No adequate response from the state to the widespread anti-Roma rhetoric in Bulgaris.

On the occasion of April 8th, the International Roma Day, a group of 13 Roma organizations, members of the National Council for Cooperation on Ethnic and Integration Issues (NCCEII) decided to address an Open letter to both the Bulgarian Prime Minister and the Vice Prime Minister – Chair of the NCCEII, with the aim to call their attention to the wide spread anti-Roma rhetoric in Bulgaria and the lack of any appropriate institutional response to it.

The organizations pointed out that the racism against Roma spells doom many of the political intentions for the integration of Roma. They also underlined that no integration action is possible without a simultaneous protection against racism and discrimination.

 “It is high time everyone finally accept that integration does not only mean efforts by minorities to learn the language, rules and norms of the society. It also means ensuring the fundamental rights and equality before the law for the minorities. It is high time to realize that there are no Roma rights neither Bulgarian rights but that there are only basic human, civil, social and cultural rights which are common to every human being”, called upon the organizations in their open letter.

They also proposed a restructuring of the National Council for Cooperation on Ethnic and Integration Issues (NCCEII) and experts with Roma background to be appointed in the body responsible for the management of the National Roma Integration Strategy 2012 – 2020.

 The open letter was officially delivered to the Prime Minister by the organizations during the meeting of the NCCEII on April 8th. Immediately after that the authors of the Open letter left the meeting in support of their appeal.   

To read the overall open letter, please visit some of the following links:    http://integrobg.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=34&Itemid=50&lang=bg

http://www.romanyhealth.hit.bg/bg/News.html

http://amalipe.com/

http://www.diverseequal.eu/

http://www.sviatbezgranici.org/

http://www.roma-lom.org/

Liliya Makaveeva
Executive director of Integro Association
7200 Razgrad
4 "Osam" str.
Bulgaria
Tel. 00359 84 66 10 26

www.integrobg.org