C a s e S t u d y o n R a c i a l D i s c r i m i n a t i o n
in Mureş County, Romania
Pro Europa LeagueHuman Rights Office Tîrgu-MureşPiaţa Trandafirilor nr. 5, et. III.P.O. Box: 1-154Tel./Fax: 40-265-250182www.proeuropa.rooffice@proeuropa.ro Prepared by: Haller István Realised by the support of the Council of Europe
CONTENTS
Abstract
1. Background
1.1. Geographic situation
1.2. Demographic structure of Mureş County and city of Tîrgu-Mureş
1.3. Political situation
1.4. Major ethnic and religious conflicts in Mureş County after December 1989
1.4.1. Conflicts between Roma and non-Roma
1.4.2. Conflicts between Romanians and Hungarians
1.4.3. Conflicts between Orthodox and Greek Catholic communities
2. Case study of the PEL�s Human Rights Office
2.1. Equality in education
2.2. Equal access to social services, jobs and public places
2.3. Equal treatment before tribunals, by law enforcement officials and in prison
3. Sociological research on discrimination
3.1. Discussions with experts
3.1.1. Equality in education
3.1.2. Equal access to social services, jobs and public places
3.1.3. Equal treatment before tribunals, by law enforcement officials, in prison
3.2. Method used
3.2.1. Questionnaires
3.2.2. Interviews
3.2.3. Statistics
3.3. Results of the research
3.3.1. Equality in education
Mureş County School Inspectorate
Teachers
Romanian community of Tîrgu-Mureş
Hungarian community of Tîrgu-Mureş
Valea Rece Roma community
Dealului Street Roma community
Hungarian community from Tîrnăveni
German community from Sighişoara
3.3.2. Equal access to social services, jobs and public places
Mureş County Prefecture
Mureş County Council
Mureş County Agency for Workplaces
Tîrgu-Mureş Territorial Labour Inspectorate
Mureş Labour and Social Solidarity Department
Mayor's Office of Tîrgu-Mureş
Romanian community of Tîrgu-Mureş
Hungarian community of Tîrgu-Mureş
Dealului Street Roma community
Valea Rece Roma community
Other Roma communities
Mayor�s Office of Tîrnăveni
Hungarian community from Tîrnăveni
Mayor's Office of Sovata
3.3.3. Equal treatment before tribunals, by law enforcement officials, in prison
Prosecutor�s Office near Tîrgu-Mureş Justice Court
Prosecutor�s Office near Mureş Tribunal
Tîrgu-Mureş Justice Court
The Tîrgu-Mureş Prison
Hungarian community of Tîrgu-Mureş
Dealului Street Roma community
Valea Rece Roma community
Jewish community
Hungarian community from Tîrnăveni
Hungarian community from Sovata
German community from Sighişoara
4. Summary of results
4.1. Situation in education
4.1.1. Legislation and good practices
4.1.2. Problems remaining
4.2. Situation in the domain of equal access to public services
4.2.1. Legislation and good practices
4.2.2. Problems remaining
4.3. Situation in the judicial system
4.3.1. Legislation and good practices
4.3.2. Problems remaining
5. Conclusions
6. Recommendations
Annex 1. Demographic structure of Mureş county and city of Tîrgu-Mureş, other relevant statistics
Annex 2. Votes obtained by political parties and minority organisations in 2000 elections
Annex 3. List of questioned institutions and communities
Annex 4. Relevant legislative provisions
Abstract
The
study, made in the framework of the Case study and Awareness Raising
Project on Racial Discrimination in Mureş County, Romania (1 March - 31
May 2003), financed by the Council of Europe, is a part of the
Non-Discrimination Review project, launched by Secretariat of the
Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities.
Goals:
� to assess the implementation of the national and international
legislation on the prevention of racial discrimination at local level;
� to inventory good practices and problems at local level;
� to recommend measures to overcome racial discrimination, where identified.
Topics:
The
Romanian Non-Discrimination Review country group experts, consulting an
important number of experts in non-discrimination policies and minority
representatives, decided to focus his activity on the fields of:
� equality in education;
� equal access to social services, jobs and public places;
� equal treatment before tribunals, by law enforcement officials, in prison.
These three domains are also the topics of the study.
Target:
As target of the study, Mureş county has been selected because:
� it is one of the most diversified regions of Romania by ethnicity, language and religion;
� it has been in the past the scene for interethnic and interreligiouse conflicts;
� the public discourse of officials and political parties goes in opposition with the legislative provisions.
The target ethnic groups are the Hungarians, the Roma, the Germans and the Jews.
Instruments of research:
� statistics at national and local level;
� interviews (50);
� questionnairs (applied on 400 persons);
� round table discussions (5);
� field visits (6);
� press monitoring (3 local and 2 regional newspapers, for a periode of 3 months).
Structure of the study:
�
the first part (chapter 1 and 2) presents the background information
(geographic situation, demographic structure, political situation,
major ethnic and religious conflicts in Mureş county) and a case study
of the PEL's Human Rights Office;
� the second part (chapter 3)
is the sociological research on discrimination, realised in the three
fields, using questionnaires, interviews and statistics;
� the third part (chapter 4, 5, 6) summarises the results of the research and presents the conclusions and recommendations;
� the fourth part (annexes) offers additional information for a better understanding of the situation.
Equality in education:
Legislation:
- by the Law on Education no. 151/1999,
�
in each locality, if necessary, education in languages of national
minorities must be provided in public school system (art. 8);
�
persons belonging to national minorities have the right to study and
receive instruction in their native language, at all levels and forms
of education with appropriate request (art. 118);
- by ordinances of
the Ministry of National Education and Research, special places should
be offered for Roma students in highschools and universities.
Findings by the study:
- good practices:
� Hungarians have mother tongue education from kindergarten to university level;
� Germans have mother tongue education from kindergarten to highschool (until 12 grades)1;
� Romani language was introduced in curricula, according to possibilities;
�
to prepare minority language teachers, special places are offered for
minorities in several universities with pedagogical profile;
� for Roma youth, special places are offered in highschools, pedagogical schools and universities;
� the policy in the domain of minority education include also publishing of schoolbooks in minority languages;
� in the County School Inspectorate2 and school managing boards Hungarian, Roma and German teachers are present;
� measures to combat poverty and offering aid in the schoolsystem exists, they help to reduce school abandon.
- problems remaining:
� teachers are not familiar with the therms and phenomena connected to discrimination;
� laws regarding discrimination, use of mother tongue, minority education are not well knowen by teachers;
� the number of qualified teachers for minorities is low;
� in highschools, in several profiles, minority language education does not exists;
� in some fields, minority language schoolbooks does not exists;
� in school curricula the culture of minorities and intercultural dimension is almost absent;
� the multiculturalism in multilingual schools is not a general practice;
� feelings of minority teachers and students to be "second class citizens" is not taken in consideration;
� the evaluation procedure of teachers is based on obtained results without any connection to the social background of children;
� lack of experience of young teachers to work in Roma (or other disadvantaged) communities;
� the overload of those who choose for a minority language education;
� it need more measures to combat poverty and offering aid in the schoolsystem;
�
seriouse direct and indirect discrimination of Roma children by not
registering them in some schools, placing children in specially created
classes for Roma, ignoring Roma children in the class, using public
humiliation, transforming school for mentally retarded children in a
Roma school.
- recommendations:
¤ The National Council to Combat Discrimination should:
� inform school authorities that they must apply the non-discrimination legislation;
�
offer training, in partnership with NGO's in the domain, for teachers,
to know legislation, to understood the effects of discrimination and
how to prevent it;
¤ The Ministry of National Education and Research should:
�
introduce in the school curricula more information regarding minorities
in Romania (in history and geography textbooks), and also regarding the
question of discrimination (in civic education textbooks);
� create
an inventory of deficiencies in the area of minority language teaching,
offering special places in universities where the number of minority
teachers is not adequate;
� offer more special places for minorities in the field of law, to balance the lack of minority persons in the judicial system;
�
develop the school curricula in a manner to not overload the students
who learn in their mother tongue; teaching of the mother tongue and
exams in the mother tongue should be not classified as extracurricular
education;
� offer mother tongue education, where important minority communities exist, in every profile and domain;
�
develop new strategies for evaluation of teachers, taking into
consideration not only the results of children, but more the social
background of children, to promote those who obtain results in
educating disadvantaged communities and persons; this evaluation should
have real effects in increasing salaries;
� avoid religious
discrimination in schools recommending the controll of the equal
representation of minority symbols in the public schools and preventing
the transformation of state schools in places of Orthodox worship.
¤ The County School Inspectorates should
�
verify the multicultural and multilingual character of the schools,
multiculturalism and multilingualism should be present not only in
minority language classes, but also in the common spaces, such as
corridors of the building or during different celebrations;
�
intervene to prevent 'elite' state schools from excluding Roma
students; any direct or indirect discrimination (including separation
of students in Roma and non-Roma classes, if it is not on grounds of
Romani language education) has to be stopped, with consequences for
headmasters;
� the practice of special schools has to be revised;
�
change the policies on nominating headmasters and assistant headmasters
primarly from majority persons, in order to offer minority persons also
the possibility of reaching high positions;
� to employ administrative staff familiar with minority languages.
¤ The universities with graduates who will become teachers should
� introduce in curricula corresponding methodology to work in disadvantaged communities;
� organise practical exercises, pedagogical practice in this communities
� provide for multicultural courses.
Equal access to social services, jobs and public places
Legislation:
- Ordinance On Preventing and Sanctioning All Forms of Discrimination (as modified and approved by Law 48/2002) guarantees:
� the right to equal treatment before courts and any other jurisdictional bodies;
� economic, social and cultural rights;
� the right of access to all public places and services;
in the fields of:
�
employment conditions, criteria and conditions of recruitment,
selection and promotion, access to all forms and levels of professional
orientation, professional training;
� social protection and social security;
� public services or other services, access to goods and facilities;
� the educational system;
� other fields of social life.
- by the Law 188/1999 on the Statute of Public Servants,
�
in administrative-territorial units in which the percentage of persons
belonging to a national minority is more than 20%, public servants in
direct contact with citizens should also know the language of that
national minority (art. 99);
- according to Local Public Administration Law, no. 215/2001,
�
in administrative-territorial units in which the percentage of persons
belonging to a national minority is more than 20%, the local public
administration authorities have to use in the relations with minorities
their mother tongue (art. 17);
� minority persons will receive the written answer to their problem both in Romanian and their mother tongue (art. 90);
� persons that speaks the minorities mother tongue should be hired in the public relations offices (art. 90);
-
the Strategy of the Government of Romania for Improving the Condition
of the Roma (issued in 2001) establish lines of action in the domains
of:
� community development and administration;
� housing;
� social security;
� health care;
� economy;
� justice and public order;
� education;
- according to the Law on Guaranteed Minimal Income no. 416/2001
� every Romanian citizen, has the right to a guaranteed minimal income as a form of social aid.
Findings by the study:
- good practices:
� County Office for Roma was established and local experts in Roma affairs operate under some mayoralties;
�
the Mureş County Office for Roma realised a number of studies to
improve the condition of the Roma, which could be an important base for
future policies;
� measures was taken in 2002 to solve the problem of identity cards for Roma;
� multilingualism started to be introduced in the work of local authorities.
- problems remaining:
� public servants are not familiar with the terms and phenomena connected to discrimination or minorities in general;
�
public servants do not know the legislation in the domain of public
administration, first of all provisions on use of minority languages;
� legislative measures on use of minority languages are not fully implemented;
� the structural discrimination in public administration is relevant;
� the knowledge of minority languages by public servants is not encouraged by administrative rewards (salary);
� existence of Roma experts in local authorities is not well knowen by public servants;
� unemployment among Roma is still very large, specific measures are not takren or are not efficient;
� the housing situation of Roma is critical, there is no strategy to solve the problem;
� legislation regarding social aid is not respected by governmental bodies;
� Roma are several times victims of direct discrimination, by refusal of free access in public places or to services;
- recommendations:
¤ The National Council to Combat Discrimination should:
� inform local authorities that they must apply the non-discrimination legislation;
�
offer training, in partnership with NGO's in the domain, for public
servants, help them to know legislation, to understood the effects of
discrimination and how to prevent it;
� open branches at the county
or regional level and set up partnership with minority associations and
NGOs active in the field of non-discrimination, to solve the various
situations;
¤ The Ministry on Public Administration should:
�
find ways to make public servants interested in obtaining knowledge
regarding minorities and discrimination (salary increase, etc);
� verify, from time to time, the knowledge of public servants in the area of specific legislation.
¤ The Government and the local authorities should:
� allocate special funds in their budget to create normal living conditions for Roma communities;
� provide integrally the aids stipulated by laws for disadvantaged groups.
¤ The local authorities should:
�
create internal control bodies to verify the legality of different
acts, in order to respect legislative measures on use of the mother
tongue, implement special measures and combat discrimination
�
report problems, needs or proposals for new special measures to the
National Council to Combat Discrimination to find solutions at national
level.
Equal treatment before tribunals, by law enforcement officials, in prison
Legislation
Romanian Constitution guarantees
� equality before law (art. 16)
�
use of mother tongue during penal investigation and before tribunals by
citizens belonging to national minorities, as well as persons who
cannot understand or speak Romanian (art. 127).
Romanian Penal Code punishes
� the abuse in duty by restriction of rights (art. 247);
� nationalist chauvinistic propaganda (art. 317).
Emergency
Ordinance to Prohibit Fascist, Racist or Xenophob Organisations and
Promote of Personal Cult of those who are Guilty with some Crimes
against Peace and Humanity no. 31/2002
� prohibit fascist, racist or xenophob organisations.
Law 48/202 On Preventing and Sanctioning All Forms of Discrimination
� punish all forms of discrimination, incuding racial discrimination.
By
Law no. 178/1997 to Approval and Payment of Interpreters and
Translators Used by Penal Investigation Authorities, Courts, Notaries
Offices, Attorney and by Ministry of Justice
� the translation in Romanian during penal investigation and before tribunals has to be offered by authorised interpreters.
Strategy of the Government of Romania for Improving the Condition of the Roma (2001) prescribes
� the necessity of hiring citizens of Roma origin in the public order services and the police force.
Findings by the study
- good practices:
� it is expressed the need to hire minority persons in the judicial system;
� mother tongue, even in a limited way, is used during penal investigation and before tribunals;
- problems remaining:
�
a jurisprudence on punishing abuse in duty by restriction of rights,
nationalist chauvinistic propaganda, to prohibit fascist, racist or
xenophob organisations also to promote of personal cult of those who
are guilty with crimes against humanity, to punish all forms of
discrimination, incuding racial discrimination, does not exists;
�
the refuse to retrocede the community properties of ethnic or religious
minorities, confiscated by the communist regime, creates suspitions
among minority leaders regarding the implementation of the
constitutional provisions regarding equality before laws;
� translations, even in penal cases, during investigation and trial, are offered by non-qualified persons;
� structural discrimination in the judicial system is substantial;
�
there exist serious signes of direct discrimination of Roma, indicating
that they become the first victims of law enforcement official abuses;
�
the low number of prosecutors and judges creates the possibility for a
situation in which prejudices could be more effective than clear
evidences.
- recommendations:
¤ The National Council to Combat Discrimination should:
� inform judiciar authorities regarding the application of the non-discrimination legislation;
�
offer training, in partnership with NGO's in the domain, for police
officers, prosecutors and judges, to understood the effects of
discrimination in the society and the importance of punish it;
¤ The Ministry of National Education and Research should:
� offer more special places for minorities in the field of law, to balance the lack of minority persons in the judicial system;
� provide for places and opportunities for translators in the field of legislation;
¤ The Ministry of Interior should:
� find positive measures to increase the number of minority persons employed as police officers.
¤ The Ministry of Justice should:
� review policies regarding the penal investigation, creating a larger structure of prosecutors and judges.
1. Background
1.1. Geographic situation
Situated
in the central part of Romania, in the historical region of
Transylvania, with 3 municipalities (Tîrgu-Mureş, the capital of the
county, Sighişoara, Reghin), 4 towns (Tîrnăveni, Sovata, Luduş,
Iernut), 90 communes and 487 villages, Mureş county has 6,696 km2.
1.2. Demographic structure of Mureş County and city of Tîrgu-Mureş
Mureş County is one of the most diversified regions of Romania by ethnicity and religion (see Annex 1).
A
century ago, the region was under Austro-Hungarian rule, with a
Hungarian majority population. This changed after the First World War,
when Transylvania became part of the Romanian Kingdom. Gradually the
percentage of Romanians increased. The changes of rule (Mureş region
became a part of Hungary again between 1940-1944), the sensitive
majority situation (the number of Romanians and Hungarians was almost
equal, with a changing balance, in favour of Romanians after 1920 for
Mureş county, but only in the last few years in the capital of the
county, Tîrgu-Mureş) creates tensions between the two communities and a
competition for political, economic and cultural dominance.
Discrimination has been used as a tool in this competition. Other
traditional communities, such as the Jews (affected by the Holocaust)
and Germans (affected by the massive emigration due to the economical
and political situation), almost disappeared. The most important Roma
community in Romania was registered in Mureş County, but statistical
data did not give a clear view regarding the real size of the Roma
population. Because of an attitude based on historical stereotypes and
fear, many of them (estimated to be as many as 2/3) did not recognise
their ethnic background.
By religion, Romanians are first of all
Orthodox and Greek Catholics3, Hungarians are Calvinist Reformed, Roman
Catholics and Unitarians4, Germans are Lutherans and Jews are Mosaic.
The religions of the Roma population generally follow that of the
majority populations, but a high percentage of Roma are found in
Neo-protestant (Adventist, Pentecostal) churches.
The
national-communist regime that lasted almost a half-century,
implemented severe assimilation policies. After the democratic changes
in December 1989 there was hope for a substantial improvement of the
minority rights. However, bloody interethnic crashes occured in early
1990, instrumentalized by the former beneficiaries of the communist
regime. It has reactiveted tensions between Romanians and Hungarians.
Despite the adoption by Romania of all relevant documents of minority
protection, in the public policies and everyday life, discrimination on
ethnic, linguistic, religious basis still exists.
1.3. Political situation
After the fall of the totalitarian regime, Romania had free multiparty elections in 1990, 1992, 1996 and 2000.
As
a result of the last local elections, organised in June 2000, of the 41
seats on the County Council, the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in
Romania obtained 17, the Party of National Unity of Romanians 6, the
Romanian Social Democratic Party 5, the Democratic Convention 4, the
Great Romania Party 3, the National Liberal Party 2, the Alliance for
Romania 2, the Democratic Party 2 (see Annex 2). A representative of
the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania became the president
of the County Council.
Since the Parliamentary election in
November 2000, there are 9 Deputies from Mureş county (4 from
Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania, 2 from Romanian Social
Democrat Party, 2 from Great Romania Party, 1 from National Liberal
Party) and 4 Senators (2 from Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in
Romania, 1 from Romanian Social Democrat Party, 1 from Great Romania
Party).
1.4. Major ethnic and religious conflicts in Mureş County after December 1989
1.4.1. Conflicts between Roma and non-Roma
Reghin case
On
29 January 1990, after a scandal in a pub, 20-30 non-Roma people went
to the street where the Roma where living. The non-Roma set on fire 5
Roma houses. The penal investigation of non-Roma ended without
indictment. A ruling was made that it could be amnestied as a
"revolutionary act"5. Four Roma, participants at the scandal in the
pub, were sentenced to imprisonment between 6 months and 2 years for
offences against morality.
Hădăreni case
After a Romanian
young man was killed on 20 September 1993, in Hădăreni village by a
Roma person, the angry non-Roma inhabitants lynched 3 Roma and set on
fire 14 of their houses. Three Romanians were sentenced to 5 years
imprisonment for homicide and were released after 3 years and 6 months.
At this time, Roma victims did not obtain any civilian reparations.
1.4.2. Conflicts between Romanians and Hungarians
Tîrgu-Mureş case
On
19 March 1990 a group of Romanians, called on to come to Tîrgu-Mureş by
obscure political forces from the Reghin region, devastated the local
headquarters of the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania,
injuring several persons who were in a meeting of DAHR6.
The
next day, thousands of Hungarians gathered in the centre of the town,
asking for punishment of the perpetrators. The same political forces
called again the Romanians from the Reghin region. In the clash in the
centre of the town of Tîrgu-Mureş dozens were injured and 4 people
died. In a moment of the clash, Roma persons arrived helping the
Hungarians.
After the events, 14 Hungarians were sentenced to
imprisonment (between 6 months and 10 years) and 20 Roma (between 6
months and 1 year 6 month). No Romanian suffered condemnation to
imprisonment.
1.4.3. Conflicts between Orthodox and Greek Catholic communities
In
several villages the Greek Catholic churches, confiscated in 1948 by
the communist state and transfered afterwards to the Orthodox Church,
have not been restituted to the legal owners. In several cases, the
Orthodox Church decided to transform or to demolish the old churches,
some of whom are part of the national cultural heritage, and to build
new ones. In Mureş County this happened in Valea Largă (the church,
built in 1695, was destroyed in 1994) and Ungheni (a new church is now
under construction around the church built in 1858, incorporating
completely the old one).
2. Case study7 of the PEL�s Human Rights Office
2.1. Equality in education
Reported problems are:
� discrimination of Roma
- by sending Roma children to special schools (for pupils with mental illness);
- by refusing equal treatment by teachers;
� lower number of Hungarian classes in higher education;
� non-equality in teaching religion in state schools.
Case of K. K.
