Roma are Unwanted in the Local and Central Government of the State?took place in Sofia. The reason for the event was the using of anti-Roma rhetoric in few places in the course of the pre-election competition in the current local elections in Bulgaria. Organizers of the event were the Roma newspaper Drom Dromendar, Human Rights Project and the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee. About 40 prominent Roma politics, journalists and public figures (among them were such well known names as Mr. Vassil Chaprazov, Mr. Ilia Petrov, Mr. Petar Georgiev, as well as elected members of the city councils from Montana, Sliven, Samokov, Razlog and others; a representative from the supreme council of the Bulgarian Socialist Party also participated) took part in the seminar. Prof. Evgeni Dainov (he is one of the most popular in Bulgaria political analysts) and Ass. Prof. Jivko Georgiev (he is Research Director of the Bulgarian branch of Gallup International) also participated and delivered speeches before the meeting.
It was stressed at the conference that at the recent local elections (the first round of it took part on October 26 and the second one was on November 02) the Roma political parties and coalitions achieved a big success. 126 Roma were elected as members of different Municipality Councils in more than 70 municipalities on behalf of 8 Roma parties and coalitions. Apart from this 36 Roma were elected on behalf of parties and coalitions in which the Roma political formations were one of the components. By that way generally 164 Roma now are elected as members of different Municipality Councils. For comparison at the previous local elections (1999) about 100 Roma were elected. So that the participation of Roma in the local government increased with more than 60%. Beside this a considerable number of Roma were elected as Mayors of many villages that are inhabited predominantly with Roma.
On the other part it was underlined at the seminar that for a first time after the democratic changes at these local elections anti-Roma suggestions were used as a weapon in the pre-election campaign. In Samokov (when 5 Roma were elected) leaflets that called on the voters to do not votes for one of the candidates were spread. The motive of that appeal was that this candidate love Romaand if he would be elected the city would have been transformed in Gypsy town. In Razlog (small city near to Pirin mountain when two Roma were elected posters and leaflets with anti-Roma appeals were distributed. Among them there were slogans like these: Let we do not allow Razlog to be transformed into Gypsy tow, Let we do not allow Roma to become members of the City Council. In Vidin (district center on the coast of Danube river when around 15000 Roma live) there was article in one of the local newspapers that called the Bulgariansto do not vote for one of the main candidates for Mayor, because it would mean Gypsization of the city. In Sliven (big district center situated in the southeastern part of the country) some Roma candidates were threatened. Human Rights Project has already informed the police as well as the local Prosecutors office in Samokov about these racist attacks against the Roma and will do the same related to Razlog in the closest future.
Most of the participants in the event stressed that the increasing of the political influence of the Roma political parties is the true reason for the usage of anti-Roma slogans as tools in the competition. They underlined that the struggle against the chauvinism must become a part of the political agitation among the Roma voters. Unfortunately there were some participants who claimed that there were no limits in the political struggle, because the politics was dirty work. Because of this they claimed that the Roma political parties had rights to use dirty tricks. But these partakers were minority among all.
Beside this the event put the beginning of one long-term discussion about the future of the political participation of Roma in Bulgaria. Many people spoke about of necessity of integration of the Roma political actors. They claimed that the relative big number of Roma parties that took part in the elections have contributed for scattering of the votes. Others spoke about the lack of money that was one of the most important obstacles before the enlarging of the political participation of the Roma. The political experts Mr. Dainov and Mr. Georgiev spoke about the possibilities before the Roma political parties to achieve success at the coming Parliamentary elections (these elections should be held in the summer of 2005 but general elections before the appointed time also are possible). They stressed on the situation that the political milieu in Bulgaria become in increasing level dependant on the big moneyand about the tactics of the parties of Roma to lead successful campaign in these conditions. Especially the sociologist Jivko Georgiev claimed that the anti-Roma attitudes among the Bulgarians are as strong as it were in the beginning of so-called transition. According him opinion there is no successful state policy combating the racism and ethnical prejudices. He advised the Roma politics to make an union with the poorest Bulgarians and to try to attract them.
Human Rights Project organized that seminar by two main reasons. First of all because we are strongly worried about the signs for using so unambiguously racist propaganda in the process of elections and for that reason we will do all our best to combat these attempts for destroying of the democratic essence of our political system. Secondly since 2000 HRP has carried out its project Political Academy for Romathat has prepared them for participation in the politics. A lot of people who were educated in that Political Academywon seats at these elections. That shows us our program is successful and we have intention to continue it. We believe that the discussion about the best way for realization of the political rights of Roma.
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Open Letter by the participants in the National Roma Conference The
Open Letter by the participants in the National Roma Conference The
Framework Program Five Years Later
To Mr. Simeon Saxe-Coburg Gotha
Prime Minister of Bulgaria
Sofia, May 14, 2004
Honorable Mr. Prime Minister:
On May 13 and 14 in Sofia a National Roma Conference devoted to the fifth
anniversary of the approval of the Framework Program for Equal Integration
of Roma in Bulgarian Society took place. It was organized by Human Rights
Project in cooperation with other Roma NGOs. Roma who take offices of
experts on ethnic and demographic issues, Roma who are members of municipal
councils, as well as Roma activists from all over the country took part in
the event.
We, the participants in the conference welcome the succession in the steps
made until now by your government and believe that you will pay attention
to the concrete suggestions for the actualization of the work connected to
the Program that were made at the national meeting.
We sincerely hope that all together the Government and ourselves will
continue the joint commitments about the integration of the Roma community
by its direct participation in all structures and levels of the state power.
We are convinced that the commitments you took and which were expressed at
the conference Roma in the Expanding Europeheld on June 30 and July 01,
2003 in Budapest are in conformity with the policy your Government leads
for the accession of Bulgaria to the European Union.
Honorable Mr. Prime Minister:
We use this possibility to inform you about the real problems that
accompany the execution of the Program. Our conclusions are the result of a
profound analysis of the implementation of the Framework Program made by
the conference participants.
1. The Roma who are approved in the local and district administrations have
no status and authority for the implementation of the Framework Program.
2. These people do not have any technical means for communication and
coordination with the local authorities, with the NGOs as well as with
other institutions.
3. Roma experts who have obtained appropriate administrative abilities
within the framework of their term of office are often dismissed from their
jobs for political reasons. Often they are put under political pressure
Honorable Mr. Prime Minister:
The national policy for the improvement of the state of the Roma community
does not reach the local communities and settlements. There is a complete
vagueness about the acts of the Council of Ministers connected with the
distribution of the money for improvement of the situation of the Roma. Our
demand is to promote the integral realization of the Framework Program
approved by the Government at the local and district levels through direct
participation of public officials of Romani origin. In this connection in
order to improve our joint work we insist on the following points:
1. That the distribution of the money from the PHARE Program and the World
Bank is adequate to the needs of the extremely poor local municipalities.
That distribution must correspond to the parameters and requirements of the
respective grants related to the Roma community;
2. Complete transparency and accountancy should exist in the process of
defining the different conditions of the grants. Such a transparency should
exist during the selection of the municipalities who will participate in
the grants.
3. A representative of the National Association of Roma Experts in the
State Institutions has to take part with a full vote (not deliberative
vote) when the different conditions and aims of grants for Roma are being
defined.
4. Roma experts have to take part during the defining of the tasks and
technical conditions of the grants.
5. Roma experts have to be hired in the different ministries in order to
implement the Framework Program.
We believe that the described in this letter anxieties and proposals
related to the process of solving of the problems will be taken under
consideration by you and your government in your future work for
implementation of the Framework Program.
Respectfully yours,
/signed by 142 participants in the national conference/
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