We are writing to express our
concern about the situation of Roma (Gypsies) in Kosovo. You are no
doubt aware that Roma have been subjected to harassment and threat
to life from both sides in the conflict. Approximately
20.000 Roma have been expelled from Kosovo into Serbia, and subsequently
have been forced back by the Serbs into northern Kosovo.
The Roma people remain citizens of
the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and therefore still retain rights
within Kosovo and other parts of the FR Yugoslavia. The
Roma people have been subjected to ethnic cleansing by the Serbian
paramilitary troops and now they are suffering expulsion and grave
physical assault by the Kosovo Albanians.
As in most European countries they
are marginalised and denied rights from majority communities. Roma
people have testified to gross violations of human rights, mass suffering
and humiliation during the war and, as throughout
history, the international community is oblivious to their fate.
Roma from Kosovo have been used as
forced labour by Serbian authorities to support the Serbian army,
a fact which has triggered anti-Roma feelings among the Albanian Kosovars.
The presence of Kosovar Roma
has not, in many instances, been officially acknowledged in refugee
camps in Albania and Macedonia.
On the way to the camps many Roma
refugees have experienced discriminatory and prejudicial treatment.
As a result they fear both the camp authorities and their fellow inmates,
and as a rule have chosen to hide their identity. We
believe that the international community has a responsibility to protect
all groups within Kosovo and that this protection must be fully extended
to the Roma population.
Given that the moral and political
objectives of the international community in Kosovo are to prevent
ethnic cleansing and the forced expulsion of people from their homes
we believe this places a duty on the international community to act
to prevent the threat to life which the Roma people are currently
experiencing.
We request that the international
community should guarantee the safe return of Romany refugees to Kosovo;
however, Roma who have a well-founded fear of persecution in their
homeland should be given the opportunity to seek asylum outside the
FRY. Roma should be included
without discrimination in the action plans for reconstruction of democratic
institutions in Yugoslavia. Romani
organisations should be actively involved in the implementation of
policies and programmes affecting their communities.
The Roma people have no effective
political representation at both national and international levels
and are being ‘scapegoated’ by both Serbian and Kosovo Albanian
communities.
The Roma people have been, and continue
to be, subjected to discrimination in most European states. This history
and experience of Roma indicates that the international community
should accept that they have a greater responsibility for the Roma
as they do not have adequate representation of their interests within
the current political framework.
Roma have centuries-long experience
of living in multi-ethnic, multi-confessional, multi-linguistic local
communities. We hope that in the resolution of this tragic conflict,
the international community will acknowledge the unique role that
Roma could play in the reconstruction of a genuinely multi-ethnic
and democratic society throughout the Balkan region.
Signed
Petr Uhl, Mustafa Hezolet, Karel Holomek,
Jiøina Siklová, Václav Trojan, Nicolae Gheorghe,
Jeanette Buirski, Ladislav Goral, Zeman
Eva Sotolová, Jana Chárová, Hilda Pásová,
Pergler, Laura Laubeová, Emil Szirmai, Viktor Sekyt