In
1995 K. K. refused religious education because she considered that the
curricula, prepared by the Roman Catholic Church8, is not in
concordance with her faith. The school required K. K. to continue to
follow the religious lessons.
Case of M. V. School
Children
from M. V. School considered it discriminatory that in their school
only the symbols of the Orthodox Church are present (side by side with
the Romanian flag and the coat of arms of the nation). Minority church
symbols are missing even in the classroom where religious education is
offered for all denominations.
Case of L. B.
Ş. R., a
Roma girl from H. village, did not obtain schoolbooks, because the
number of schoolbooks available was lower than the number of students
and the teacher claimed that Roma did not want to learn.
2.2. Equal access to social services, jobs and public places
Reported problems are:
� high percentage of Roma jobless;
� refusal of access to public places for Roma persons.
Case of B. restaurant
In
1995, the announcement in the window of B. restaurant read: "We do not
serve loud and dirty Gypsies". In short time the announcement was
changed: "We do not serve loud and dirty persons", but the practice was
to refuse to serve any Roma persons.
Case of Roma from D.
Before
1989, almost all the adult Roma from D. had jobs. Now all of them are
jobless. The people questioned stated that they lost their jobs because
of their ethnicity. People with the same education level, who are
non-Roma remain employed.
2.3. Equal treatment before tribunals, by law enforcement officials and in prison
Reported problems are:
� police abuse against Roma persons;
� severe sentences for Roma perpetrators;
� refusal of prosecution if victims are Roma;
� non equal-treatment of minority persons in judging cases.
Case of N.G.
N.G.,
Roma minor, was arrested and detained by police officers 5 days,
without warrant. During this time, he was interrogated several times,
without the presence of parents or a lawyer. N.G. maintained that he
was beaten to recognise facts of a crime that was not committed by him.
Finally he was found not guilty.
Case of judge V.O.
In
two murder cases, committed under similar conditions (by a group,
during a fight, with a difference of 10 days between the two events)
judge V. O. has given very different sentences.
In the first
case victims and perpetrators were Roma. One person died in the
hospital (not from injuries but from pneumonia). Three perpetrators
were sentenced to imprisonment between 12 and 16 years.
In the
second case, the victims were Roma and the perpetrators were Romanian.
Three Roma persons died. Four perpetrators were sentenced to
imprisonment between 3 and 5 years.
In both sentences the ethnicity of victims and perpetrators is mentioned.
Case of judge G. S.
In
a case where the houses of Roma were set on fire with all of their
goods, persons were forced to live several years in the forest or in
the houses of relatives. The judge decided not to offer moral damages.
Motivating this decision, "this kind of event does not constitute a
source of income, but jobs"; "moral reparations to civil parties who
suffered material damages is not required to be offered".
3. Sociological research on discrimination
3.1. Discussions with experts
To
find the best methodology for each domain, the PEL organised meetings
with experts. After the three meetings with experts, one for each
domain, another meeting was organised with sociologists.
3.1.1. Equality in education
At the meeting held on 11 March 20039, the following was proposed:
� to obtain statistical data on
- number of students by language of education;
- number of teachers by language of teaching;
- possibilities for higher education in mother tongue;
- mono- and multilingual schools;
- classes under regular number of students;
- possibilities for transport of students;
- special places for Roma students;
- number of students leaving school prior to completion;
- success in graduation exam after 8 classes, success of graduating
with a bachelor�s degree;
� to question
teachers in the following schools: General School no. 10, Special
School of Tîrgu-Mureş no. 1, General School of Sînpaul, General School
of Reghin no. 4, General School of Miercurea Nirajului, Joseph Haltrich
High School.
� questionnaires are to follow:
- attitudes of teachers regarding minorities;
- acceptance of mother tongue education;
- acceptance of segregation;
- acceptance of multiculturalism in the schools
- acceptance of positive measures for marginalized groups.
3.1.2. Equal access to social services, jobs and public places
The following was proposed by the participants10 at the meeting held on 25 March 2003:
� to monitor how the Strategy of the Government of Romania for
improving the Roma's condition is implemented in Mureş County in the
domain of social services;
� to obtain statistical data on:
- job possibilities;
- unemployment situation;
- type of reported problems, claims;
� to question public servants in the Prefecture, County Council,
mayor's offices in Mureş county, Mureş Labor and Social Solidarity
Department, Territorial Labor Inspectorate, Mureş County Agency for
Workplaces.
� questionnaires will follow:
- attitudes of public servants regarding minorities;
- acceptance of use of mother tongue in relation to the population;
- acceptance of positive measures for marginalized groups.
3.1.3. Equal treatment before tribunals, by law enforcement officials, in prison
Because
of the absence of important invited persons, the meeting organised on 8
April 200311 did not fully achieve the expectations. In this situation,
the expertise of the Human Rights Office was used to establish the
priorities. In this instance, the questionnaires were designed to
determine:
- attitudes of police officers, prosecutors and judges regarding minorities;
- use of the mother tongue during penal procedures;
- jurisprudence on non-discrimination legislation.
3.2. Method used
3.2.1. Questionnaires
The
research was completed � respecting the scientific criteria for
representative questioning12 � in different institutions (list of
institutions in Annex 3) and among citizens of Tîrgu-Mureş.
Citizens
questioned (two Roma communities were selected; Valea Rece and Dealului
Street, and citizens of Tîrgu-Mureş), responded to the following:
- attitudes regarding minorities;
- scholar situation (drop-outs, segregation possibilities, use of
mother tongue, multiculturalism in education, experiences on
discrimination);
- attitude of authorities regarding minority persons (use of mother tongue, experiences of discrimination).
Persons
detained at the Tîrgu-Mureş Penitentiary were selected as a special
group to be questioned. The study sought to obtain information
regarding use of the mother tongue during penal procedures and
experiences of discrimination.
3.2.2. Interviews
To
complete the questionnaires, interviews were completed in all
institutions and fields involved in the research, following the same
issues, but trying to obtain more information regarding cases, personal
situations, opinions, feelings and possible recommendations for actions
needed to improve the situation.
3.2.3. Statistics
Statistics were needed to compare with the obtained information and to follow positive measures and structural discrimination.
3.3. Results of the research
3.3.1. Equality in education
Access
to the schools to complete the questionnaires was promised by Ştefan
Someşan, inspector chief of Mureş County School Inspectorate, but
further discussions and obtaining approval was obstructed by different
excuses.
Mureş County School Inspectorate
In the corridors of this institution information is available only in Romanian.
By
statistics, in school year 1996-1997, in Mureş county, the percentage
of the students in Hungarian mother tongue education at different
levels of education was: 37.4% (kindergarten), 33.0% (primary school),
33.4% (V-VIII grades), 26.0% (high school), 0% (professional
education), 7.9% (post graduate), 6.1% (apprentice), 0% (foreman
school). The German mother tongue education exists at the level of
kindergarten (1.2% of pupils learned in German), primary school (1.2%),
grades V-VIII (1.0%), high school (0.7%).
In school year
2002-2003, the same statistics show the following: the percentage of
the students in Hungarian mother tongue education in kindergarten:
37.2%, primary school: 34.0%, V-VIII grades: 32.4%, high school: 26.4%,
professional education: 18.6%, post graduate: 6.2%. Positive steps were
taken in the domain of professional education. The German mother tongue
education exists at the level of kindergarten (1.2% of pupils learned
in German), primary school (1.1%), grades V-VIII (0.9%), high school
(1.7%). The percentage of those who learn in high school in German
increased, but by non-Germans. The number of students who learn Romani
language: 24 (kindergarten), 913 (primary school, 3.4% of all
students), 364 (grades V-VIII, 1.2%), 16 (high school). Number of
students who learn in Romanian and chose to learn the Hungarian
language is insignificant (28 in V-VIII grades and 8 in high schools).
For
the school year 1997-199813, in high schools and professional schools,
38 places were offered, 15 of them only in Romanian, 22 in Romanian and
Hungarian and 1 in Romanian and German. German education exists in the
domains of mathematics-physics and language. Hungarian language
education was not offered in the fields of administrative services,
finance-accounting, trades, public alimentation-tourism, agriculture,
and sanitation. Also Hungarian language education does not exist in
form without attendance. Of 5620 places, 4585 were in the Romanian
language (81.6%), 1005 in Hungarian (17.9%), 40 in German (0.7%)14.
From 70 profiles, 20 (28.6%) are available in Romanian and Hungarian
(two of them are also available in German), 46 only in Romanian
(65.7%), 4 only in Hungarian (5.7%). In Tîrgu-Mureş, from 126 classes,
89 were in the Romanian language (70.6%), 27 in Hungarian (29.4%).
The
primary classes enrolling fewer than the regular number of students are
in the Hungarian language in 40% of the total classes, in German in
0.8%; for grades V-VIII, 31.7% are in Hungarian and 1.1% in German. The
percentage of students learning in their mother tongue, as reported
indicates that preferential treatment of neither majority nor minority
students exist in creating classes enrolling fewer than the regular
number of students.
The number of unqualified teachers is very
high among minority language teachers. From 87 unqualified teachers in
the kindergarten, 76 are for Hungarian language education (87.4%), from
97 unqualified schoolmistress�, 52 are for Hungarian language education
(53.6%).
Among qualified teachers 34.0% are for Hungarian
language education, among substitute teachers 20.5%, among unqualified
teachers 36.3%.
In the field of teaching Romani language, in
kindergarten there are 4 unqualified persons, at primary level 12
qualified and 19 unqualified persons (15 also teach grades V-VIII), at
the high school level, there is 1 qualified teacher.
For German
language education there are 11 qualified and 3 unqualified persons in
kindergarten, 15 qualified and 5 unqualified persons in primary
education, 25 qualified and 2 unqualified persons in V-VIII grades and
25 qualified persons in higher education.
Schools are
monolingual Romanian (42.9%), monolingual Hungarian (22.3%), bilingual
Romanian-Hungarian (26.5%), bilingual Romanian-Romani (3.9%), bilingual
Romanian-German (2.1%) and bilingual Hungarian-Romani (2.1%).
The
exam results obtained by Hungarians and Germans are slightly below the
general results: after 8th grade final exams with 0.5% for Hungarian
students and 1.8% for German students, bachelor�s degree with 1.7% for
Hungarian students and 1.1% for German students.
Ştefan Someşan,
inspector chief of Mureş County School Inspectorate declared that the
administrative language in the schools is Romanian. Meetings of the
council of teachers could be in Hungarian in Hungarian schools, by
mutual agreement, but official papers could be completed only in
Romanian.
At events like opening ceremonies or speech-day,
Romanian and also Hungarian language is used. Multiculturalism in
schools is generally respected, depending on the director of the
schools. In two schools in the county, there exist lecture rooms for
Orthodox religion classes, the future is to have ecumenical lecture
rooms everywhere and lay teachers, not priests, to teach religion in
the schools.
In the opening period, mayors were contacted to mobilise them to offer school supplies for children from disadvantaged groups.
The
scholarship system does not offer real possibilities for poor families.
The solution is to offer scholarships by communities, through mayor�s
offices.
Some elite general schools have a policy to convince parents to not enrol children unless they are highly qualified.
The
mechanism of opening new domains of education in high schools,
including mother tongue education, begins with the expression of need
by the schools. Schools try to protect the jobs of teachers, so do not
agree to open new domains where new teachers have to be engaged.
Olga
Markus, Roma inspector is the only person charged with problems of Roma
education. She declared that from Mureş county 2 Roma are in Petru
Maior University (students of public administration) one in the Medical
University (not in special placement for Roma), 18 in Bucharest,
students of CREDIS (to become instructors in Romani language). In high
schools there is a Roma class with 16 students in the Mihai Eminescu
Pedagogical High School, 12 others are learning (most of them studying
the humanities) in high schools of the county. At the beginning some of
the best high schools considered that it is not timely to offer special
places for Roma students, because if they are not at the same level as
other students, the other students could lose. Discussions were needed
to explain the reasons for special placements. Other high schools
understood the situation from the start.
In 25 schools, 23
persons teach the Romani language. There are 12 qualified
schoolmistresses. It depends on the school directors to obtain
workplaces for these Roma teachers. Some of the directors refuse to
declare vacant places. Ogra and Band are positive examples, where
important Roma communities exist and the directors needed Roma
instructors and teachers.
The number of students leaving school
prior to completion, fortunately decreased in the last year, as a
result of the government program called "Croissant and Milk" (offering
croissant and milk for every pupil between first and fourth grades).
The primary reason for leaving school before completion is poverty.
Several children need to work to help support their families. Another
issue influencing this situation is that in traditional Roma families,
because of early marriage, girls leave school after four grades, and
boys after six or seven grades. Despite these problems, around 80% of
Roma are finishing the obligatory 8 classes. In several traditional
communities adults want to continue their studies, but funds to
organise adult education are not adequate.
Discriminatory
attitudes exist in educational institutions, but the problem could be
managed by discussions. In some schools Roma are not allowed to attend.
The explanation is that there are not enough places or classes. In
several schools separate classes are formed for Roma (for example in
village P. where the director refused to understand that this is a
discrimination against Roma children). The most general form of
discrimination is passive discrimination. Roma children are not given
special consideration in the classroom by teachers. For the teachers,
the children do not exist and they are not asked.
A high number
of Roma attend Special School no. 1, for mentally retarded children.
(Almost 90% of the students are Roma). The explanation is that some
Roma children have learning difficulties. Some parents send their
children to this form of education believing it is easier, but it is
also because of the lack of involvement by the teachers who are not
willing to work with groups in a different way.
The future of
Roma children depends very much on the personal involvement of the
teachers. If they tried to help the disadvantaged children, offering a
motivation to learn, very good results could be obtained. But it is
almost impossible for a pupil from a poor Roma family, because of
social gaps, to become an educated person.
Teachers
Interviews
found that teachers are not familiar with the themes and phenomenons in
the area of discrimination, and also that legislation is not known.
Romanian
teachers refuse to consider that discrimination could happen in the
education system. There are some difficulties in the field of education
that also affect minority communities, but are not limited to minority
communities. Few teachers considered that higher education in the
mother tongue is an advantage for minorities, because without perfect
Romanian language they will lose the chance to succeed in Romanian
society. Regarding education in the Romani language, the majority of
the interviewed teachers considered that it is useful, but there were
also those who considered that it is not in the best interest of Roma
children, because they have to be detached from Roma culture, otherwise
they will remain self-marginalised.
Hungarian teachers
considered that the Hungarian students are overloaded because they have
more hours and exams than their collegues in Romanian language
education (at the same time, Romanian students are not offered
knowledge of the minority culture). In mixed (Romanian-Hungarian)
schools, multiculturalism does not exist. Only in Hungarian classes are
inscriptions in Hungarian and in different events organised in the
schools, there are only in few cases where Hungarian language is used
or Hungarian culture is present in dances or singing. In answer to the
question if discrimination exists in schools, many Hungarian teachers
considered that the practice in naming Romanian headmasters and
Hungarian assistant headmasters, a general practice in Mureş county
with few exceptions, creates the image that Hungarians must always be
in second place. This feeling is strengthened by an other practices:
Romanian classes are noted by the first letters of the alphabet (for
example if there are two Romanian and two Hungarian classes, classes A
and B are in Romanian, C and D are Hungarian). It was also mentioned
that there is a lack of Hungarian teachers in many domains. Regarding
Roma education, the same attitude was observed among Romanian teachers.
Roma
teachers explain that they were helped, near the family, by very
generous teachers. Without this help, they would be lost. In their
careers they meet a lot of opposition to Romani language education or
training, Roma teachers, (because by social integration some persons
understand assimilation), and Romani language or Roma teachers are not
offering this solution.
Teachers from Tîrgu-Mureş Special School
no. 1 stated that more than 90% of students are Roma, and only around
25% of all the students are mentally handicapped. It is observed that
among Roma dyslexia and dysgraphia is higher than among the general
population, acalculia does not exist. Some students are categorised as
having "modifications of behaviour", meaning aggressive attitudes. In
this way the school for mentally retarded children became at the same
time a school for Roma and a reformatory school. At the present time,
the school has around 300 students. Last year a committee from Cluj
found the 1/4 of the students were able to learn in other schools if
sent through the normal education system. Those followed were
unfortunately found to be completely lost in other schools, because of
the carelessness of teachers in integrating them in the schools.
Because other schools do not accept them, the system of special schools
could become the way to offer minimum education for Roma children. In 8
classes the students are learning to read and write, also to use the
basic mathematic operations. Parents are satisfied not only because it
is easier for children to learn, but also because lunch is offered for
every student. In primary classes after lunch education continues to
help students learn (in normal education system this is not offered).
Teachers of the school report that this education form is better for
Roma than nothing.
Romanian community of Tîrgu-Mureş
As
reported in 50 questionnaires, the first priority is to be nearby15
when selecting a school. 22% of those questioned did not have children,
54% select the nearest school, 24% select the school where teachers are
well prepared. All school-aged children are students.
Education
in the mother tongue is considered to be important: 98% considered that
education in the mother tongue is an advantage to the students. The
community is quite open to multiculturalism: 40% considered that more
languages should be used during school celebrations, on posters and and
in teaching aids, only 8% responded that other languages should not be
used (62% reported that they are used during school celebrations � 12%
that they are not used; 54% that they are used on posters and in
teaching aids � 14% that they are not used). Regarding Hungarian
language schools, the Romanian community is not so open to acceptance:
58% considered that Hungarian language schools are an obstacle to
mutual understanding of Romanian and Hungarian communities, 20%
considered that they are not.
Regarding Roma, the attitudes are
different. 20% considered that it is good to avoid schools with Roma
children, 60% that it is not good. 76% agree with special places for
Roma students. If they are informed that their child is in the same
class with a Roma child, 72.7% will speak with the child to accept the
situation, 22.7% will ask to move the child to another class, 4.5%
offered another answer ("my child will be not irritated in this
situation").
Hungarian community of Tîrgu-Mureş
Dáné
Károly, expert on education of the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in
Romania reports that classes enrolling fewer than the regular number of
students are created more frequently in the case of a Romanian class
than in the case of a Hungarian class.
In the 8 grades the
percentage of students who learn in the Romanian language is 68% (31%
of those who learn in Hungarian), in the 9 grades, the figure is 74%
(only 25% learn in Hungarian). After 8 grades, when students must
choose different profiles, in some domains (for example in the
agricultural domain) Hungarian language higher education does not
exist, due to a vicious circle: students at grade 8 are given forms
with the existing domains to choose classes for the next four years;
because nobody chooses Hungarian language education in that particular
domain (non-existent in the forms), it is considered that a need does
not exist. Because the option for a profile is strong, for a large
number of Hungarian students, learning in the mother tongue is not
assured. Sometimes parents planning ahead for directing their child to
a particular profile and finding that profile is not available in
Hungarian education, send the child, beginning in the first grade, to
Romanian language education so the child will not have problems later.
Subjects
exist where there are not enough Hungarian language teachers, for
example in the domain of computer science several Hungarian classes are
learning in Romanian.
Until now the subjects for a bachelor�s
degree were sent in Romanian, and locally were translated in Hungarian.
This affected the students, because the quality of translations was not
the same, and if it was not a problem in mathematics, it was in
philosophy. Not every teacher is able to translate properly, every
detail, a text from Hegel or other philosopher. This year the Ministry
of Education promised centralised translation.
On different
structural levels, in second place (assistant inspector chief,
assistant headmaster) are Hungarians, but in their duties and
responsibility for Hungarian language education in their institutions
is not mentioned.
At the present time, there is a procedure to
reduce the number of schools. Unfortunately, it appears that the
schools that will be closed are where Hungarian language students are
in the majority.
48 questionnaires reported, that the first
priority in selecting a school is the quality of the teachers. 60.4% of
those questioned did not have children16, 22.9% select the school where
teachers are well prepared, 14.6% select the nearest school, 2.1%
select a school for other reason ("because I like it"). All school-aged
children are students.
Education in the mother tongue is
considered to be important: 97.9% considered that education in the
mother tongue is an advantage to the students. The community is open to
multiculturalism: 89.6% considered that more languages should be used
during school celebrations, on posters and in teaching aids (60.4%
considered that they are used during school celebrations � 20.8% that
they are not used; 62.5% that they are used on posters and in teaching
aids � 16.7% that they are not used17). 52.1% considered that Hungarian
language schools are not an obstacle in mutual knowledge of Romanian
and Hungarian communities, but 31.5% considered that they are.
Regarding
Roma, the attitudes are very different. 25.0% considered that it is
good to avoid schools with Roma children, 37.5% that it is not good.
79.2% agree with special places for Roma students, 2,1% do not agree.
If they are informed that their child is in the same class with a Roma
child, 64.6% will speak with the child to accept the situation, 12.5%
will ask to move the child to another class, 6.2% offered another
answer ("I will speak with the Roma child to watch his behavior
regarding my child"; "I will speak with my child to help the Roma
child"; "it is a very normal situation").
31.2% expressed the
opinion that their child was not a subject of discrimination, two
persons considered that it was, only one for ethnic reasons ("the
child�s Romanian language and literature in school books from grade 5
to 8 is identical with the school books of Romanian children").
During
interviews, parents considered that in multilingual schools the
minority children feel they are second class citizens. When they are in
secondary positions in Romanian classes, many times there are conflicts
between a Romanian child and a Hungarian child, Hungarian teachers tell
students to not make complaints, to accept the situation, instead of
solving the conflict. This wrong attitude of teahers affects the
attitudes of students and at times they feel they are a victim of
"Romanians", not simply a victim of other student�s attitudes.
Ethnicity could become a source of conflict between classes18.
Valea Rece community
Lengyel
Lazar, leader of the Valea Rece community, reports that Roma children
are put in the last rows in the class all the time and teachers do not
care what is happening to the Roma students. Parents can not help their
children because many of them are illiterate. Several times Roma
children received the most used books. In some schools Roma children
are not accepted. In these conditions, several parents choose special
school for their children.
Community children from Valea Rece
are going to General School no. 18 and General School no. 10 (because
these are close to the community and Roma are accepted, but with some
difficulties), Special School no. 1 (not because they are retarded, but
because there they are not humiliated and it is easy to finish the 8
grades). In General School no. 17 Roma students were called "Gypsy" by
teachers, humiliating them in public (saying that they are stinking
even if they are washed daily). For this reason, parents refused to
send their children there.
The 20 questionnaires show the following:
- mother tongue is important in education (90%, not important: 5%);
- it is good to offer special places for Roma in high schools and universities (90%);
- 15% considered that multiculturalism does not exist in schools, 10% considered that it exists;
- the existence of multiculturalism in the schools was considered to be
important (75%, 15% considered that it is not important).
55% of
those questioned have school-aged children, from 26 school-aged
children, 23 (88.5%) are students. All parents whose children are not
in school declared that the cause is poverty. 14 are in Special School
no.1 (61%), 2 in General School no. 10 (9%), 2 in special school for
blind children (9%), 1 in General School no. 18 (4%). A school is
selected because it offers a daily meal (80%), it is easy for pupils to
learn (70%), because of illness (10%), it is the nearest (10%).
The
mother tongue of the questioned persons was Hungarian (90%), Romani
(30%), Romanian (20%)19. 35% do not speak Romanian, 10% Romani, 5%
Hungarian. No one speaks international languages.
Level of education:
15% without any education;
20% 2-4 classes;
45% 6-8 classes;
20% 9-12 classes.
Many
parents considered that at Special School no. 1 the children do not
have any discrimination problems. One parent, with a pupil at the
General School no. 1, considered that the teacher is very good. Another
reported that her blind children are very well treated by teachers and
there is also medical assistance.
Some discriminative actions
were presented. Parents considered that at the different general
schools Roma children are not helped to learn, and at home it is
impossible for parents without education to help the children learn.
Roma children are placed in the last row in the class, and teachers
suggest that parents move their children to the special school. It was
reported that a child started school at Special School no. 1, where he
was considered to be too good and was sent to General School no. 10,
but because of the indifference of teachers, the child did not succeed.
In one case, parents told that their children were called "Gypsy" by
teachers and in one case that teachers were good but other children had
beaten her child and harrassed the child by calling the child "Gypsy".
Dealul Street Roma community20
The
leader of the community, Balog Péter, declared that 20-25 children are
going to the General School no. 1 (the nearest school), 24 children to
Rozmarin Center21 (because there children receive social aid and
meals), around 10 children attend Special school no. 1 (because they
have problems with learning). He does not claim major discrimination
committed in schools.
Interviewed persons, among them children,
considered that in their schools discrimination against Roma does not
exist. A few times it was mentioned that some teachers did not use
proper behaviour.
The 14 questionnaires show the following:
- mother tongue is important in education (100%);
- it is good to offer special places for Roma in high schools and
universities (93%, one person totally disagreed);
- people did not know exactly whether or not multiculturalism exists in
schools (all parents were confused when answering questions regarding
the language of school celebrations, posters, and teaching aids in the
corridors of schools);
- the existence of multiculturalism in the schools was considered to be important (100%).
50%
of the questioned persons have school-aged children, of 16 school-aged
children, 6 (37.5%) attend school. All parents of children not in
school declared the cause was poverty. The school selected is the
nearest (100%). One person declared that he will choose a school where
social aid and a free meal is offered after next year. The mother
tongue of the questioned persons was Hungarian (93%, only one has the
Romanian mother tongue). Only 46% of Hungarian mother tongue persons
speak Romanian, one person speaks Romani, one person speaks
international languages; the Romanian mother tongue person speaks
Hungarian.
Level of education:
43% without any education;
14% 4-5 classes;
28% 8 classes;
14% 10-11 classes.
No one claims discrimination.
Hungarian Community from Tîrnăveni
Kakassy
Sándor, district president of the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in
Romania, reports that students are guided to choose, after the 8th
grade, a Romanian language high school education. At the 8th grade,
Hungarian language education is offered for 8 classes, but only two
continue in Hungarian at the 9th grade. In the high school, there are
Hungarian language teachers only for Hungarian, mathematics, physics
and geography. For other subjects the teachers are Romanian who do not
speak Hungarian.
German Community from Sighişoara
According
to Bruno Fröhlich, leader of the German Lutheran Church from
Sighişoara, in 1930 half of the population of the town was German. At
the present time Sighisoara has 35,000 residents and approximately
1,000 are Germans, many of them living in mixed marriages with
Hungarians and Romanians22. During the communist period Germans left
Romania.
In the past Sighişoara was an important German
education center, where teachers held Master's Degrees obtained in
important German universities. Boarding schools were permitted to have
students from all regions of Romania.
German language education
is available from kindergarten (3 state and 2 private kindergartens)
until high school (two classes). Several Romanian and Hungarian parents
choose this form of education for their children. However in the
classes there are not more than 1-2 students who are Germans.
Near
Sighişoara, in Saschiz, Mălîncrav and Noul Săsesc there are important
German communities and from these communities, students are transported
by busses to Sighişoara. In two of these villages there are about 30
families who came from the former East Germany, to settle there.
Teachers
also left Romania, and now there are not enough German language
teachers in the domains of mathematics, physics and other subjects. At
the present time, due to good relations with Germany, teachers from
Germany are coming to Romania. German foundations offer their support
to renovate the buildings.
3.3.2. Equal access to social services, jobs and public places
Mureş County Prefecture
In the corridors of the institution information is available only in Romanian. The website is in Romanian and English.
According
to Cornel Brişcaru, director of the Prefect's cabinet, among 40
employees of the Prefecture, around 10-15 are Hungarians; 10-15 persons
are working directly with the public, 75% of them know Hungarian. The
Roma counselor, Nicolae Turcata is very appreciative because all of his
proposals were accepted, and to him it was offered letters of
sustainability or partnerships where needed.
Letters in
Hungarian were sent by citizens in the last year to Mureş County
Prefecture, to see if they would be accepted. After it was determined
that the right to write letters in the mother tongue was respected,
this year all of the letters were sent in Romanian.
It is
reported that ethnic discrimination could not happen in the Prefecture.
Several times petitions have been refused, not because the Prefecture
is unable to solve the substance of the petition (for example a person
asked to obtain a bass clarinet, because this was his dream from
childhood). It happens that in these situations those filing complaints
feel they have suffered discrimination because the situation was not
resolved to their satisfaction when it is actually something that is
not connected with the activity of the institution.
Positive
discrimination is more dangerous than negative discrimination. Creating
jobs for Roma or disco for Roma are actions promoting negative
attitudes. Like in the USA, the target of positive measures has to be
not ethnic groups, but disadvantaged groups, for example poor people,
and indirectly this creates positive effects on Roma, who are poor.
Nicolae
Turcata, the Roma counselor of the Prefect, reports that at the level
of Mureş County a working group exists to evaluate the needs of the
Roma community, formed by Mureş Police, Mureş County Agency for
Workplaces, Department of Health, Mureş County Council, Mureş School
Inspectorate, Mureş Prefecture, co-ordinated by the Prefecture;
representing the Roma are members including the presidents of the Roma
Party, the Roma Christian Center, the CASROM and the Speranţa
Association. Elected Roma local counselors are not members, because in
Mureş county their number is high, 19, but they are from Roma Party and
Roma Christian Center, represented in the working group. Monthly
meetings are organised with Roma leaders.
Created at the level
of the Mureş Prefecture was the County Office for Roma, with 3 persons,
the Roma counselor and two other (non-Roma) persons.
Monitoring
bodies in the domain of discrimination (in the framework of
authorities) do not exist. In the Mureş Prefecture discrimination of
Roma does not exist. In some authorities abuses and illegalities could
exist. Some mayors expelled Roma from their offices calling them
"Gypsies" or "crow" and many public servants do not know the
antidiscrimination legislation. It has happened that Roma were not
accepted in bars, pubs or discos. This kind of case was resolved by
discussions with authorities or private companies and complaints were
not made.
Roma experts are engaged in the Tîrgu-Mureş and
Tîrnăveni Mayor's Offices. In Sighişoara, Reghin, and Luduş persons are
considered to be Roma counselors, but they are not employed. In Iernut
a person will be engaged.
Experience shows that mayors are
consulting Roma leaders in making decisions regarding Roma communities.
Several positive examples exist and there are also a few negative
examples. In one village more than 1000 Roma exist, but they declared
themselves to be Romanian at the census. In this case, any letter or
request sent by me is not taken into consideration, explaining that "in
my community Roma do not exist".
The situation of dwellings is
very critical in Mureş County. Some external foundations, for example
with Swedish funds, built houses for Roma. The problem is solved step
by step, needing a partnership between the Mayor's Offices and Police.
It happened that non-Roma opposed the construction, and the situation
could only be managed with the help of police. To do not sell the
houses, property rights are not offered to Roma families for this
construction. At the present time, 2013 houses need to be built and
3062 require reconditioning. These numbers do not include families who
will lose their rentals in the next years because the former owners
obtained the right to the property. The Mayor's Office of Tîrnăveni
resolved similar cases for 25 families.
In the field of basic
needs, electricity is available where it is paid, water generally
exists; natural gas is generally not available (not only in Roma
communities, but in many rural areas). In some Roma communities,
connection to these services stop at the Roma houses, but this is not a
general situation. Several times these services were created before
Roma moved there. Actions are taken to introduce these services, for
example, in Luduş electricity will be introduced this summer to a Roma
quarter.
At the qualifying programs of Mureş County Agency for
Workplaces, Roma did not usually participate because the effect could
not be seen. Even with qualifications, Roma could not obtain
workplaces. In rural areas, small enterprises do not exist to offer
work places. Prejudice also exists against Roma among the employers.
Employers will be organised to gather information on the job market for
Roma because programs are not functioning as result of those
prejudices. It was planned to gather Roma employers, but in Mureş
County, there are very few.
In 2002 only 50% of the legal social
aid was paid. In 2003 are needed 250 billion lei for Mureş County, but
only 35.5 billion lei (14%) was assured23. By law, part of the salaries
are paid from the national budget if services are provided to
disenfranchised categories of people. Hundreds of Roma were engaged,
but because of the lack of money from the budget, they lost their jobs.
Disenfranchised persons are engaged only if their salaries are covered
by the Government and not by employers.
An action was started in
2002 to solve the problem of identity cards and more than 300 persons
obtained these cards, with the condition they be introduced to their
fields in the agricultural registries.
Roma police officers, gendarme�s were not employed. Conditions to engage persons in these structures are too strict.
The
most frequent problems reported to Roma counselors of the Prefect are
related to abuse of power by local authorities (several times the
problems and complaints of Roma citizens are not taken seriously).
Mureş County Council
In
the corridors of the institution information is available in Romanian
and Hungarian. The website is only in Romanian with some information
available in English.
Virág György, president of the Mureş
County Council, reports that at the institution there are 125 employees
(14% of them are Hungarian), 20 of them work with the public. Of the
20, 8 speak Hungarian (40%). There is not a Roma specialist. It needs
to engage more persons who speak the minority language. The percentage
of Hungarians shows that there exists a huge disproportion between the
composition of public servants and the composition of the population.
This was partially inherited, but also there is now opposition to
employing Hungarian public servants.
Very few of the letters are
written in Hungarian (one or two times in a month). The County Council
is able to answer these letters in Hungarian, but it does not often
happen. In the direct contacts between the president and the citizens,
during consulting hours, Hungarian is used (around 80% of the citizens
are Hungarian and Hungarians prefer consultations with the Hungarian
president � because of trust and the possibility of using the mother
tongue �, Romanians prefer the Romanian vice-presidents). During this,
nobody considered that he was discriminated against because of his
ethnicity. Complaints are in social domains (problems of dwellings,
jobs, aids). Also Roma NGO�s or Roma groups ask the help of the County
Council, to help in the dialogue with mayors.
In strategies
elaborated for Mureş County, by Mureş Prefectura, Mureş County Council
and other authorities, the cultural diversity of the county does not
appear, and the project does not account for this fact. In the field of
culture, Hungarian institutions or departments are present in the
strategies.
The cultural institutions financed by the County
Council show different aspects. For example, at the Ethnographic Museum
of Tîrgu-Mureş, it was very hard to exhibit a Hungarian traditional
costume, and there is no Roma costume. There are very few Hungarian
museologists and librarians. In the domain of cultural reviews, there
are no problems. County Council could fund Romanian and Hungarian
reviews, and at the Theatre there is a Romanian and a Hungarian
section. At the Puppet Theatre the situation is the same. At the Mureş
Folk Ensemble there is a Romanian and Hungarian section. There was an
unsuccessful initiative to create a Roma section, but Roma folk
ensembles were helped to get costumes.
10 public servants were
questioned24, 4 of them have worked from 9-10 years as public servants,
4 persons worked 3-7 years, and the other two worked less than 2 years.
50% of the questioned persons declared their mother tongue is Romanian, 40% Hungarian, 10% did not declare.
80%
of the Romanians are working with the public, 20% speak Hungarian, 80%
speak international languages. All are highly educated, with university
diplomas.
75% of Hungarians are working with the public, 50%
declared that they speak Romanian25 and 50% international languages.
Level of education: 75% with university education, 25% did not declare.
To
questions regarding use of the mother tongue, 60% of the Romanians
considered that there is a need to use the mother tongue of the
minorities (40% disagreed with using the mother tongue because
minorities do not speak Romanian well, 40% disagreed with using the
language of minorities because public servants are serving the
community, 60% disagreed that public employees are required by law to
know the language of minorities). 10% considered that public servants
know the language of minorities, 60% considered that they did not know.
80% considered that very few persons address the institution in their
mother tongue, to which the answer is in the mother tongue in very few
cases (60%), all of the cases (20%).
Among Hungarians, all
considered that there exists a need to use the mother tongue of the
minorities. 75% considered that public servants know the language of
minorities while 25% considered that they did not know. Experiences are
very different. 25% considered that very few persons address the
authorities in their mother tongue, 25% that few persons in comparison
with the percentage of minority in the locality, 25% that almost all
minority persons, to which the answer is in the mother tongue in very
few cases (50%), all of the cases (25%).
Regarding the
acceptance of minorities as public servants, the result was negative
among Romanians. 20% considered that it is normal to have the
percentage of minority persons working as public servants approximate
the level of minority from the locality (60% considered that it is not
normal), but 60% considered that it is useful to have a Roma expert who
knows the problems of the community (40% considered it not useful). At
the same time, 60% considered that the percentage of minority persons
working as public servants is approximately at the level of the
minority population from the locality (20% considered that it is not),
60% know that there is not a Roma expert in the Mureş County Council
(20% considerd that such a person exists).
All of the Hungarian
public servants considered that it is normal to have the percentage of
minority persons working as public servants approximate the level of
minority from the locality, 75% considered that it is useful to have a
Roma expert who knows the problems of the community. All considered
that the percentage of minority persons working as public servants is
not at the level of minority persons from the locality, 50% know that
there is not a Roma expert, 25% considered that an expert exists.
Answering
the question about special measures, 40% of Romanians considered that
minorities do not need special measures to promote normal development
(60% considered that special measures are needed), 80% considered that
special measures are required to integrate the Roma community into
Romanian society (20% considered that they are not needed). 60%
answered that special measures do not exist for the Hungarian minority
(20% considered that they do exist), 40% that special measures do not
exist for Roma.
All of the Hungarian public servants declare
that it requires special measures for minorities to achieve a normal
development and to integrate the Roma community into the Romanian
society. 50% answered that special measures do not exist for Hungarian
minorities (50% considered that they do exist), 25% that special
measures exist for Roma (75% considered that they do not exist).
To the question "For what reason do Roma communities need special measures?", Romanian mother tongue public servants answered:
20% - do not need special measures;
40% - because they have been disenfranchised for centuries;
0% - because of lack of communication with other communities, self-marginalisation;
60% - because of poverty;
60% - because of lack of education;
10% - because of their traditions, which do not permit the development of modern society;
10% - others.
To the same question, Hungarian mother tongue public servants answered:
0% - do not need to apply special measures;
25% - because of their disenfranchised situation for centuries;
50% - because of lack of communication with other communities, self-marginalisation;
75% - because of poverty;
75% - because of lack of education;
50% - because of their traditions which do not permit the development of modern society;
0% - others.
Law
on public servants and articles regarding minorities are not known.
Among Romanians, 40% refused to answer the legislative question, 40%
offered the correct answer, 20% the wrong answer, Among Hungarians the
percentage is better: 75% offered the correct answer, 25% the wrong
answer.
Regarding the possibilities that discrimination exists
in the institution, all of the Romanians expressed the opinion that it
does not exist; 75% of Hungarians considered that the situation is not
ideal: "in our institution, not all public servants speak the language
of minorities, because of this, they could not answer the public who
address problems in one of these languages"; "persons belonging to
minority groups could not obtain leading positions".
By
interviews, Hungarian public servants considered that during the
hiring, the Romanian majority hiring commissions take into
consideration the ethnicity of candidates and if the vacant post was
occupied by a Romanian, the new person has to be a Romanian and if he
was Hungarian, a Hungarian person could be hired, to not change the
existing percentages. After the president of the County Council became
a Hungarian, the fiscal authorities are more active in the institution,
if accidentally a public bid for a service is won by a Hungarian led
company, it tries to apply pressure to consider the auction illegal.
Mureş County Agency for Workplaces
Reghina
Fărcaş, executive director of Mureş County Agency for Workplaces
declared there are not statistics on Roma unemployment (even the Mureş
County Statistical Department does not have them), but action is now
being taken to determine the scope of the . A database of Roma
communities will be created with the help of the mayor�s office.
Funds exist to offer qualification in different domains to disadvantaged persons.
According
to interviews and articles in the mass media26, on 9 May 2003 the first
job fair for Roma took place. 227 workplaces in the county were
offered27. Jobs were offered first of all by authorities and only a few
were offered by private companies. For more than 100 jobs, the job
description was not specified. Roma considered that those were only
fictitious listings, to create the impression that jobs were being
offered. Even if the promise was to offer jobs for persons without
education and to provide training in the workplace, the requirements
actually were 8 or 12 years of education. From more than 400 interested
Roma, only 153 were employed for a probation period: 86 in Sighişoara,
31 in Tîrgu-Mureş, 6 in Reghin and 30 in Eremitu.
Tîrgu-Mureş Territorial Labour Inspectorate
Carmen
Vamanu, inspector chief, reports that every law prohibits
discrimination, but the fact is that Roma do not have workplaces. Those
who are registered as unemployed, are happy because they had a
workplace and they obtain unemployment aids, but others, who did not
have a job, are missing from the statistics. In Romania the problems
are very serious in this domain.
Traditionally, every community
has specific occupations, and this could be followed by small
entrepreneurial authorizations. Hungarians were good in construction,
tailoring, bootmaking and Roma were specialists in processing metals.
In one part of the county, Roma are rich, they are administrators of
limited companies, but in other communities Roma are very poor. A
middle class does not exist.
First of all opportunities have to
be explained for communities, because without information, they will
not succeed. If a new law appears, first the Hungarians try to
implement it. In Roma communities, laws and initiatives are not known.
Mureş Labour and Social Solidarity Department
In the corridors of the institution information is available only in Romanian.
Győrfi
Mária, general director declared that of 50 positions, only 39 are
occupied, because for the other positions a university degree is
required and long-term work experience; until now they have not found
adequate persons. From 39 employees, 3 are Hungarian, and around 25-30%
of them speak Hungarian, none of them is Roma or speaks Romani; 5
persons are working with the public, and one of them speaks Hungarian.
They need to have more people who speak Hungarian and also who speak
Romani. Usually Hungarian language letters or complaints are sent to
the institution and all of them are resolved.
A policy does not exist to create job placements for minority persons.
During
interviews, employees recognised tensions between Romanians and
Hungarians. Hungarians declared that they feel a nationalistic attitude
against them in the institution.
13 persons were questioned, 2
of them have worked more than 15 years as public servants, 3 persons
5-6 years, others 3 years or less.
All of the questioned persons
declare Romanian as their mother tongue28. 85% of them are working with
the public, 15% speak Hungarian, 46% speak international languages.
Level of education: 54% with university education, 46% with a
bachelor's degree.
Answering questions regarding use of the
mother tongue, not one of them considered that a need exists to use the
mother tongue of the minorities (62% disagreed with using the mother
tongue because minorities do not speak Romanian well, 69% disagreed
with using the language of minorities because public servants are
serving the community, 77% disagreed that public employees are required
by law to know the language of minorities). Only 15% considered that
public servants know the language of minorities, 38% considered that
they did not know. The experiences of public servants are very
different. 38% considered that very few persons address the institution
in their mother tongue, 15% that there are few persons in comparison
with the percentage of minorities in the locality, 15% that almost all
minority persons, to which the answer is in the mother tongue in very
few cases (38%), many cases (8%), all of the cases (8%).
Regarding
the acceptance of minorities as public servants, the result was also
negative. 77% considered that it is not normal to have the percentage
of minority persons employed as public servants approximate the number
of minority from the locality (15% considered that it is normal), 46%
considered that it is not useful to have a Roma expert who knows the
problems of the community (15% considered it useful). At the same time
15% considered that the percentage of minority persons working as
public servants is approximately at the same level of minority from the
locality, 8% considered that a Roma expert exists.
In the
question of special measures, 69% considered that special measures are
not required for minorities to achieve normal development (15%
considered it a need), 54% considered that special measures are
required to integrate the Roma community into the Romanian society (23%
considered that they are not needed). 38% answered that special
measures not exist for Hungarian minorities (15% considered that it
exists), 46% that special measures do not exist for Roma (8% considered
that they exist).
To the question "For what reason do Roma communities need special measures?", the answers were:
31% - do not need to apply special measures;
8% - because they were disenfranchised for centuries;
31% - because of lack of communication with other communities, automatic marginalisation;
31% - because of poverty;
31% - because of lack of education;
23% - because of their traditions, which do not permit the development of modern society;
0% - others.
Law
on public servants and articles regarding minorities are not known. 46%
refuse to answer the legislative question, 31% offered the correct
answer, 23% the wrong answer. At the same time, despite the law, 77%
disagreed that the law requires public employees to know the language
of minorities, not one of the questioned persons agree.
Finally,
regarding the possibility that discrimination exists in the
institution, 62% expressed his opinion that it does not exist, and
others did not complete the questionnaire29.
Mayor's Office of Tîrgu-Mureş
In
the corridors of the institution information is available in Romanian
and Hungarian. The website is in Romanian, Hungarian and English.
Marius
Emil Paşcan, the vice-director of the Department for Strategy,
Communication and Human Resources and spokesman of the Tîrgu-Mureş
Mayor's Office declared that 200 persons are working as public servants
in the office, around 70% of them are in contact with the public. 80%
of those who are working with the public speak Hungarian. There are 2
Roma employees, working specially for Roma communities in the
city30.The number of Hungarian public servants is not known, this kind
of statistic does not exist31.
A policy to engage minority
persons does not exist, but because of the legislation requiring exams
for the jobs in the field of public service, persons are preferred who
speak not only Romanian, but also Hungarian. Indemnities could not be
offered for persons who speak minority languages.
There needs to
be a department in the Tîrgu-Mureş Mayor's Office working in the field
of Roma, to find better and more direct solutions to all problems, but
Roma experts do not exist who could become employees of this
department. At the present, the responsabilities are dissipated to
different departments or services.
A structure exists in the
Mayor's Office to define strategies and projects, this department
consults with the two Roma employees on projects in Roma communities.
A
real partnership does not exist between the Mayor's Office, other
authorities and NGO�s to develop common projects and to involve Roma
comminities in solving their problems. Central authorities do not ask
local authorities what they need, what are their problems or how these
problems could be solved. The Mayor's Office would like to invite NGO�s
working with Roma to create partnerships.
First discussions with the Roma expert of the Prefecture have just begun.
The
Mayor's Office finances different kinds of projects through the
Department of Relations with NGO�s, but unfortunately Roma NGO�s did
not apply.
The Mayor's Office launched a project in Valea Rece
to resolve the problems of dwellings. In this area, Roma are in a
completely illegal situation, without any notification. A topographical
map was created, with the delineation of territories and it is to be
introduced in the land registers. When this work is completed, Roma
will be legal and they could obtain identity cards and other official
documents. A new step will be the construction of houses and that
requires large amounts of funding. The Tîrgu-Mureş Mayor's Office
developed a project, but finances were not obtained. Even without
external funds, the mayor decided to develop the first construction
step by step, to show that his intentions are real and perhaps in this
way funds can be obtained.
22 Roma families (90 persons) live in
Rovinari which is legally established. The Mayor's Office bought
buildings in another place and now these buildings are reconditioned.
The Roma families will move here while their apartments are being
reconditioned and after that they will be moved back to Rovinari. In
the rent contract will be a rider that if the lodgers do not maintain
the apartments in good condition, the contract will be cancelled.
In Beşa there is now a project to introduce water, methane gas and other utilities.
At
the present time Roma are not involved in this work because they are
not qualified in construction, but there exists a Roma class in the
Constructional High School and if they complete their classes, they
will participate in the work.
The Mayor's Office must work
tactfully, because among several disadvantaged groups � pensioners,
jobless persons and poor persons � the positive measures for Roma
creates negative attitudes.
Programs to train public servants on
non-discrimination practices did not begin until now, because the
Mayor's Office did not find a way to motivate the public servants to
participate in this kind of training.
A monitoring system does
not exist to identify discrimination. The Mayor's Office has too many
obligations, there is not any person who could follow this important
problem, but it could be accomplished through partnerships with NGO�s
to monitor the situation.
Lengyel Lazar, community mediator with
Roma from the Mayor's Office is presently working with half-time
(recently full-time) staff, having responsabilities in the Roma
communities. A half-time Roma inspector is also recently working
there.32
This team is working with the following communities and problems:
In
Valea Rece, where around 250 families, 1400 persons live, the most
pressing problem is unemployment. 95% of adult's do not have a job.
Until 2000, traditionally the Roma from Valea Rece worked in the
sanitation service, but the Mayor's Office decided to offer this work
to the Penitentiary of Tîrgu-Mureş. Because this caused social
problems, now around 400 persons receive social aid from the Mayor's
Office. Houses are built generally of adobe, without water or natural
gas. The Mayor's Office created two wells (one at each end of town and
in this way it will be possible to connect houses to water in the
future) with water from the town�s water pipe-system. Electricity and
natural gas were introduced, but because of the costs, natural gas
could not be supported and electricity was only affordable for a few
families. The problem of identity cards was solved with the help of the
Mayor's Office and the Police (officially the land is considered to be
pasture). The Mayor's Office gave certificates to persons living in
Valea Rece and Police issued identity cards without addresses. The
field is listed in the agricultural registry and until now it was not
entered in the land register (topographic map, the first step for this
was recently realised). Taxi drivers refuse to enter the community but
emergency vehicles are entering. In the vicinity there are not bars or
pubs where Roma are not served. Medical assistance is assured (in the
community, a health unit exists). Problems in access to hospitals are
not known.
In Rovinari, important unemployment exists (adults of
this quarter also worked in sanitation services until 2000) and the
problem of housing is pressing. 22 families are officially living here
in apartment houses; another 50 families are without a contract (living
from 10 to 20 years in this apartment). Now the Mayor's Office will
renovate these apartment houses, offering other apartments during the
work, but only for 22 families. It is not clear what will happen with
the other 50 families.
Roma are very poor in Remetea also. In
the central zone of Remetea, houses are quite normal, but until now the
legal situation was not clear. In Fînaţe Street there are only hovels,
without any water. Until they have jobs and natural gas is not so
expensive, the gas will not be introduced.
In Dealul Street the
problem of identity cards was solved with the help of the Mayor's
Office and the Police (officially the land is considered to be
pasture). The Mayor's Office helped to repair the road.
Around 30 families live in Călăraşilor Street some of them with a contract, others without.
Roma
families have lived in Revoluţiei Street for 30 years and now the
former owners (who lost their property in the communist era) got back
their houses and the law requires that the rental arrangement continue
for 5 years. After this, the Roma families will be without a home.
Promises exist to solve the problems, but no construction has begun.
The
Mayor's Office has offered social aid several times. The budget of the
Mayor's Office is not enough for important activities and it will try
to obtain external funds.
Office of Strategy and Development for
Roma is consulted by the Mayor of Tîrgu-Mureş. Other departments of the
Mayor's Office are in partnership with Roma NGO�s and collaborate with
the Prefecture.
The Roma class in the Constructional High School
does not exist. There is only a planned project to offer qualification
courses for Roma in partnership with the Constructional High School.
27
public servants were questioned, 8 of them working more than 10 years
as public servants, 15 persons had worked 4-9 years, others 3 years or
fewer.
63% of the questioned persons declared Romanian as their mother tongue33, 37% Hungarian.
All
Romanians are working with the public, 29% speak Hungarian, 71% speak
international languages. Level of education: 59% with a university
education, 29% with a bachelor's degree, 12% refused to answer.
70%
of Hungarians are working with the public, 40% say they speak
Romanian34, 70% international languages. Level of education: 70% with a
university education, 30% with a bachelor's degree.
To questions
regarding use of mother tongue, 24% of the Romanians considered that
there exists a need to use the mother tongue of the minorities (71%
disagreed with using the mother tongue because minorities do not speak
Romanian well, 47% were in disagreement with the use of minority
language because public servants are serving the community, 35%
disagreed that public employees have to know the language of minorities
according to the law). 29% considered that public servants know the
language of minorities, 12% considered that they did not. The
experiences are very different. 41% considered that very few persons
address the institution in their mother tongue, 24% believe that there
are few persons in comparison to the percentage of minority people in
the locality, 18% thought that the answer, in very few cases, is given
to minority persons in the mother tongue (35%), many cases (29%), all
of the cases (17%).
Among Hungarians, all considered that a need
exists to use the mother tongue of the minorities (10% were in
disagreement with using the mother tongue because minorities do not
speak Romanian well). 50% considered that public servants know the
language of minorities, 30% considered that they did not. 60%
considered that few persons in comparison with the percentage of
minority in the locality address authorities in their mother tongue,
20% believe that answers in the mother tongue are given very few times
to almost all minority persons (10%), many cases (30%), all of the
cases (40%).
Regarding the acceptance of minorities as public
servants, the result was negative among Romanians. 47% considered that
it is normal to employ the same percentage of minority persons working
as public servants at approximately the same level as minority persons
from the locality (29% considered that it is not normal), but only 18%
considered that it is not useful to have a Roma expert who knows the
problems of the community (59% considered it useful). At the same time
65% considered that the percentage of minority persons working as
public servants is approximately at the level of minority persons from
the locality and only 53% know that a Roma expert works in the Mayor's
Office of Tîrgu-Mureş.
80% of Hungarian public servants
considered that it is normal to employ the percentage of minority
persons working as public servants at approximately the same level as
minority from the locality (20% considered that it is not normal), 90%
considered that it is useful to have a Roma expert who knows the
problems of the community. 20% considered that the percentage of
minority persons working as public servants is approximately at the
level of minority from the locality (40% considered that it is not),
60% know that Roma experts exist.
In the question of special
measures, 35% of Romanians considered that they are not needed for
minorities to assure a normal development (35% considered that special
measures are needed), 59% considered that special measures are needed
to integrate the Roma community into the Romanian society (18%
considered that they are not needed). 29% answered that special
measures do not exist for the Hungarian minority (29% considered that
they do exist), 29% that special measures do not exist for Roma (24%
considered that they do exist).
All of the Hungarian public
servants declare that special measures are needed by minorities for a
normal development, 80% considered that it requires special measures to
integrate the Roma community into the Romanian society (10% considered
that they are not needed). 40% answered that special measures do not
exist for the Hungarian minority (40% considered that they exist), 50%
that special measures exist for Roma (30% considered that they do not
exist).
To the question "For what reason do Roma communities need special measures?", Romanian mother tongue public servants answered:
12% - do not need to apply special measures;
12% - because they were disenfranchised for centuries;
18% - because of lack of communication with other communities, automatic marginalisation;
24% - because of poverty;
71% - because of lack of education;
29% - because of their traditions, which do not permit the development of modern society;
12% - others (mentioning: "they did not want to integrate into a
civilized society"; "because they do not work").
To the same question, Hungarian mother tongue public servants answered:
0% - do not need to apply special measures;
40% - because they were disenfranchised for centuries;
20% - because of lack of communication with other communities, automatic marginalisation;
50% - because of poverty;
90% - because of lack of education;
40% - because of their traditions, which do not permit the development of modern society;
0% - others.
Law
on public servants and articles regarding minorities are unknown. Among
Romanians, 47% refuse to answer the legislative question, 35% offered
the correct answer, 18% the wrong answer, among Hungarians 60% offered
the correct answer, 40% the wrong answer.
Regarding the
possibility that discrimination exists in the institution, 12% of
Romanians expressed the opinion that it does not exist, others did not
respond; 30% of Hungarians considered that discrimination does not
exist, 20% that it does exist (there are not enough persons who speak
Hungarian; bids for public services are made to be won by companies
with Romanian majority capital and in this way, companies where
minorities have interests could not apply or did not obtain funds).
Romanian community of Tîrgu-Mureş
Responses
to questionnaires indicated that 12% sent letters of complaint to the
Mayor�s Office, 8% to the Police, 4% to the Prefecture, 2% to the
County Council. 20% had a positive experience with authorities, 24% had
a negative experience and 16% had both positive and negative
experiences35.
64% considered that employees of the Mayor�s
Office, working with the public, have to know Hungarian (12% considered
that they did not have to know Hungarian, 58% considered that they know
Hungarian and 8% that they do not know). 34% considered that it is
normal (40% that it is not) to have half of the employees Romanian and
half Hungarian in the Mayor�s Office.
Regarding the existence of a Roma expert, 52% agree, 16% do not agree.
16%
declared that they were not discriminated against by authorities, 4%
considered that they were (one of them considering that the
discrimination was not based on ethnicity).
Hungarian community of Tîrgu-Mureş
Responses
to the questionnaires reported 20.8% sent letters of complaint to the
Mayor�s Office, 10.4% to the Police, 6.3% to the County Council, 4.2%
to the Prefecture. All declared (22.9%) that the letters were written
in Romanian and the response was also in Romanian. This shows that
legal provisions are not known and are not used.36 Only 8.3% had a
positive experience with the authorities, 31.2% had negative experience
and 50% both negative and positive.
All considered that
employees of the Mayor�s Office, working with the public, have to know
Hungarian (75% considered that they know, 20.8% that they do not know).
77.1% considered that it is normal (6.2% that it is not) to have half
of the employees Romanian and half Hungarian in the Mayor�s Office.
Regarding the existence of a Roma expert, 72.9% agree, 4.2% do not agree.
22.9%
declared that they were not discriminated against by authorities, 12.5%
considered that they were ("cases are not solved if the complainant is
Hungarian", "the mayor of Tîrgu-Mureş also represents the Hungarian
community and has never used Hungarian in speeches", "I was not
discriminated against but my family members were", "the questionnaires
for obtaining driver�s licenses are only in Romanian", "I was treated
like an animal").
Dealul Street Roma community
Balog
Péter, the leader of the community, tried to solve all of the problems
with the authorities. He considered that the Mayor's Office could help
them if it does not cost them to do so, but several times the official
answer is: "we do not have money". Some of the public servants are very
kind, they even postpone other tasks to try to help, but others, a few
of them, make racist remarks.
In past years the road was
repaired, a public phone was introduced as well as electricity (paid
exclusively by the leader of the community).
The most important
problem of the community is that they have only one well. In summertime
this well is often drained and the community remains without water. The
water pipe is stopped at the level of the first Roma house in Dealul
Street. Until now, the Mayor's Office did not find resources to create
a new well with water from the town�s water pipe-system.
Another
problem, not solved until now, is that the field is not entered in the
land register. It was promised, but other priorities exist.
With the help of the Mayor's Office and the Police, the problem of identity cards was resolved, even without the land registers.
Another
plan in Dealul Street is to create a consultation room, discussions are
now being held with the Prefecture to realise this project.
Medical
services are assured by a family doctor. In case of emergency, the
ambulance arrives. The experiences with doctors in hospitals are not
negative.
Taxi drivers also assure services for the community.
Entrance
to the nearest bars, pubs and discos is prohibited for Roma. The
employees try to explain to Roma that if they serve Roma, the employer
will fire them.
Almost half of the adult persons are pensioners. Only 3 persons have a job, 25 persons get social aid.
During
interviews, persons declared that public servants have to be paid to
resolve a problem; also they confirm that their access to some public
places (bars and pubs) is prohibited. Women claim that in one of the
Maternity Hospitals the Roma are segregated from non-Roma and that they
have to be on a separate floor, on the ground37. Some of the persons
considered that declarations of public servants, like the mayor of the
city, regarding "Gypsies" with negative attitudes has a menacing effect.
The
results of questionnaires show that persons did not have contact with
authorities, the leader of the community resolves their problems.
Until
1992, the men worked, first for the Brick Factory, then they became
pensioners (25%) are jobless (37%), one person has a job, one has his
own limited company, one lost his job because of a penal sentence. All
of the women are jobless; many of them (86%) never had a workplace.
Valea Rece community
In
response to the questionnaires, 30% of the people had been to the
Tîrgu-Mureş Mayor's Office to solve a problem, 5% at the Mureş County
Council, 10% at the Mureş Prefectura, 50% at the Police (primarily for
identity cards). Only one person stated that he could use the Hungarian
mother tongue at the Mayor's Office and the others had to use Romanian.
40%
of the questioned persons did not have any contacts with authorities in
the last 2 years, 10% had a positive experience and 25% negative ("only
promises are made", "authorities did not have time for us", "they are
not helping people", "I asked to be heard but I was not allowed to go
upstairs, being threatened that the police would be called", "I do not
speak Romanian and they refused to speak with me in Hungarian"), 25%
both.
95% considered that public servants should speak Hungarian
(10% considered that they do speak Hungarian, 15% that they do not
speak Hungarian), 95% considered that it is normal to have Hungarians
employed as public servants in the same percentage as in the
population, 90% that it is good to have Roma experts in the authorities
offices (one considered that it is not good).
35% felt they had
been discriminated against by authorities (from those who had
experience, 58%) "our complaints are not resolved", "we were told that
if one person from the family has a job, another person did not have
the right to work"), 5% (one person) did not considered to be
discriminated.
20% of those questioned are working (15% as
cleaners), 15% did not ever have a job, 65% lost their jobs for
different reasons after 1989 (the company closed, the company did not
pay for 3 months, others were engaged, in one case because the employee
delayed once). One person lost his job after 20 years of work, in 1997.
In
interviews, Roma from Valea Rece stated that in a medical emergency,
emergency crews will enter in the community when called. In pubs Roma
are allowed to enter, in some discos, they are now allowed. Taxi
drivers, with few exception, do not enter the community.
Other Roma communities
During
interviews, members of Roma communities where a leader is not
recognised to solve all the problems of the community, stated that
several times public servants have refused to speak with them or to
register them for a hearing. Several restaurants, bars, and discos are
known where Roma are not allowed access.
Mayor�s Office of Tîrnăveni
According
to vice mayor Dan Blăjan, official statistics show the number of Roma
living in the town is around 2.500, almost 10% of the population, but
that number is higher, between 5-7,000, live in four different parts of
Tîrnăveni38. The Mayor's Office collaborates well with the two Roma
organizations, Roma Christian Center and Roma Party. A Roma councilor
helps with the work of the Mayor, obtaining indemnity for this. Now the
councilor is from the Roma Party and before the councilor was from the
Roma Christian Center.
The most important action in the Roma
community is to offer social apartments. Because of the large number of
complaints, even with very limited funds, the Mayor�s Office decided to
get involved in solving the problem. Buildings not currently in use are
renovated for this purpose.There is also a project to build apartments.
Last year, 19 apartments were made available, also 7 families were
offered materials for construction. The water supply is assured, now
and work is being done to introduce electricity and natural gas in the
communities. When possible, members of the Roma community are involved
in the work.
There are around 750 files requesting social aid,
around 90% of them are Roma. In this year, 7 billion lei was needed,
but the government offered only 1.7 billion.
It was a
partnership between the Mayor�s Office, other authorities and the Roma
community to solve the problem of identity cards. Several persons were
living from 10-15 years in Tîrnăveni. The decision was not to expel
them, a situation that happened in many places, but to offer them
identity cards in Tîrnăveni.
The Mayor�s Office offers support for Roma projects that need a partnership with authorities.
In
the town there are 3 kindergartens where meals are offered for Roma
pupils, the most important is financed by a Dutch foundation.
Hungarian Community from Tîrnăveni
Kakassy
Sándor, district president of the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in
Romania, states that the expectations of Hungarians are not satisfied.
The percentage of Hungarians in the town is above 20%, but because a
village was added to the city, that number dropped below 20%, and in
this case the use of the mother tongue by authorities is not
obligatory. In the Mayor's Office of Tîrnăveni information is not
offered in Hungarian and public servants do not speak Hungarian. Among
110 employees in the Mayor's office, only one is Hungarian. In 1990 the
Mayor's Office had 40 employees, during expansion of the office, the
ethnic composition of the town was not taken into consideration.
In
the schools where Hungarian language education exists (one for V-VIII
grades and a high school), there are no Hungarians among the
administrative staff, with the exception of one librarian. At the
Cultural House, only the fireman is Hungarian, those who are deciding
on cultural events are Romanian. In the museum of the town, Hungarian
folk art is missing. In libraries, there is not a Hungarian librarian
and in the last 10 years very few Hungarian books were bought. None of
the streets are named for a Hungarian personality. The 725th
anniversary of the town's existence was celebrated and not one of the
events involved the Hungarian community39 (a Hungarian choral event was
refused).
There are different situations in the two biggest
factories of the city. In one, where the director was a member of the
National Unity Party of Romanians, Hungarians are not in leading
positions. In the other, where the director is a tolerant person,
Hungarians could be in a lead position.
Mayor's Office of Sovata
In the corridors of this institution, information is available in Romanian and Hungarian.
Hegyi Mihály, vice-mayor of Sovata reports, a Hungarian majority, 10% of the population is Romanian and 8% Roma.40
At
the Sovata Mayor's Office, there are 35 public servants working, 3 are
Romanian (8.6%), and the others are Hungarian. Hungarians, who work
with public know Romanian and of the 3 Romanians, 2 know Hungarian. The
majority (around 80%) of the letters and complaints are written in
Romanian, because citizens are not familiar with the new legislation on
public administration. Answers to all of these letters are in
Hungarian, except in cases where the answers have to be used by other
authorities, for example where translation costs would be involved (an
example would be when documents are requested by individuals but will
be used in courts; these documents are written in Romanian).
The
Roma population lives in the former village of Sărăţeni (now part of
the city). Around 400 families need social aid. In most cases, women
are the beneficiaries of aid, in order to protect their child. To solve
the social problems of the Roma population, 3 buildings were offered
for 20-30 families. New subsidized apartments need to be built, but
government funds are not available.
3.3.3. Equal treatment before tribunals, by law enforcement officials, in prison
According
to unofficial data, in Mureş county, the percentage of Hungarians among
prosecutors is 2%, among judges 10% and among attorneys 25%.
Pro
Europa League and other human rights organisations experience indicates
that the Roma become the first victims of law enforcement officials.
Several times they have been beaten by police officers41 to force them
to claim responsibility for crimes, even if is clear that they were not
the perpetrators. This allows the police to obtain better statistics in
solving cases. Complaints of victims against abuses were not finalized
with indictments against police officers, even if clear evidence exists.
Courts
refused to implement the new legislation on use of the mother tongue by
authorities or punishment of racist organisations and personally
promote those who committed crimes against humanity. Sentences are
proving that decisions of local councils, laws, international treaties
(such as the Framework Convention on National Minorities) are not
enough if personal impressions of judges regarding these questions are
different.
Prosecutor�s Office at the Tîrgu-Mureş Justice Court
Vasile
Costea, prime prosecutor of the Prosecutor's Office near Tîrgu-Mureş,
reports that among 12 prosecutors, one is Hungarian. The 12 prosecutors
have to solve around 2500 cases in a year42. Only in about 10 cases in
a year is the indictment of prosecutors not well founded and the court
decides the absolution. Until now, complaints were not accepted by the
court against the decisions of prosecutors if the penal investigations
were not finalised by indictment. Even if somebody could be found to
work this kind of case, prosecutors would not be obliged to prosecute
against his conscience.
In some rural areas of Mureş county,
Hungarians do not speak Romanian well. For those who do not speak or
understand Romanian well, translation by translators is offered by
collegues or court clerks. The declarations are written only in
Romanian, and are signed in this form by those who do not speak
Romanian.
In this year nobody reported racial discrimination by
other prosecutors to the prime prosecutor. In the last years there were
no citizen complaints based on non-discrimination laws.
In
interviews, prosecutors expressed their opinions that delinquency is
higher in the Roma communities than in others. This is caused not only
by poverty, but also by the negative cultural attitude of these
communities. The way to change these attitudes is through education.
Prosecutor�s Office at the Mureş Tribunal
Ioan
Blaj, prime prosecutor of the Prosecutor's Office near Mureş Tribunal,
reports that at this level there are 9 prosecutors (not one Hungarian),
working annually with 9000 files and participating in the court,
resulting in around 2000 indictments43. Last year in the case of only
16 indictments, the Mureş Tribunal acquitted the accused.
Hungarian
prosecutors are needed, because those who do not understand the
language of the declaration, even with the best translation, are
disadvantaged. Unfortunately Hungarian lawyers choose to become
attornies and not prosecutors.
Cases of complaints of
discrimination, extremist organizations, propaganda for a totalitarian
state or nationalist-chauvinistic propaganda are not known.
In the last period, nobody complained to the prime prosecutor of racial discrimination by other prosecutors.
Tîrgu-Mureş Justice Court
Ilie
Verza, president of the Tîrgu-Mureş Justice Court declared that there
are 22 judges in the framework of the institution, 2 of them are
Hungarian. In the year 2002, there were almost 12.000 files in work.44
Around
10-15% of the cases involved persons who did not speak Romanian well
and who needed translation. Because Hungarian translation fees are very
low, authorised translators gave up on the statute.45 The translation
is provided by independent persons or attorneys.
Cases of
discrimination, extremist organizations, propaganda for a totalitarian
state or nationalist-chauvinistic propaganda are not known.
Nobody reported racial discrimination by other judges to the president of the Tîrgu-Mureş Justice Court .
The Tîrgu-Mureş Prison
By
the declaration of the commander, Szöllősy Géza, in the Prison of
Tîrgu-Mureş around 20% of the officers (3) are Hungarian (the commander
and two psychologists) the other 4 know the Hungarian language very
well; 50% of non-commissioned officers know the Hungarian language,
around 15-20 of them are Hungarian, 3 know the Romani language. It
needs to have persons who speak the minority languages for two reasons:
security is better assured if they understand the prisoners, but also
detained persons could be helped in a better way. For example it was
first observed that suicide attempts exist among Hungarians, so
Hungarian speaking psychologists could be more efficient.
A
policy does not exist to create job placements for minority persons, as
a positive measure. Discrimination does not exist; the present
situation appears because, according to the commander, few Hungarians
choose to work in the penitentiary. They do not often look for a
military career (all of the available jobs in the penitentiary are
published in the local Romanian and Hungarian newspapers). For Roma
persons the requirement to participate in the exam for the job creates
problems: to become a non-commissioned officer, a bachelor's degree is
required, organised family and without a criminal record, be under the
age of 35 years, physically and psychologically healthy, and have
satisfied military service.
Questionnaires completed by detained
persons show the following crimes: among Romanians46, 50.0% aggravated
larceny, 19.6% larceny, 10.7% robbery, 7.1% aggravated murder, 5.4%
fraud, 3.6% assault; among Hungarians: 50.0% aggravated larceny, 16.6%
larceny, 16.6% robbery, 16.6% fraud; among Roma: 42.1% aggravated
larceny, 31.6% robbery, 21.1% larceny, 5.3% fraud.
The
percentage of pretrial detained persons is highest among Hungarians
(25.0% of all Hungarian detained persons; among Romanians 16.1% and
among Roma 15.8%).
26.8% of the Romanians declared that during
investigation they have an attorney engaged (among Hungarians 20.8%,
among Roma 15.8%), 5.4% did not have an attorney at all (among
Hungarians 8.3%, among Roma 15.8%), 25.0% have an attorney engaged
during the trial (among Hungarians 8.3%, among Roma 15.8%), 1.8% did
not have an attorney at all (among Hungarians 4.2%). It could be
observed that minority persons have a less adequate legal defence.
The
average level of education is 10.9 classes for Romanians, 9.3 classes
for Hungarians and 7.0 classes for Roma (higher than in the studied
Roma communities!).
To the question "at the time you committed
the crime, did you have a workplace?", a "yes" answer was given by
33.9% of Romanians, 37.5% of Hungarians and 26.3% of Roma.
Of
those sentenced for aggravated larceny, the punishment was an average
of 3.12 years for Romanians (65.2% recidivists), 3.11 years for
Hungarians (58.3% recidivists) and 3.72 years for Roma (66.7%
recidivists), for larceny 2.91 years for Romanians (88.9% recidivists),
2.96 years for Hungarians (50.0% recidivists) and 3.28 years for Roma
(100% recidivists). It could be observed that sentences are longer for
Roma, but to obtain a clear picture if this result is the consequence
of discrimination and not incidental, more questionnaires would be
required and different prisons surveyed.
Regarding the use of
Hungarian language in the judiciary system47, one Hungarian person who
considered that he speaks Romanian very well, asked for Hungarian
translation and it was refused at every level (police, prosecution,
trial), two declared that they speak poor Romanian and when they asked
for translation, it was refused, one person reported that he does not
speak Romanian at all. He did not ask for translation and translation
was not offered. Five persons asked for Hungarian translation by the
Police and translation was offered, one similar case was during
prosecution and one during trial. One Hungarian speaking Roma declared
that they asked during trial to speak Hungarian and translation was
offered.
Hungarian community of Tîrgu-Mureş48
Of the
questioned persons, 35.4% had an experience in court. Of those, only
29.4% heard used other language than Romanian, in 80% of those
responding, language was translated by a person who happened to be in
the courtroom, in 60% by an attorney, in 20% the quality of translation
was not known.
Dealul Street community
Balog Péter,
leader of the community, reports that a protocol exists with the Police
and Gendarmerie and because of this, raids are not organised to
identify and punish persons because of lack of official papers. Before
this protocol, periodic raids were organised; persons found without
identity cards (all inhabitants, because at that time the problem was
not solved) were punished with monetary fines.
The protocol
between Police and Roma leaders was the "price" to stop raids in Roma
communities. By this protocol, Roma leaders are obliged to report
crimes committed by Roma to the police, and appearance of foreign
persons in the Roma community.
The interviewed persons declared
that usually police officers beat accused persons, if they do not
recognise them to be the perpetrators. Prosecutors try to convince
persons that it is in their best interest to acknowledge a crime,
because in this way the punishment will be more lenient. They
considered that in the penitentiary discrimination by guardians or
other detained persons does not exist.
Only two questioned persons who had contact with a tribunal reported that their mother tongue was not used.
Valea Rece community
Lengyel
Lazar, leader of the Valea Rece community, reports that police raids
ended after a protocol with the Police and Gendarmerie was signed.
Before this, raids were organised almost monthly.
The
questionnaires indicate that 30% were in tribunal during the last two
years, only one heard the Hungarian language used (translated by an
attorney, in a penal case), two stated that the accused person did not
speak Romanian well, but translation was not offered.
Jewish Community
The
leaders of the Jewish Community of Mureş County stated that in the last
13 years (after the fall of communism), Jewish cemeteries have suffered
damage three times. After the revolution, in the Dîmbul Pietros
cemetery (Tîrgu-Mureş) more than 20 gravestones were knocked down. Two
years ago, in Sîngeorgiu de Pădure gravestones and an important marble
memorial table were also damaged. In both cases the police considered
that children playing committed the damages, involuntarily. Four years
ago, in the cemetery garden of the Dîmbul Pietros cemetery a couple of
swasticas were drawn and antisemitic slogans written. The police have
not offered any information regarding the perpetrators. Once, in the
case of a racist article in a newspaper the police were contacted, but
the Jewish Community was not informed regarding the consequences.
The
Jewish Community asked local authorities to protect the Dîmbul Pietros
cemetery, because there is a playground with a football field in the
neighbourhood. From time to time a circus is erected 10 m from the
cemetery. 10 years following the first complaint, the problem was
solved by the mayor, Dorin Florea.
By law, there must be
restitution of properties of the Jewish Community. Not one of the
almost 20 properties were given back to the community.
Hungarian Community from Tîrnăveni
Kakassy
Sándor, district president of the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in
Romania reports that in the police of Tîrnăveni or in the judicial
system there are no Hungarians working. Around Tîrnăveni there are
several villages where Hungarians are in the majority, but they could
not use their mother tongue in the tribunal. If someone needs
translation, it is offered by people who happen to be in the courtroom,
not by lawyers or translators.
The procedure to create a
regional Hungarian NGO was, instead of the 3 days allowed by law,
extended to 6 months by the Justice Court of Tîrnăveni. Finally the
applicants decided to move the case to another justice court, to obtain
the ruling.
Hungarian community from Sovata
Interviews of
the Hungarian citizens of Sovata found that of 30 police officers in
Sovata, only one is Hungarian, and that other officers did not know
Hungarian or refused to speak in Hungarian. In court, they have to
speak Romanian and translation is not assured unless a lawyer or court
clerk offers his services.
German community from Sighişoara
Bruno
Fröhlich, leader of the German Lutheran Church in Sighişoara, reports
that the situation of real estate in the community taken illegally by
the communist regime was not solved. Trials opened by the German
Community were suspended in 2000, because of the new legislation
permitting residents to obtain the properties through administrative
processes At this time, not one of the buildings has been given back.
In one case , the illegal nationalization took place in 1948, and based
on the abrogated law, was tabulated as state property in 1995. Not only
the property of the German Community was stolen, but also the history
of those properties. What was once an old-age home in the community,
built in the 17th century, is now presented as the birthplace of
Dracula in the 15th century.
The attitude of the committee on
re-establishing the properties is not positive, for example the land
register of the real estate was sent to the committee. Because of the
historical background of the region, it was in German and Hungarian.
This was not taken into account and the committee considered that the
land register was not presented.
Authorities were not open to
asking the German Community if they were aware of the project of
Dracula Park near the city, affecting the UNESCO-protected monuments.
Leaders who tried to stop the projects were threatened or it was
declared in the mass-media that they were engaged by international
secret services. Fortunately, the population who were in the favour of
the project (the Government promised jobs and economic prosperity) did
not make a direct connection between the German Community and those who
opposed the park. Community relations between the Germans and the
Romanians, the Germans and the Hungarians remain good.
4. Summary of results
4.1. Situation in education
4.1.1. Legislation and good practices
By
the Law on Education no. 151/1999 (for relevant legislative provisions
see Annex 4.), in each locality, if necessary, education in languages
of national minorities must be provided in public school system (art.
8), persons belonging to national minorities have the right to study
and receive instruction in their native language, at all levels and
forms of education with appropriate request (art. 118). The benefits of
this legislation in Mureş county is that Hungarians have mother tongue
education from kindergarten to university level and Germans from
kindergarten to high education (until 12 grades)49. Romani language was
intorduced in curricula in 25 schools, where 23 persons teach the
mother tongue of non-assimilated Roma.
The legislative
provisions regarding the possibility to create classes under regular
number help minority communities for mother tongue education also in
regions where the communities are smaller. The primary classes
enrolling fewer than the regular number of students are in the
Hungarian language in 40% of the total classes, in German in 0.8%; for
grades V-VIII, 31.7% are in Hungarian and 1.1% in German. These
statistics shows that it not exists a preferential treatment of
Romanians or minority communities.
To prepare minority language
teachers, special places are offered for minorities in several
universities with pedagogical profile. The policy in the domain of
minority education include also publishing of schoolbooks in minority
languages.
For Roma youth, special places are offered in
highschools, pedagogical schools and universities. This creates
opportunities, at the level of Mureş county, for 20 Roma who follow
university education, 16 Roma who follow the Mihai Eminescu Pedagogical
High School and other 12 Roma who are students in different highschools
(most of them studying the humanities).
In the County School Inspectorate and school managing boards Hungarian, Roma and German teachers are present.
Measures to combat poverty and offering aid in the schoolsystem exists, they help to reduce school abandon.
4.1.2. Problems remaining
According
to interviews with teachers, they are not familiar with the therms and
phenomena connected to discrimination. Laws regarding discrimination,
use of mother tongue, minority education are not well knowen by
teachers.
The statistical data shows that in Mureş county the
number of qualified teachers for minorities is low. From 87 unqualified
teachers in the kindergarten, 76 are for Hungarian language education
(87.4%), from 97 unqualified schoolmistress�, 52 are for Hungarian
language education (53.6%). In some important domains (for example
informatics), are not enough Hungarian language teachers. The situation
is worst in little cities or rural are. In the high education in
Tîrnăveni, a city with 30.000 inhabitants, there are Hungarian language
teachers only for Hungarian, mathematics, physics and geography. For
other subjects the teachers are Romanian who do not speak Hungarian. In
the field of teaching Romani language, in kindergarten there are 4
unqualified persons, at primary level 12 qualified and 19 unqualified
persons (15 also teach grades V-VIII), at the high school level, there
is 1 qualified teacher. For German language education there are 11
qualified and 3 unqualified persons in kindergarten, 15 qualified and 5
unqualified persons in primary education, 25 qualified and 2
unqualified persons in V-VIII grades and 25 qualified persons in higher
education.
By statistics from schoolyear 1997-1998, in
highschools (grades 9-12) German education exists in the domains of
mathematics-physics and language; Hungarian language education was not
offered in the fields of administrative services, finance-accounting,
trades, public alimentation-tourism, agriculture, and sanitation. Also
Hungarian language education does not exist in form without attendance.
More than 80% of places were in the Romanian language, almost 18% in
Hungarian 0.7% in German. From 70 profiles, 20 are available in
Romanian and Hungarian (two of them are also available in German), 46
only in Romanian, 4 only in Hungarian. In Tîrgu-Mureş, from 126
classes, 89 were in the Romanian language (70.6%), 27 in Hungarian
(29.4%).
Minority language teachers also reported that in some
fields, minority language school books do not exist. In school
curricula, the culture of minorities is almost totally absent. The Law
on Education requires that the educational system must offer the
possibility to learn about their culture only to minority persons.
Learning about other cultures is not assured. The History of Romanians
is taught (not the History of Romania, including minorities). In this
situation in school curricula minority culture is almost totally absent
or information is not in concordance with scientific data50.
By
questionnaires and interviews, the multiculturalism in multilingual
schools is not a general practice. Only arround 60% of the questionned
persons has a positive experience of using minority languages during
school celebrations or by posters on the corridors.
The
interviewed teachers and parrents considered that to minorities is
created a "second class citizen" feeling, offering for Hungarian
teachers, usually, only the assistant headmaster position and noting
Romanian classes by the first letters of the alphabet.
In
Romania, the evaluation procedure of teachers is based on obtained
results, without any connection to the social background of children.
Is more easy to obtain good results in an elite school in a city than
in a rural school, where parrents are not able to sustain the children
in learning, but difficulties are not appreciate. Because of this
sitation, several teachers try to separate Roma children from non-Roma,
considering that with a non-Roma class results will be better.
Interviewed
young teachers explained that students who graduated from pedagogical
universities did not have any experience working in Roma (or other
disadvantaged) communities. It is very difficult for those who have to
teach in these communities without prior experience, without knowledge
regarding the Roma culture and who are influenced only by negative
stereotypes.
A specific and difficult problem is the overload on
those who choose a minority language education. Learning their mother
tongue, they have up to 20%51 more class hours and more exams (4
instead of 3 after the 8th grade and also more at the bachelor's
level). To learn their mother tongue and to have exams benefits
minority students, but to be overloaded is a disadvantage. A solution
to balance this situation was not found.
Interviews shows that
Roma community are faced with seriouse direct and indirect
discrimination. Roma children are not registered in some schools or are
placed in specially created classes for Roma (not to have Romani
education, only to "protect" non-Roma). Passive discrimination is
practised by many teachers, Roma children are simply ignored in the
class. The most typical example of the effect of discrimination is
Special School no. 1 from Tîrgu-Mureş, which became, instead of a
school for mentally retarded children, a Roma school.
By interviews with Roma parrents, public humiliation of Roma children is still in practice in some schools.
4.2. Situation in the domain of equal access to public services
4.2.1. Legislation and good practices
According
to the Ordinance On Preventing and Sanctioning All Forms of
Discrimination (as modified and approved by Law 48/2002), are
guaranteed: the right to equal treatment before courts and any other
jurisdictional bodies; economic, social and cultural rights; the right
of access to all public places and services (art. 1) in the fields of
employment conditions, criteria and conditions of recruitment,
selection and promotion, access to all forms and levels of professional
orientation, professional training; social protection and social
security; public services or other services, access to goods and
facilities; the educational system; other fields of social life (art.
3).
By the Law 188/1999 on the Statute of Public Servants, in
administrative-territorial units in which the percentage of persons
belonging to a national minority is more than 20%, some of the public
servants in direct contact with citizens should also know the language
of that national minority (art. 99). According to Local Public
Administration Law, no. 215/2001, in this units, the local public
administration authorities have to use in the relations with minorities
their mother tongue (art. 17), minority persons will receive the
written answer to their problem both in Romanian and their mother
tongue (art. 90), in the public relations offices must be hired persons
that speaks the minorities mother tongue (art. 90).
By the
Strategy of the Government of Romania for Improving the Condition of
the Roma (issued in 2001), County Offices for Roma was established and
local experts in Roma affairs operate under the mayoralties, mediating
between the public authorities and the Roma communities. In Mureş
county one Roma expert is working at the County Office for Roma near
the Prefecture, Roma experts are engaged in the Tîrgu-Mureş and
Tîrnăveni Mayor's Offices. In Sighişoara, Reghin, and Luduş persons are
considered to be Roma counselors, but they are not employed. By the
Roma expert of the Prefecture, experience shows that mayors are
consulting Roma leaders in making decisions regarding Roma communities.
According
to the Law on Guaranteed Minimal Income no. 416/2001, every Romanian
citizen, has the right to a guaranteed minimal income as a form of
social aid. This law is due to solve the social situation of those who
did not have any income.
The Mureş County Office for Roma
realised a number of studies to improve the condition of the Roma,
which could be an important base for future policies.
Measures
was taken in 2002 to solve the problem of identity cards for Roma. In
this way more than 300 persons obtained these cards. Without identity
cards, Roma could not benefit on helth and social services.
4.2.2. Problems remaining
The
questionairs shows that public servants are not familiar with the terms
and phenomena connected to discrimination or minorities in general (to
the question �yours ethnicity�, several times Romanians answered: �I am
not ethnic. I am majority�). Also they do not know the legislations in
the domain of public administration, first of all provisions on use of
minority languages. Among the Romanian public servants of the Mureş
County Council, 40% refused to answer the legislative question, 40%
offered the correct answer, 20% the wrong answer; among Hungarians52 at
the same institution, the percentage is better: 75% offered the correct
answer, 25% the wrong answer. At the Tîrgu-Mureş Mayor Office, among
Romanians, 47% refuse to answer the legislative question, 35% offered
the correct answer, 18% the wrong answer, among Hungarians 60% offered
the correct answer, 40% the wrong answer.
Generally are problems
with the respect of law. For example at the Tîrgu-Mureş Mayor Office
only 17% of the questionned Romanian public servants considered that
for a letter written in Hungarian the answer is in all cases in
Hungarian. Hungarian public servants has a better practice: 40% of them
considered that the aswer will respect legislative provisions.
With
a seriouse structural discrimination (arround 20% of public servants
are Hungarian, half of the percentage at the Hungarians in Mureş
county), only a low number of Romanian public servants declared that
speaks Hungarian (20-25%). Those who speaks the language of minorities
not beneficiate by a better salary. Arround 40% of the Romanian public
servants oppose to use minority languages in public administration and
30-80%53 oppose recrute minority public servants (opposition to Roma
experts is lower, 20-45%54).
The existence of Roma experts are
not knowen by public servants. At the Tîrgu-Mureş Mayor Office more
than half of the public servants did not know about this existence, in
the same time, at the Mureş County Council only 60% know that there
does not exists.
According to interviews, monitoring bodies in
the domain of discrimination (in the framework of different
authorities, to follow the treatment of clients) do not exist.
According
to interviews and questionnairs, unemployment is general among Roma. In
Valea Rece community only 20% has a job. They loosed the jobs after
1989, 65% of jobless worked before. Now they existence is assured only
by collecting papers, metals or snails. Chances to obtain a workplace
are minimum.
By the study of the Prefecture, the situation of
dwellings in Roma community is very critical in Mureş County. 2013
houses need to be built and 3062 require reconditioning. The best
practice is in Tîrnăveni where it was resolved the situation for 25
families. The experience of the PEL is that basic needs like water,
electricity, natural gas is generally not available in Roma dwellings.
In many Roma communities, connection to these services stop at the Roma
houses. Officials declared that it is an interest to solve this
problems, but founds are not available.
Legislation regarding
social aid is not respected by governmental bodies. In Mureş county, in
2002, only 50% of the legal social aid was paid. In 2003 are needed 250
billion lei, but only 35.5 billion lei (14%) was assured. This affects
first of all Roma communities.
In the domain of several services, Roma are discriminated. They access in restaurants, bars, discos, taxis is limited.
4.3. Situation in the judicial system
4.3.1. Legislation and good practices
Romanian
Penal Code punish the abuse in duty by restriction of rights (art. 247)
and nationalist chauvinistic propaganda (art. 317), are legislativ
measures to prohibit fascist, racist or xenophob organisations
(Emergency Ordinance to Prohibit Fascist, Racist or Xenophob
Organisations and Promote of Personal Cult of those who are Guilty with
some Crimes against Peace and Humanity no. 31/2002) and to punish all
forms of discrimination, incuding racial discrimination (Law 48/202 On
Preventing and Sanctioning All Forms of Discrimination).
Equality before law is also guarenteed by the Constitution (art. 16).
Romanian
Constitution should represent a guarantee of the right to take
cognizance of all acts and files of the case, to speak before the Court
and formulate conclusions, through an interpreter, in mother tongue by
citizens belonging to national minorities, as well as persons who
cannot understand or speak Romanian. In criminal trials this right
shall be ensured free of charge (art. 127). By Law no. 178/1997 to
Approval and Payment of Interpreters and Translators Used by Penal
Investigation Authorities, Courts, Notaries Offices, Attorney and by
Ministry of Justice, the translation has to be offered by authorised
interpreters.
Representatives of different judicial authorities expressed they need to hire minority persons in the judicial system.
Strategy
of the Government of Romania for Improving the Condition of the Roma
(2001) prescribe the necessity of hiring citizens of Roma origin in the
public order services and the police force.
4.3.2. Problems remaining
By
interviews with prosecutors and judges, a jurisprudence on punishing
abuse in duty by restriction of rights, nationalist chauvinistic
propaganda, on prohibition of fascist, racist or xenophob
organisations, on promote of personal cult of those who are guilty with
crimes against humanity, on punishing all forms of discrimination,
incuding racial discrimination, does not exists. Leaders of Jewish
community and the Pro Europa League sent complaints to police and
prosecutors in this type of cases, but they was not resolved.
Chief-prosecutors refused even to know that complaints exists.
Representatives
of minority organisations (Hungarians, Jews, Germans) considered that
community properties, confiscated by the communist regime have not been
retroceded (as the legislation prescribed), because equality before the
law is not fully functioning in these cases. The situation with the
properties of the Greek Catholic Church is similiar, they are also
affected by a limitation of the law pertaining to churches which could
not be retroceded.
Translations, even in important penal cases,
are offered � according to the declarations of the prosecutors and
judges � by non-qualified persons. Questionnaires and experiences of
the PEL shows that several time translations are offered by persons who
are accidentally in the courtrooms.
Structural discrimination in
the judicial system in Mureş county is substantial. According to
unofficial data, the percentage of Hungarians among prosecutors is 2%,
among judges 10% and among attorneys 25%.
Pro Europa League and
other human rights organisations experience indicates that the Roma
become the first victims of law enforcement officials. Several times
they have been beaten by police officers to force them to claim
responsability for crimes, even if is clear that they were not the
perpetrators. This allows the police to obtain better statistics in
solving cases. Complaints of victims against abuses were not finalized
with indictments against police officers, even if clear evidence exists.
In
a system where 12 prosecutors have to solve around 2500 cases in a year
or 9 prosecutors annually work with 9000 files and also participate in
court, producing around 2000 indictments, and in a very few cases the
courts (where there could be 22 judges solving 12,000 cases in a year)
consider that the accusation is not well founded, stereotypes and
prejudices against some groups, for example Roma, could have more
effect than clear evidence (for prosecutors collecting and analising
these cases there is not adequate time, and practically the penal
sentences resulting from the indictment issued in these conditions).
The
study tried to compare punishments to observe whether there is or is
not discrimination against some groups in the quality of sentences.
According to responses to questionnaires applied in the penitenciary,
of those sentenced for aggravated larceny, the punishment was an
average of 3.12 years for Romanians, 3.11 years for Hungarians and 3.72
years for Roma; for larceny 2.91 years for Romanians, 2.96 years for
Hungarians and 3.28 years for Roma. It was observed that sentences are
longer for Roma, but to obtain a clear picture of whether this result
is the consequence of discrimination and not incidental, would require
more questionnaires and surveys completed in different prisons.
5. Conclusions
5.1. Misunderstanding terms and phenomena
Not
only ordinary citizens, but also officials in the education system,
public servants, police officers, prosecutors and judges do not
understand terms like 'discrimination', 'racial discrimination',
'special measures', 'indirect discrimination', 'social integration' and
related phenomena. For example, a large percentage of high level
Romanian public servants recognised that the number of Hungarians or
Hungarian speaking persons employed as public servants is very low, but
considered that this is normal, rejecting the possibility to have
discriminatory situations in their institutions. It has been
recognaized that special measures are needed to empower Roma
communities and to facilitate their social integration into Romanian
society, but the special measures are not seen as necessary to enable
minority communities to have equal chances to develop and maintain
their identity.
5.2. Lack of legislative knowledge
Current
Romanian legislation on discrimination or protection of minorities is
not known by officials and public servants. For example public servants
did not know that in their relations with the public, minority
languages must be known or that letters submitted in minority languages
must be answered in the same language, if that minority reaches 20% of
the local population.
5.3. Legislative provisions are not fully respected
Due
in part to a lack of knowledge and partially because of inertia, new
laws do not use the mother tongue introducing special measures to
combat discrimination so the law is not fully respected. For example
even when the law requires that during legal procedures, translation
must be provided by official translators, instead of using
professionals, the translation is provided ad-hoc by persons such as
court clerks or private citizens who happen to be in the courtroom.
5.4. Importance of special measures
New
legal provisions on special measures are gradually implemented,
creating better conditions for disadvantaged groups in several domains
(such as offering special places for Roma in high schools and
universities proved to be very useful in the development of Roma
intelligentsia).
5.5. Lack of resources
In general, the
institutions do not have resources allocated to implementation of the
special measures. If there is a need to solve a problem in a Roma
community, officials try to obtain external funds, motivating that the
specific authority that had to be involved in the solution did not have
adequate funds. This shows that this problems are not considered to
have priority in the shaping of the local budgets.
5.6. Transition period
In
several areas of the study the situation is improving. The effect of
some of the steps taken is producing or will produce improvements in
the near future.
6. Recommendations
1. The National Council to Combat Discrimination should:
� inform authorities that they must apply the non-discrimination legislation;
� offer training, in partnership with NGO's in the domain, for
teachers, public servants, police officers, prosecutors and judges,
help them to know legislation, to understood the effects of
discrimination, how to prevent it, the importance of punish all forms
of discrimination;
� open branches at the
county or regional level and should set up partnership with minority
associations and NGOs active in the field of non-discrimination, to
solve the various situations.
2. The Ministry of National Education and Research should:
�
introduce in the school curricula more information regarding minorities
in Romania (in history and geography textbooks), and also regarding the
question of discrimination (in civic education textbooks);
�
create an inventory of deficiencies in the area of minority language
teaching, offering special places in universities where the number of
minority teachers is not adequate;
� offer more special places for minorities in the field of law, to balance the lack of minority persons in the judicial system;
� provide for places and opportunities for translators in the field of legislation;
�
develop the school curricula in a manner to not overload the students
who learn in their mother tongue; teaching of the mother tongue and
exams in the mother tongue should be not classified as extracurricular
education;
� offer mother tongue education, where important minority communities exist, in every profile and domain;
�
develop new strategies for evaluation of teachers, taking into
consideration not only the results for children, but more the social
background of children, to promote those who obtain results in
educating disadvantaged communities and persons; this evaluation should
have real effects in increasing salaries;
� avoid religious
discrimination in schools recommending the controll of the equal
representation of minority symbols in the public schools and preventing
the transformation of state schools in places of Orthodox worship.
3. The County School Inspectorates should:
�
verify the multicultural and multilingual character of the schools,
multiculturalism and multilingualism should be present not only in
minority language classes, but also in the common spaces, such as
corridors of the building or during different celebrations;
�
intervene to prevent 'elite' state schools from excluding Roma
students; any direct or indirect discrimination (including separation
of students in Roma and non-Roma classes, if it is not on grounds of
Romani language education) has to be stopped, with consequences for
headmasters;
� the practice of special schools has to be revised;
�
change the policies on nominating headmasters and assistant headmasters
primarly from majority persons in order to offer minority persons also
the possibility of reaching high positions.
4. The universities with graduates who will become teachers should:
� introduce in curricula corresponding methodology to work in disadvantaged communities;
� organise practical exercises, pedagogical practice in this communities;
� provide for multicultural courses.
5. The Ministry on Public Administration should:
�
find ways to make public servants interested in obtaining knowledge
regarding minorities and discrimination (salary increase, etc);
� verify, from time to time, the knowledge of public servants in the area of specific legislation.
6. The Ministry of Interior should:
� find positive measures to increase the number of minority persons employed as police officers.
7. The Ministry of Justice should:
� review policies regarding the penal investigation, creating a larger structure of prosecutors and judges.
8. The Government and local authorities should:
� allocate special funds in their budget to create normal living conditions for Roma communities;
� provide integrally the aids stipulated by laws for disadvantaged groups.
9. The local authorities should:
�
create internal control bodies to verify the legality of different
acts, in order to respect legislative measures on use of the mother
tongue, implement special measures and combat discrimination;
�
report problems, needs or proposals for new special measures to the
National Council to Combat Discrimination to find solutions at national
level.
10. Case studies on the situation of Roma have to be
conducted to inform international funders of the real situation of this
community.
Annex 1
Demographic structure of Mureş county and city of Tîrgu-Mureş, other relevant statistics
Table 1. Demographic structure of Mureş county by ethnic origin (1930-2002)
1930
1956
1966
1977
1992
2002
Romanian
185.367
43,54%
243.720
47,78%
278.386
49,57%
297.205
49,10%
317.541
52,05%
308.628
53,22%
Hungarian
176.990
41,57%
231.875
45,18%
249.675
44,46%
268.251
44,31%
252.651
41,41%
227.673
39,26%
German
33.379
7,84%
20.074
3,91%
20.625
3,67%
18.807
3,11%
4.588
0,75%
2.002
0,35%
Roma
17.444
4,10%
13.804
2,69%
11.402
2,03%
20.019
3,31%
34.798
5,70%
40.83455
7,04%
Jew
11.405
2,68%
3.241
0,63%
1.053
0,19%
646
0,11%
199
0,03%
148
0,03%
Others
1.136
547
457
417
276
577
Total
425.721
513.261
561.598
605.345
610.053
579.862
Table 2. Demographic structure of Mureş county by ethnic origin and religion (1992)
Romanian
Hungarian
German
Roma
Jew
Others
Orthodox
288.393
2.293
296
21.422
4
106
Roman catholic
2.091
57.592
431
3.742
3
74
Calvinist reformed
1.818
165.983
220
6.566
1
28
Greek catholic
13.704
958
23
527
0
16
Pentecostal
3.374
429
3
514
1
0
Baptist
943
324
4
54
0
0
Adventist
2.582
3.299
46
698
0
4
Unitarian
160
15.948
37
309
0
0
Lutheran
153
432
2951
143
2
8
Other
4.323
5.393
577
823
18856
Table 3. Demographic structure of Tîrgu-Mureş by ethnic origin (1930-2002)
1930
1956
1966
1977
1992
2002
Romanian
10.751
26,84%
14.669
22,41%
24.638
28,50%
45.639
35,09%
75.851
46,13%
75.317
50,35%
Hungarian
22.898
57,16%
48.290
73,78%
60.211
69,64%
82.200
63,19%
84.493
51,38%
69.825
46,68%
German
667
1,67%
263
0,40%
456
0,53%
773
0,59%
558
0,34%
275
0,18%
Roma
431
1,08%
209
0,32%
195
0,23%
783
0,60%
3.259
1,98%
3.759
2,51%
Jew
4851
12,11%
1.844
2,82%
776
0,90%
514
0,40%
156
0,09%
114
0,08%
Others
460
1,15%
180
0,27%
188
0,22%
167
0,13%
128
0,08%
287
0,19%
Total
40.058
65.455
86.464
130.076
164.445
149.577
Table 4. National statistics on studied ethnic communities, data in percentage among community, 1992
Romanians
Hungarians
Roma
Jew
German
Area
urban
rural
54.5
45.5
56.3
43.7
41.3
58.7
98.3
1.7
67.2
32.8
Age
under 14
15-59
over 60
22.7
61.0
16.3
19.1
61.2
19.7
41.4
53.5
5.1
3.8
31.7
64.5
14.6
57.0
28.4
Education
university
middle
primary
without or non-declared
5.3
66.5
23.7
4.5
3.6
74.6
19.8
2.0
0.1
35.6
37.5
26.8
34.5
52.7
10.6
2.2
6.8
74.3
17.1
1.8
Working domains
never worked
agriculture
industry
trade and public services
4.2
23.5
44.3
28.0
4.8
16.2
52.7
26.3
17.3
28.0
37.4
17.5
�
�
�
�
4.1
14.5
49.7
31.7
Habitable surface
under 8 square meter
8-11,9 square meter
12-15,9 square meter
over 16 square meter
24.4
27.1
19.0
29.5
20.5
26.9
17.2
34.9
64.7
18.2
7.3
9.8
3.0
10.7
23.7
62.6
11.0
19.2
18.4
51.4
Household with
water
electricity
central heat
52.3
97.5
40.7
61.5
98.5
36.0
23.1
91.0
14.4
96.9
99.8
78.1
68.9
99.5
37.0
Table 5. National statistics on studied ethnic communities regarding some working domains, 1992
Total
Romanians
Hungarians
Roma
Jew
German
Public administration
299,757
284,141
94.79%
11,299
3.77%
1,369
0.46%
40
0.01%
687
0.23%
Foreign affairs, public order, justice
19,628
18,829
95.93%
601
3.06%
15
0.08%
22
0.11%
57
0.29%
Pre-schooler and primary education
122,346
111,061
90.78%
9,218
7.53%
89
0.07%
17
0.01%
826
0.68%
Secondary education
232,271
211,490
91.05%
16,469
7.09%
330
0.14%
151
0.07%
1,545
0.67%
High and university education
29,123
27,443
94.23%
1,070
3.5%
63
0.22%
64
0.22%
257
0.84%
Health and social services
305,823
277,938
90.88%
23,003
7.52%
507
0.17%
291
0.10%
1,696
0.55%
Total population
22,810,035
20,408,542
89.5%
1,624,959
7.1%
401,087
1.8%
8,955
0.04%
119,462
0.5%
Annex 2
Votes obtained by political parties and minority organisations in 2000 elections
June 2000, local election for county councillors, Mureş county
Party
Votes %
Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania 102.242 39,59
Party
of National Unity for
Romanians
31.274 12,11
Romanian Social Democrat
Party
29.149 11,29
Democratic
Convention
17.678 6,84
Great Romania
Party
16.790 6,50
National
Liberal
Party
10.092 3,91
Alliance for
Romania
9.362 3,63
Democratic
Party
8.647 3,35
November 2000, election for Senate of Romania, Mureş county
Party
Votes %
Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania 127.423 40,05
Great
Romania
Party
70.620 22,20
Romanian Social Democrat
Party
52.205 16,41
National Liberal
Party
14.048 4,42
National
Alliance
12.525 3,94
Alliance for
Romania
11.323 3,56
Democratic Party 9.958 3,13
November 2000, election for Deputy House of Romania, Mureş county
Party
Votes %
Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania 122.474 38,84
Great
Romania
Party
66.611 21,12
Romanian Social Democrat
Party
50.994 16,17
National
Alliance
17.516 5,55
National Liberal
Party
15.627 4,96
Democratic
Party
7.800 2,47
Alliance for
Romania
6.820 2,16
Roma
Party
3.857 1,22
Democratic Convention
2000
3.851 1,22
...
German
Democratic
Forum
1.170
Association of Bulgarians from
Banat
972
League of Albanians in
Romania
970
Cultural Community of Ruthenians in Romania 484
Jew
Community in
Romania
479
Italian Community in
Romania
475
Cultural Alliance of Albanians in
Romania
192
Annex 3
List of questioned institutions and communities
Institution or community
Number
Step used
Data
Dealului
Street Roma community 60 families
every 5th house57 15 April 2003
Mureş Labour and
Social Solidarity Department 39 employees
every 2nd employees 18 April 2003
Mayor�s
Office of Tîrgu-Mureş 177 employees
every 5th employees 18 April 2003
Mureş County Councill 125 employees every 4th employees 6 May 2003
Valea Rece Roma Community 250 families every 10th house 16 May 2003
The Tîrgu-Mureş Prison arround 800 persons every 8th 24 May 2003
Romanian
and Hungarian community of Tîrgu-Mureş 145.142
persons 98 persons58 15-30 May
2003
Annex 4
Relevant legislative provisions
Constitution of Romania (official translation)
Article 4. Unity of the people and equality among citizens
(1) The State foundation is laid on the unity of the Romanian people.
(2)
Romania is the common and indivisible homeland of all its citizens,
without any discrimination on account of race, nationality, ethnic
origin, language, religion, sex, opinion, political adherence, property
or social origin.
...
Article 6. Right to identity
(1)
The State recognises and guarantees the right of persons belonging to
national minorities, to the preservation, development and expression of
their ethnic, cultural, linguistic and religious identity.
(2) The
protecting measures taken by the Romanian State for the preservation,
development and expression of identity of the persons belonging to
national minorities shall conform to the principles of equality and
non-discrimination in relation to the other Romanian citizens.
...
Article 16. Equality of rights
(1) Citizens are equal before the law and public authorities, without any privilege or discrimination.
(2) No one is above the law.
(3)
Access to a public office or dignity, civil or military, is granted to
persons whose citizenship is only and exclusively Romanian, and whose
domicile is in Romania.
...
Article 23. Personal freedom
...
(5)
Any person detained or arrested shall be promptly informed, in a
language he understands, of the grounds for his detention or arrest,
and notified of the charges against him, as soon as practicable; the
notification of the charges shall be made only in the presence of a
lawyer of his own choosing or appointed "ex officio".
...
Article 32. Right to education
...
2)
Education of all grades shall be in Romanian. Education may also be
conducted in a foreign language of international use, under the terms
laid down by law.
(3) The right of persons belonging to national
minorities to learn their mother tongue, and their right to be educated
in this language are guaranteed; the ways to exercise these rights
shall be regulated by law.
...
(7) The State shall ensure the
freedom of religious education, in accordance with the specific
requirements of each religious cult. In public schools, religious
education is organized and guaranteed by law.
...
Article 59. Election of the Chambers
...
(2)
Organizations of citizens belonging to national minorities, which fail
to obtain the number of votes for representation in Parliament, have
the right to one Deputy seat each, under the terms of the electoral
law. Citizens of a national minority are entitled to be represented by
one organization only.
...
Article 127. Right to have an interpreter
(1) Procedure shall be conducted in Romanian.
(2)
Citizens belonging to national minorities, as well as persons who
cannot understand or speak Romanian have the right to take cognizance
of all acts and files of the case, to speak before the Court and
formulate conclusions, through an interpreter; in criminal trials, this
right shall be ensured free of charge.
Ordinance On Preventing
and Sanctioning All Forms of Discrimination (as modified and approved
by Law 48/2002, official translation)
Chapter I � Principles and Definitions
Art.
1 - (1) In Romania, as a democratic and social state governed by the
rule of law, human dignity, citizens� rights and freedoms, free
development of human personality represent supreme values and shall be
guaranteed.
(2) The principle of equality among citizens, the
elimination of all privilege and discrimination shall be guaranteed, in
particular with regard to the exercise of the following rights:
a) the right to equal treatment before courts and any other jurisdictional bodies;
b) the right to personal security and the right to be granted state
protection against violence and mistreatment perpetrated by any
individual, group or institution;
c) political
rights, namely electoral rights, the right to take part in public life
and the right to access to public positions;
d) other civil rights, in particular:
i) the right to freedom of movement and of choosing one�s residence;
ii) the right to leave and return to one�s country;
iii) the right to obtain and renounce to the Romanian citizenship;
iv) the right to marry and to choose one�s partner;
v) the right to property;
vi) the right to inheritance;
vii) the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion;
viii) the right to freedom of opinion and expression;
ix) the right to freedom of peaceful meeting and association;
e) economic, social and cultural rights, in particular:
i) the right to work, to choose freely one�s occupation, to fair and
satisfactory working conditions, to protection against unemployment, to
equal pay for equal work, to fair and satisfactory wages;
ii) the right to establish and to join trade unions;
iii) the right to housing;
iv) the right to health, medical assistance, social security and social services;
v) the right to education and to professional training;
vi) the right to take part in cultural activities in conditions of equality;
f) the right of access to all public places and services.
(3) The exercise of the rights stated in the present article concerns persons that are in comparable situations.
(4) Any natural or legal entity shall be under the obligation to comply with the principles stated in paragraph (2).
Art.
2 - (1) According to the present ordinance, the term "discrimination"
shall comprise any difference, exclusion, restriction or preference
based on race, nationality, ethnic belonging, language, religion,
social status, beliefs, sex or sexual orientation, belonging to a
disadvantaged category or any other criterion, aiming to or resulting
in a restriction or prevention of the equal recognition, use or
exercise of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political,
economic, social and cultural field or in any other fields of public
life.
(2) Any active or passive behaviour that generates effects
liable to favour or disadvantage, in an unjustified manner, a person, a
group of persons or a community, or that subjects them to an unjust or
degrading treatment, in comparison to other persons, groups of persons
or communities, shall trigger contraventional liability, unless it
falls under the incidence of criminal law.
(3) Measures taken by
public authorities or by legal entities under private law in favour of
a person, a group of persons or a community, aiming to ensure their
natural development and the effective achievement of their right to
equal opportunities as opposed to other persons, groups of persons or
communities, as well as positive measures aiming to protect
disadvantaged groups, shall not be regarded as discrimination under the
present ordinance.
(4) In accordance with the present ordinance, the elimination of all forms of discrimination shall be achieved by means of:
a) special measures for the protection of persons in a minority
situation, when they do not enjoy equal opportunities;
b) sanctions instituted against the discriminatory behaviour provided
under paragraphs (2) and (3) of the present article.
Art. 3.-
The provisions of the present ordinance shall be applicable to all
public and private natural or legal entities as well as to public
institutions with competencies in the following fields:
a) employment conditions, criteria and conditions of recruitment,
selection and promotion, access to all forms and levels of professional
orientation, professional training, and refresher courses;
b) social protection and social security;
c) public services or other services, access to goods and facilities;
d) the educational system;
e) freedom of movement;
f) enforcement of public peace and order;
g) other fields of social life.
Art.
4.- In the meaning of the present ordinance, the term "disadvantaged
category" is the category of persons that is either placed in a
position of inequality as opposed to the majority of citizens due to
its social origin or to a handicap or is faced with rejection and
marginalisation due to specific circumstances, such as a chronic
non-infectious disease, HIV infection or the status of refugee or
asylum-seeker.
Chapter II � Special Provisions
Section I. Equality in the economic activity, in terms of employment and profession
Art.
5 � According to the present ordinance, conditioning the participation
of a person in an economic activity or one�s free choice and exercise
of a profession on one�s belonging to a race, nationality, ethnic
group, religion, social status, on one�s beliefs, sex or sexual
orientation, respectively, or on one�s belonging to a disadvantaged
category shall constitute an offence.
Art. 6 � The following
shall constitute offences: discrimination on account of the race,
nationality, ethnic group, religion, social status, disadvantaged
category one belongs to, respectively on account of one�s beliefs, age,
sex or sexual orientation in a labour and social protection relation,
with respect to:
a) The conclusion, suspension, modification or cessation of the labour relation;
b) The establishment and modification of job-related duties, of the work place or of the wages;
c) The granting of social rights other than the wages;
d) The professional training, refreshment, conversion or promotion;
e) The enforcement of disciplinary measures;
f) The right to join a trade union and to access to the facilities it ensures;
g) Any other conditions related to the carrying out of a job, in accordance with the law in force.
Art.
7 - (1) In accordance with the present ordinance, the refusal of any
legal or natural entity to hire a person on account of the applicant�s
race, nationality, ethnic belonging, religion, social status or
disadvantaged category one belongs to, beliefs, age, sex or sexual
orientation shall constitute an offence, with the exception of the
cases provided under the law.
(2) If, in any job advertisement or
interview, the employer or employer�s representative set conditions
related to the belonging to a race, nationality, ethnic group,
religion, social status or disadvantaged category one belongs to, age,
sex or sexual orientation, or the applicant�s beliefs, for filling in a
position, except for the situation provided under Art. 2 paragraph 4,
this deed shall constitute an offence.
(3) Natural or legal entities
involved in mediating and distributing work places shall ensure the
equal treatment of all applicants, their free and equal access to
opportunities to consult the supply and demand of the labour market, to
consulting on opportunities to obtain a job or a qualification, and
shall refuse to support the employers� discriminatory requirements. All
information related to the race, nationality, ethnic belonging,
religion, sex or sexual orientation of applicants for a job or any
other private information shall be confidential.
Art. 8 -
Discrimination perpetrated by employers against their employees with
regard to the social facilities they grant their employees on account
of the employees� belonging to a race, nationality, ethnic background,
religion, social status or disadvantaged category one belongs to, sex,
sexual orientation or beliefs shall constitute an offence.
Art.
9 - None of the provisions of articles 5-8 shall be interpreted as a
restriction of the employer�s right to refuse to hire a person that
does not comply with the usual requirements and standards in the field,
as long as the refusal does not constitute an act of discrimination
under the present ordinance.
Section II. Access to legal, administrative and health public services, to other services, goods and facilities
Art.
10 � Under the present ordinance, discrimination of a natural entity or
of a group of persons on account of their belonging or to the belonging
of the management to a race, nationality, ethnic group, religion,
social category or disadvantaged category, on account of their beliefs,
age, sex or sexual orientation, if the deed does not fall under the
incidence of criminal law, shall constitute an offence, with respect to:
a) denying the access to public administrative and legal services
b) denying the access of a person or of a group of persons to public
health services - choice of a family doctor, medical assistance, health
insurance, first aid and rescue services or other health services;
c) the refusal to sell or rent a plot of land or building for housing purposes;
d) the refusal to grant a bank credit or to conclude any other kind of contract;
e) denying the access of a person or group of persons to the services
provided by theatres, cinemas, libraries, museums and exhibitions;
f) denying the access of a person or group of persons to the services
provided by shops, hotels, restaurants, bars, discotheques or any other
service providers, whether they are public or private property;
g) denying the access of a person or group of persons to the services
provided by public transportation companies - by plane, ship, train,
subway, bus, trolley-bus, tram car, taxi or by any other means of
transport;
h) the refusal to grant a person or a group of persons certain rights or facilities
Section III. Access to education
Art.
11 - (1) Under the present ordinance, denying the access of a person or
of a group of persons to the state-owned or private education system of
any kind, degree or level, on account of their belonging to a race,
nationality, ethnic group, religion, social category or to a
disadavntaged category, on account of their beliefs, age, sex or sexual
orientation, shall constitute an offence.
(2) The provisions of the
paragraph above shall be applicable to all stages and levels of
education, including admission or enrolment in education institutions
and the assessment and examination of students� knowledge.
(3) Under
the present ordinance, requiring a declaration to prove a person�s or
group�s belonging to an ethnic group as a condition for access to
education in their mother tongue shall constitute an offence. The
exception to the rule is the situation when the candidates apply in the
secondary and higher education system for places allotted specifically
to a certain minority, in which case they must prove their belonging to
that minority by means of a document issued by a legally established
organisation of the respective minority.
(4) The provisions under
paragraphs (1), (2) and (3) shall not be interpreted as a restriction
of the right of an education institution to deny the application of a
person whose knowledge and/or prior results do not meet the required
admission standards of that institution, as long as the refusal is not
determined by the person�s belonging to a race, nationality, ethnic
group, religion, social category or to a disadvantaged category, by
his/her beliefs, age, sex or sexual orientation.
(5) The provisions
under paragraphs (1) and (2) shall not be interpreted as a restriction
of the right of education institutions that train personnel employed in
worship places to deny the application of a person whose religious
status does not meet the requirements established for access to the
respective institution.
(6) According to the present ordinance, any
restrictions based on belonging to a race, nationality, ethnic group,
religion, social category or to a disadvantaged category in the
establishment and licensing of education institutions set up in
accordance with the legal framework in force shall constitute an
offence.
Section IV. Freedom of movement, choice of residence and access to public places
Art.
12 - (1) Any threats, constraints, use of force or any other means of
assimilation, colonisation or forced movement of persons with a view to
modify the ethnic, racial or social composition of a region or of a
locality shall constitute an offence.
(2) According to the present
ordinance, any behaviour consisting in forcing a person belonging to a
race, nationality, ethnic group or religion, or a community,
respectively, to unwillingly leave their residence, deportation or
lowering their living standards with a view to determine them to leave
their traditional residence shall constitute an offence. Forcing a
group of persons belonging to a minority to leave the area or regions
where they live or a group belonging to the majority population to
settle in areas or regions inhabited by a population belonging to
national minorities shall both represent violations of the present
ordinance.
Art. 13 - (1) Any behaviour aiming to determine a
persons or group of persons to move away from a building or
neighbourhood or aiming to drive them away on account of their
belonging to a race, nationality, ethnic group, religion, social
category or to a disadvantaged category, on account of their beliefs,
age, sex or sexual orientation, shall constitute an offence.
(2) The
provision above shall not be interpreted as a restriction of the
authorities� right to enforce urbanism plans, as long as the movement
is effected under the law, and the measure is not determined by the
person�s or group�s belonging to a race, nationality, ethnic group,
religion, social category or to a disadvantaged category, by their
beliefs, age, sex or sexual orientation.
Art. 14 - Under the
present ordinance, denying the access of a person or of a group of
persons to public places on account of their belonging to a race,
nationality, ethnic group, religion, social category or to a
disadvantaged category, to their beliefs, age, sex or sexual
orientation shall constitute an offence.
Section V. The right to personal dignity
Art.
15 - Under the present ordinance, any public behaviour with a
nationalistic-chauvinist character, any instigation to racial or
national hatred, or any behaviour aiming to prejudice a person�s
dignity or to create an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating
or offending atmosphere, perpetrated against a person, a group of
persons or a community on account of race, nationality, ethnic group,
religion, social category or belonging to a disadvantaged category, on
account of beliefs, sex or sexual orientation shall constitute an
offence, unless the deed falls under the incidence of criminal law.
Chapter III. Sanctions
Art.
16 - (1) The offences provided under articles 5-8, 10, 11 paragraphs
(1), (2), (3), (6), 12, 13 paragraph (1), 14 and 15 of the present
ordinance shall be sanctioned with a lei 1,000,000 to lei 10,000,000
fine if perpetrated against a natural entity or with a lei 2,000,000 to
lei 20,000,000 fine if perpetrated against a group of persons.
(2) The sanctions shall also be applicable to legal entities.
(3)
The offences provided under Chapter II shall be found and sanctioned by
the members of the National Council for the Prevention of
Discrimination. The provisions of Law 32/1968 on Establishing and
Sanctioning Offences, with its subsequent modifications and
completions, shall be enforced accordingly.
(4) The fines provided
in the present ordinance shall be updated in accordance with the
provisions of article 7š of Law 32/1968 on Establishing and Sanctioning
Offences, with its subsequent modifications and completions.
Art.
17 - (1) In all cases of discrimination provided by the present
ordinance, the persons discriminated against shall be entitled to claim
damages, proportionally with the prejudice, as well as to the
re-establishment of the situation prior to the discrimination or to the
annulment of the situation created by discrimination, in accordance
with common law.
(2) The claim for damages shall be exempted from judicial taxes.
(3)
Upon request, the court can order that the competent authorities
withdraw the licence of legal entities that significantly prejudice
society by means of a discriminatory action or, although have caused a
minor prejudice, repeatedly violate the provisions of the present law.
Art.
18 - (1) Non-governmental organisations with activities in the field of
human rights can appear in court as parties in cases involving
discriminations pertaining to their field of activity and which
prejudice a community or a group of persons.
(2) The organisations
provided in the above paragraph can also appear in court as parties in
cases involving discrimination that prejudice a natural entity, if the
latter delegates the organisation to that effect.
Law on Education no. 151/1999 (official translation)
Art.
5. � (1) The Romanian citizens have equal rights of access to all
levels and forms of education, irrespective of their social or material
background, sex, race, nationality, political or religious belonging.
(...)
Art. 8. (...)
(2)
In each locality units, forms or study groups are organized and
function with tuition in Romanian language and, if necessary, in the
languages of national minorities, or their schooling in native language
is ensured in the nearest possible locality.
(3) The learning of the
Romanian language in school, as the official language of the State, is
compulsory for all Romanian citizens irrespective of their nationality.
The curricula must include the necessary number of hours and, at the
same time, shall ensure the conditions to grant the mastering of the
official language of the state.
Art. 118. � Persons belonging to
national minorities have the right to study and receive instruction in
their native language, at all levels and forms of education with
appropriate request, according to the present law.
Art. 119. �
(1) Taking into account local needs, groups, classes, sections or
school units with teaching in the languages of national minorities may
be established, at request and in accordance with the provisions of
this law.
(2) Paragraph (1) of this article shall be implemented
without prejudice to the learning of the official language and the
teaching in this language.
Art. 120. � (1) In primary schools
Romanian Language and Literature is taught according to curricula and
textbooks specially conceived for the respective minority. In middle
schools Romanian Language and Literature is taught according to
identical curricula as for grades with tuition in Romanian, but from
special textbooks. In secondary schools Romanian Language and
Literature curricula and textbooks are identical as for grades with
tuition in Romanian.
(2) In primary schools with tuition in the
languages of national minorities, the History of the Romanians and the
Geography of Romania are taught in these languages, according to
identical curricula and textbooks as for the grades with tuition in
Romanian; it is compulsory to transcribed and acquired the toponymy and
Romanian proper names. In middle schools and in secondary schools, the
History of the Romanians and the Geography of Romania are taught in
Romanian, according to the same curricula and the same textbooks as for
the grades with tuition in Romanian. Examination in the History of the
Romanians and the Geography of Romania shall be taken in the language
in which it was studied.
(3) In curricula and textbooks of world
history and the History of the Romanians the history and the traditions
of national minorities in Romania shall be also reflected.
(4) In
middle school the subject of study the History and the traditions of
national minorities shall be introduced, at request, in the native
language.
Art. 121. � Pupils belonging to national minorities
that attend schools with tuition in Romanian shall be granted, at
request and according to the present law, the study of the Language and
the literature of the native language as well as the history and
traditions of the respective national minority, as school subjects.
Art.
122. � In public vocational, secondary, and specialized post-secondary
education where specialist training is provided in the native language,
at request and according to the present law, it is compulsory to
acquire the special terminology in Romanian language as well.
Art.
123. � (1) Within higher educational institutions run by the state,
groups, sections, colleges, faculties teaching in native language may
be organized, according to the law, at request. In this case, the
acquiring of the specialized terminology in Romanian language shall be
assured. At request and according to law, multicultural higher
educational institutions can be established. The languages of teaching
shall be determined in the foundation law.
(2) Persons belonging to
national minorities shall have the right to set up and manage their own
private higher educational institutions according to the law.
(3)
Institutions of higher education with multicultural structures and
activities shall be encouraged for promotion of harmonious inter-ethnic
relations and of integration both at national and European level.
(4)
All Romanian citizens can register and study at all educational forms
teaching in Romanian or in the languages of national minorities
irrespective to his native language or to the language in which they
studied previously.
Art. 124. � In education at all levels
entrance and graduation (school leaving) examinations can be taken in
the language in which the respective subject matters have been studied,
according to the present law.
Art. 125. � The Ministry of
National Education provides the training and the further training of
the teaching staff, as well as the school textbooks and other didactic
material.
Art. 126. � The teaching staff belonging to national
minorities shall be proportionally represented in the managing boards
of educational units and institutions with classes, sections and groups
providing tuition in the languages of national minorities, in
compliance with their professional competence.
Law 188/1999 on the Statute of Public Servants
Art.
99. - In administrative-territorial units in which the percentage of
persons belong to a national minority is more than 20%, some of the
public servants in direct contact with citizens should also know the
language of that national minority.
Local Public Administration Law, no. 215/2001 (translation from the website of The Romanian Urban Planners Association)
Article 17
In
the administrative-territorial units where more than 20% from the
inhabitants number are citizens belonging to a national minority, the
local public administration authorities have to use in the relations
with them their mother tongue, according to the Constitution, to the
present law and to the international conventions signed by Romania.
...
Article 40
...
7.
In the communes or cities where more than 20% from the inhabitants�
number are citizens belonging to a national minority, the local council
session�s agenda have to be also publish in their mother tongue.
...
Article 43
...
3.
In the session�s workings is used Romanian language. In those local
councils where at least 1/3 from the total councilors� number are
persons belonging to a national minority, in the local council�s
workings will be used their mother tongue. In those cases the Romanian
translation must be ensured through the mayor� care.
...
Article 51
In
the administrative-territorial units where more than 20% from the
inhabitants number are citizens belonging to a national minority, the
normative character decisions have to be published and the individual
character decisions have to be communicated in the minorities mother
tongue.
...
Article 90
1. In the relations between the citizens and the local public administration authorities it is used the Romanian language.
2.
In the administrative-territorial units where more than 20% from the
inhabitants number are citizens belonging to a national minority they
can use in their relations with the local public administration
authorities and their specialists body the citizens mother tongue, oral
or in writing. They will receive the answer to their problem both in
Romanian and their mother tongue.
3. In the cases stipulated in
paragraph 2 in the public relations offices must be hired persons that
speaks the minorities mother tongue.
4. In the situations stipulated
in paragraph 2 the local public administration authorities have to
ensure the inscription of the localities� name and the subordinated
public institutions� name as well as the publishing of the public
interest announcements in the minorities mother tongue.
5. The official deeds are always and compulsorily elaborated in Romanian language.
...
Article 106.
...
8.
In that counties where more than 20% from the inhabitants number are
citizens belonging to a national minority the county council�s session
agenda have to be also communicated to them in their mother tongue.
Penal Code of Romania (official translation)
Art. 247 - Abuse in duty by restriction of rights
Offence
committed in the course of duties by a civil servant who restricts
employment or the exercise of the rights of an individual or who places
an individual in a situation of inferiority for reasons of nationality,
race, sex or religion shall be punished by a term of imprisonment of
between 6 months and 5 years.
...
Art. 317 - Nationalist chauvinistic propaganda
Any
nationalist chauvinistic propaganda or incitement to racial or national
hatred which does not constitute an offense under Article 166shall be
punishable by a term of imprisonment of between 6 months and 5 years.
Penal Procedure Code of Romania
The language of penal proceedings
Art.
7. - During the legal proceedings is used the Romanian language. In the
judiciary authorities from administrative-territorial units inhabited
also by other ethnic groups than Romanian, is assured the use of mother
tongue of that population.
Use of official language by translator
Art.
8. - party�s who did not speak the language of penal proceedings are
assured the possibility to know the documents of file to speak to the
court at to conclude by translator.
Law no. 178/1997 to Approval
and Payment of Interpreters and Translators Used by Penal Investigation
Authorities, Courts, Notaries Offices, Attorney and by Ministry of
Justice
Art. 1. - (1) Ministry of Justice and Prosecutor Office
Near Supreme Court of Justice are authorised to engage, by civil
convention, according to Law no 83/1995 Regarding Some Measures to
Protect Engaged Persons, interpreters and translators to effect
translations in and from foreign languages.
(2) Courts, Prosecutor�s
Offices and penal investigation authorities use interpreters and
translators, in condition of Penal Procedure Code and Civil Procedure
Code, by case.
(3) Notaries offices use interpreters and translators in condition of Law on Notaries and Notarial Activities no. 36/1995.
(4) Attorney could engage and use interpreters and translators with purpose of exercise they profession, in conditions of law.
Art.
2. - Interpeter and/or translator activities to courts, prosecutor
offices, penal investigation authorities, notaries offices, attorneys
and to Ministry of Justice are offered by persons certifed in
profession and authorised by Ministry of Justice.
Art. 3. -
Authorisation as interpeter and/or translator, who could offer
translation to authorities stipulate in art. 1, could be obtain, by
application, by persons who cumulative fulfil the following conditions:
a) is Romanian citizen;
b) do not have penal record and enjoy a good professional and social reputation;
c)
posses a licence or equivalent diploma, from which result the
specialisation in foreign language or languages for it solicit
authorisation or is certified as translator by the Ministry of Culture.
Emergency
Ordinance to Prohibit Fascist, Racist or Xenophob Organisations and
Promote of Personal Cult of those who are Guilty with some Crimes
against Peace and Humanity no. 31/2002
Chapter I
General dispositions
Art.
1. - To prevent and combat incitment to national, racial, and religious
heat, to discrimination and to commit crimes against peace and
humanity, this emergency ordinance regulate the prohibition of fascist,
racist or xenophob organisations and of personal cult of those who are
guilty with some crimes against peace and humanity.
Art. 2. - This emergency ordinance:
a)
by fascist, racist or xenophob organisations mean any group formed by
three or more persons, who activate temporary or permanent to promote
fascist, racist or xenophob ideology, concepts or doctrines, also
ethnic, racial, religious motivated heat and violence, superiority of
some races and inferiority of others, antisemitism, incitement to
xenophobia, use of violence to change constitutional order or
democratic institutions, extremist nationalism. In this cathegory could
be included organisations, being legal entity or not, parties and
political movements, associations and foundations, commercial firms,
also other legal entities;
b) by fascist, racist, xenophob symbols
mean flags, badges, coats, uniforms, slogans, greetings, also other
similar signs, which promote ideology, concepts, doctrines from letter
a);
c) by persons guilty to commit some crimes against peace and
humanity mean any person who was sentenced by a Romanian or foreign
court for one or more crimes against peace and humanity, also any
person sentenced by an international penal court for warcrimes or
crimes against humantity.
Chapter II
Delinquencies and contraventions
Art.
3. - (1) The constitute of a fascist, racist or xenophobic organisation
is punished by imprisonment between 5 and 15 years and interdiciton of
some rights.
(2) The same punishment is for the join to fascist,
racist or xenophobic organisation, also for the support in any way of
those organisations.
(3) Attept is punished.
Art. 4. - (1)
Distribution, sale or preparation of fascist, racist or xenophobic
symbols, intention to distribute these symbols is punished by
imprisonment between 6 months and 5 years and interdiction of some
rights.
(2) The same punishment is applied for the use in public of fascist, racist or xenophobic symbols.
(3)
Provisions of para. (1) or (2) are not illegal if they are committed in
the interest of art or science, research or education.
Art. 5. �
The promotion of devotion to persons guilty to commit crimes against
peace, humanity or promoting fascist, racist or xenophobic ideologies,
by propaganda, comitted in any way, in public, is punished by
imprisonment between 6 months and 5 years and interdiciton of some
rights.
Art. 6. � Contest or negation in public of the Holocaust
or his effects , is punished by imprisonment between 6 months and 5
years and interdiciton of some rights.
Art. 7. - In case of delinquencies from art. 3-6 the penal investigation is carried out, obligatory, by prosecutor.
Art. 8. - (1) Are contravention and punished by fine from 25.000.000 Lei to 250.000.000 Lei:
a)
distribution, sail or prepare of fascist, racist or xenophobic symbols,
detain to distribution of this symbols by legal entities;
b) use in public of fascist, racist or xenophobic symbols symbols by legal entities;
c)
the promote of the cult of persons guilty to commit crimes against
peace, humanity or promoting fascist, racist or xenophobic ideologies,
by propaganda, comitted in any way, in public, by legal entities;
(2)
Provisions of para. (1) a) or b) are not contraventions if are comitted
in the interest of art or science, research or education.
(3)
Establishing of contraventions and apply of fines are made by persons
authorised by the Ministry of Culture, also by special authorised
persons of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
...
Chapter IV
Duties of public administration
Art.
12. � Is prohibited to erect or mentain, in public places, excepting
museums, of statues, memorials referring to persons guilty to commit
crimes against peace and humanity.
Art. 13. - (1) Is prohibited
to accord to streets, squares, parcs and other public places the names
of persons guilty to commit crimes against peace and humanity.
(2)
Is prohibited also to accord to organisations, with or without to be
legal entities, the names of persons guilty to commit crimes against
peace and humanity.
Strategy of the Government of Romania for
Improving the Condition of the Roma, the Government of Romania,
Ministry of Public Information, 2001 (official translation)
VII. Lines of action
A. Community development and administration
1.
Organizing, at local/county levels, mixed working groups, made up of
elected representatives of that community, of decentralized structures
of the central administration, of NGOs of the Roma and the Roma
minority, in order to evaluate the main needs of the Roma community and
to apply the programs for their support.
2. Creating the legal
frame by which the ministries and central/local agencies, their
decentralized structures are able to finance proje cts and sectorial
programs to improve the situation of the Roma.
3. Setting up the National Council Against Discrimination and including Roma representatives in this structure.
4. Setting up structures for implementing the strategy at the level of ministries, prefectures and town halls.
5.
Initiating and developing some educational actions regarding the fight
against discrimination targeted at civil servants in the central and
local public administration.
6. Monitoring the application of
Emergency Ordinance No. 137/2000 and punishing the civil servants who
have committed discriminative actions against citizens.
7.
Conditioning the civil servants recruitment and promotion of civil
servants on the "non-discrimination" criterion in dealing with other
people.
8. Developing collaboration between public
administration structures and Roma NGOs on a partnership basis;
including the Roma community leaders in the local administrative
decision-making which affects the Roma.
9. Implementing positive
discrimination programs for Roma regarding employment in the structures
of central/local public administration.
B. Housing
1.
Solving the issues relating to the right of ownership on the Roma
dwellings and lands, the issues related to application of laws and
regulations concerning the constitution a nd reconstitution of the land
ownership right, including promotion of legislative initiative in this
area.
2. Conceiving and implementing programs to rehabilitate housing and the environment in inhabited by Roma.
3.
Developing certain financing programs, ensure d by the government or in
partnership, in order to ensure the minimum conditions of housing in
the areas inhabited by Roma (power, drinking water, sewerage, gas and
sanitation services).
4. Developing the welfare housing program for the families with many members and without any living support.
5. The direct involvement of the Roma in the government programs for building and restoration of dwellings.
C. Social security
1. Improving Roma access to public services.
2. Conceiving and implementing specific programs for the professional training and reorientation of the Roma.
3.
Training the personnel of professional formation and occupation
services regarding the employment in the labor market for the Roma
minority.
4. Supporting the young Roma graduates in order to get
jobs and monitoring the professional evolution of the
university-educated young Roma, according to the legislation in force.
5.
Providing subsidies to the non-governmental organizations of the Roma
that function and manage certain units of social assistance.
6.
Increasing the fiscal incentives for enterprises that hire persons from
the families with many children and without any living support.
7. Increasing the welfare allowances for families with many members and without any living support.
D. Health care
1.
Improving Roma access to the public medical services, preventive and
curative, by creating a system of health visitors, conceiving and
implementing specific prophylactic and treatment programs.
2. Training Roma health visitors, nurses and physicians, within the Roma communities.
3.
Identifying solutions for including the Roma in the Health Insurance
system, registering with the family doctor, compensation for
prescription charges etc.
4. Conceiving and implementing health
care information programs, medical consulting and family planning for
Roma women, emphasizing the protection of mother and child.
5.
Organizing vaccination campaigns in the communities of Roma through
some joint commissions formed of the local and DSP (Epidemiological and
Communicable Diseases Department) medical staff and the Roma
representatives.
6. Organizing campaigns in order to trace the TB, HIV/AIDS, dermatological affections, sexually communicable diseases etc.
7. Accomplishing certain epidemiological studies regarding the general state of health.
8.
Increasing the number of medical staff originating in the Roma
community by setting aside special openings for the Roma students in
the state medical universities.
E. Economic steps
1. Starting and carrying out projects of training and profesional reorientation for the Roma.
2. Ensuring incentives for the practice and revival of traditional handicrafts with demand in the market.
3.
Devising and implementing specific financing programs for lucrative
activities and small businesses for the Roma families and communities,
including Roma women.
4. Curbing the unemployment rate of the
Roma by creating certain incentives for the entrepreneurs that hire
persons from the Roma minority and fighting against any forms of
discrimination in hiring the Roma.
5. Drafting programs for getting land ownership and stimulating the agricultural activities for the Roma communities.
6.
Supporting under the legislation in force the Small and Medium
Enterprises (SMEs) owned by persons from the Roma community through the
soft credit system.
7. Including the disadvantaged Rom
communities in the selection criteria for the disadvantaged regions;
devising and implementing programs for their rehabilitation.
8. Encouraging projects for creating jobs for the women of Roma origin.
F. Justice and public order
1. Analyzing and estimating the discriminating effects of the regulations in force and improving the current legal system.
2.
Observing the basic human rights, the political and social civil rights
and also the ethnic minorities� rights according to the international
norms and obligations assumed by Romania.
3. Solving the cases of the stateless Roma in Romania.
4.
Developing local programs with the help of the Roma organiz ations in
order to get identification cards for the Roma with no living support.
5.
Developing information programs for the Roma leaders, the executive
board of the public institutions and non-governmental organizations
(NGOs) in order to trace and correctly solve the discrimination cases.
6. Identifying, preventing and operative solving of conflicts likely to generate family, community or interethnic violence.
7. Initiating programs of legal education and delinquency prevention together with the members of the Roma communities.
8. Hiring citizens of Roma origin in the public order services and the police force.
...
H. Education
1.
Drafting a program for encouraging school attendance and cutting down
dropping out, particulary with the poor segments of the Roma population.
2.
Analyzing the possibility of organizing secondary and vocational school
institution for the Roma (arts and trades, vocational education,
formation and professional reorientation).
3. Drafting and
implementing programs for school mediators� training, as well as
improvement programs for teachers within the intercultural educational
system.
4. Introducing the themes for preventing and fighting discrimination within the general school programs.
5.
Introducing teaching modules for the Roma social and economical
problems into the training programs of the specialists in public
administration, social assistance, health, police and education.
6.
Drafting and implementing programs for encouraging Roma parents to
participate in school and extra curricular educational process.
7.
Adopting legislative measures for Roma support, in order to pro vide
them with incentives as far as education is concerned and in order to
promote the Roma for jobs within schools administration (principals and
school inspectors).
8. Further granting incentives and subsidized places especially for young Roma who wish to attend universities or colleges.
9.
Obligation of the school units and county school-inspectorates to
organize permanent catch-up courses for Roma, throughout all the
approved forms of education, upon individual or Roma organizations�
request.
10. Drawing the attention of the young Roma towards
institutions that form civil servants and the staff for public
institutions (faculties of social assistance, public administration,
medicine, military academies and schools for officers and
non-commissioned officers for Police Departments, Ministry of National
Defense, RSS etc.).
11. Stimulating the access to education by offering a free lunch to all the pupils in primary and secondary schools.
...
VIII. Structures:
The
following structures are established for the purpose of a proper
organization and coordination of the Master Plan of measures for the
application of the Strategy of improvement of the Roma condition:
1. The Joint Committee of Implementation and Monitoring
2. Inter-ministerial commissions on Roma
3. County offices on Roma
4. Local experts on Roma affairs
...
3. County Offices on Roma
The
county offices on Roma are structures organized at a county level,
within the prefect�s offices and they are subordinated to the
Ministerial Commission on Roma under the Ministry of Local Public
Administration.
The offices� main responsibilities are the
organization, planning and coordination of the activities conducted at
a county level for the implementation of the targets and tasks in the
Master Plan of measures for the implementation of the Strategy.
The
county offices on Roma are subordinated to the Joint Committee of
Implementation and Monitoring of the Strategy of improvement of the
Roma condition. The county offices on Roma will include 3-4 experts,
one of whom must be a member of the Roma community.
4. Local experts on Roma affairs
The
local experts on Roma affairs operate under the mayoralties and are
responsible for the unfoling at as local level of the actions for the
improvement of the Roma condition. They are subordinated both to the
county offices on Roma and to the mayor. The local experts are the
chief mediators between the public authorities and the Roma communities.
At the communes� level, the office of expert on Roma affairs is performed by a mayoralty official, as a cumulated function.
To
the end of concerting the efforts toward the implementation of the
targets of the Strategy of improvement of the Roma condition, under the
partnership between the public administration and the civil society, a
foundation of public interest on Roma affairs will be established.
Its
purpose will be to attract and administrate extra-budgetary funds from
the country and abroad, in view of financing programs and projects
seeking the implementation of the targets of the Strategy of
improvement of the Roma condition.
With a view to evaluating and
selecting the projects of implementation of the Stategy, a Comission of
Project Evaluation will be set up, consisting of representatives of the
public administration, leaders of the Roma community and
representatives of the foundation of public interest on Roma affairs.
The
setting up of the structures for the implementation and monitoring of
the strategy of improvement of the Roma condition will proceed
consistent with the schedule of activities included in the Master Plan
of measures for the application of the Strategy of improvement of the
Roma condition.
Law on Guaranteed Minimal Income no. 416/2001
Art.
1. - (1) Families and single persons, Romanian citizens, have the right
to a guaranteed minimal income as a form of social aid.
(2) Guaranteed minimal income is assured by awarding a monthly social aid, in conditions of this law.
...
Art. 4. - (1) The level of guaranteed minimal income is:
a) 1.134.000 Lei for families of 2 persons;
b) 1.575.000 Lei for families of 3 persons;
c) 1.953.000 Lei for families of 4 persons;
d) 2.331.000 Lei for families of 5 persons;
e) 157.500 Lei for each additional family member for families with more than 5 persons;
(2) In the situation of single persons, the level of guaranteed minimal income is 630.000 lei.59
(3)
The level of guaranteed minimal income is annually mandated by
government decrees, consideringchanges in the price of consumer goods.
Art.
5. - (1) The quantity of social aid is established as a difference
between incomes stipulated in art. 4 and monthly income of the family
or single person.
...
Art. 6. - ...
(2) Persons able to
work from beneficiary families will work monthly up to 72 hours, at the
request of the mayor, in local interest, respecting the normal
requirements of the job, security and hygiene norms.
NOTES
1. In Mureş county not, but in Babeş-Bolyai University of Cluj exists German language university education.
2. Subordinated to the Ministry of National Education and Research.
3.
Under the communist regime, the Greek Catholic Church was prohibited
and its� properties were given to the Orthodox Church. After 1989,
because the Romanian Government refused to solve the situation, the
property problems created tensions between the two churches.
4.
Because of tolerance decrees issued in the 16th century, in
Transylvania did not take place religious wars between Catholics and
Protestants.
5. In January 1990 acts committed during the
revolution of December 1989 were amnestied. The prosecutor considered
that burning of Roma houses in January was part of the revolution.
6. Sütő András, Hungarian � Herder priced � writer, lost one eye during the events.
7. Only a few typical cases are presented.
8.
Groups of children learn using curricula prepared by churches chosen by
their parents. Minor (i.e. Neo-protestant) churches, because there are
a fewer pupils, do not have the same possibility.
9. Those
invited included: Ştefan Someşan (inspector chief of the Mureş County
School Inspectorate), Olga Markus (Roma inspector), Cristina Drescan
(German inspector), Dáné Károly (expert of Democratic Alliance of
Hungarians in Romania), Nicolae Turcata (Roma expert of Mureş
Prefecture), Balog Péter (leader of Dealului Roma community). Cristina
Drescan did not participate.
10. Also invited were: Ovidiu Natea
(Prefect), Nicolae Turcata (Roma expert of Mureş Prefecture), Virág
György (president of Mureş County Council), Dorin Florea (mayor of
Tîrgu-Mureş), Lengyel Lazar (Roma expert of the Mayor's Office,
Tîrgu-Mureş), Győrfi Mária (general director of Mureş Labour and Social
Solidarity Department), Carmen Vamanu (inspector chief of Tîrgu-Mureş
Teritorial Labour Inspectorate), Reghina Fărcaş (executive director of
Mureş County Agency for Workplaces). Cornel Brişcaru (Director of
Prefecture) participated instead of Ovidiu Natea. Virág György, Dorin
Florea and Lengyel Lazar did not participate.
11. The following
were invited to participate: Vasile Cotoară (chief of the Mureş County
Police Inspectorate), Vasile Costea (first prosecutor, Prosecutor
Office near Court of Tîrgu-Mureş), Ilie Verza (president, Court of
Tîrgu-Mureş), Szöllősy Géza (commandant of Tîrgu-Mureş Penitentiary),
Nicolae Turcata (Roma expert of Mureş Prefecture), Frunda György
(lawyer, senator, Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania), Petre
Zelariu (leader of the Roma Party, Mureş branch), Sauber Bernath
(leader of the Mureş county Jewish Community). Participating were
Szöllősy Géza and Nicolae Turcata.
12. This was decided at the
meeting with sociologists, on 10 April 2003. Participants included:
Laura Ardelean, Dézsi József and Andreia Moraru.
13. For the
current situation, information was considered to be confidencial and it
was not communicated. The positive changes from school year 2002-2003
was to accept the request of the Hungarian community to restrore the
situation of Bolyai Farkas High School, becoming a Hungarian language
high school.
14. Only for high schools and regular students:
3940 places, 2905 in Romanian (73.7%), 1005 in Hungarian (25.5%), 40 in
German (1.0%).
15. The results could be not considered to be representative.
16. In majority they was youth. The results could be not considered to be representative.
17. The need exists, experiences are different.
18.
Conflicts between classes exists also in monolingual schools, because
teachers creates competition situation between different classes, in
multilingual schools this conflicts gain also an ethnic aspect.
19.
Some are considered to be bilingual and also by mother tongue, speaking
fluent Romani at home and Hungarian or Romani and Romanian.
20.
Some are considered to be bilingual and also by mother tongue, speaking
fluent Romani at home and Hungarian or Romani and Romanian.
21. The Rozmarin Center is working under the Mureş County Council.
22. The census in 1992 in Sighişoara found 76.3% Romanian, 19.7% Hungarian, 3.6% German, 0.4% Roma. Total population: 36,170.
23. The number of persons who need the aid is around 14,000.
24. Because of the low number of persons questioned; the results have only an informative role.
25.
The questionnaires were in Romanian, all of the questioned persons know
Romanian, but only 50% of those questioned did not consider Romanian as
"other spoken language".
26. A meeting with Reghina Fărcaş,
executive director of Mureş County Agency for Workplaces was asked
after 9 May, but, by different excuses of the representative of the
authority, did not took place.
27. Generally, if the jobfairs are not for Roma, arround 1000 workplaces are in the county.
28.
To the question regarding ethnicity, 31% refused to answer. One of them
explained that Romanians are the majority, not an ethnic group.
29. No answer was considered that the public servant believes that discrimination does not exist.
30.
Mayor of Tîrgu-Mureş declared, "We do not need perfumed Gypsies".
Regarding this declaration Marius Emil Paşcan considered that the mayor
wanted only to express that he needs Roma persons who are able to work
at the grassroots level.
31. By non-official information, 25% of public servants are Hungarian.
32.
In the very small office, called since 1 April 2003 Office of Strategy
and Development for Roma, where Roma are working in the Mayor's Office
of Tîrgu-Mureş, there exists only a typewriter, without a phone or a
fax.
33. To the question regarding ethnicity, 24% of Romanians
refused to answer. One mentioned: "ethnicity?? Romanian citizenship".
One Hungarian mother tongue person considered himself to be, by
ethnicity, catholic, others declared to be Hungarians.
34. The
questionnaires were in Romanian, all of the questioned persons know
Romanian, but 60% of the questioned persons did not consider that
"other spoken language" could include the Romanian language. Similar
stereotype existed as between Romanians regarding ethnicity.
35. To this question asnwered also persons who did not have a direct experience.
36.
During interviews, persons declared that they are not shure if the
letter is sent in Hungarian, they will obtain an answer in time. Others
declared that, because the usage, is easier to formulate an official
letter in Romanian.
37. Other Roma communities or investigations did not confirm this information.
38.
According to the census in 1992, the ethnic composition of Tîrnăveni
was as follows: 77.9% Romanian, 19.6% Hungarian, 1.9% Roma, 0.6%
German. Total population: 30,520.
39. The town was founded by the Hungarian community, named Dicsőszentmárton and called in Romanian Diceusînmartin.
40. In 1992, the census in Sovata showed 90.9% Hungarian, 8.4% Romanian, 0.6% Roma. Total population: 12,112.
41.
Police of Mureş County obstructioned the study, not by a direct
refusal, but by excuses motivated by lack of time, very busy schedual,
etc.
42. Represents almost 1 case in a workday for a prosecutor.
43. An average of one penal investigation and indictment in a workday, participation in 1000 cases in the court in a year.
44. Around 550 cases for a judge in a year.
45.
Generally authorized translators are teachers or persons working in
other domains, they are not employees of the prosecutor�s offices or
justice courts.
46. For Germans, because the low number of questionned persons, statistics are not representative.
47.
In the most of the cases, detained persons did not aswered to this
questions. One mentioned: "we are asking, but translations are not
offered, but it is unconfortable to answer this".
48. Members of Romanian community did not have experiences of use of minority languages in legal proceedings.
49. In Mureş county not, but in Babeş-Bolyai University of Cluj exists German language university education.
50.
For example one school book states that Hungarians have their
origin in Central Asia and not in the zone of the Ural mountains.
Hungarian personalities, with translated names, are transformed to
Romanians. An example is György Dózsa, a rebel paisant who was
sentenced to death is named Gheorghe Doja and tranformed into a
Romanian hero who was killed by the Hungarians.
51. In primary education, the percentage is less than in higher education.
52. Hungarians could be more interested in know of legislation regarding use of mother tongue in public administration.
53. Percentage is higher where Hungarian public servants does not exists, lower where they number is important.
54. Lower percentage where Roma expert still exists.
55. Only 23.412 with Romani mother tongue.
56. Among them, 156 Mosaic.
57.
Between number of questionned persons and number of persons counted
differences are shown. Some persons refused to aswer the
questionnaires, others were not at home or in the workplace.
58.
Not representative for Romanian and Hungarian community. The reason was
to obtain some information from the communities regarding feelings,
attitudes.
59. By Decree 1037/1992, the level of guaranted
minimal income is: 1.328.000 Lei for families formed by 2 persons;
1.845.000 Lei for families formed by 3 persons; 2.285.000 Lei for
families formed by 4 persons; 2.728.000 Lei for families formed by 5
persons; 184.500 Lei for each family member for families with more than
5 persons; 740.000 Lei for lonely persons.
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