ERRC Letter to Mr Dorin Florea, the Mayor of Tirgu Mures

31 May 2001

On May 31, 2001, the European Roma Rights Center, an international public interest law organisation which monitors the human rights situation of Roma and provides legal defence in cases of human rights abuse, sent a letter to Mr Dorin Florea, the Mayor of Tirgu Mures, Romania, to express concern about reported harassment and attempted ghettoisation of members of the Romani population of Tirgu Mures.

The ERRC has received information that on May 7, 2001, an order was issued by the mayor's office to the public guardians civilians deputised by the mayor to conduct rudimentary police duties - to take all beggars into custody. Approximately forty Roma were reportedly detained the same day, taken to a castle in Tirgu Mures and held there for identification purposes. Those who were not resident in the town were expelled from the city. On May 8, 2001, the action was repeated and a similar number were reported to have been detained; of the seventy to eighty people stopped over the two days, reportedly only two or three were non-Roma. The reported justification for this action was to discourage beggars from coming to Tirgu Mures. However, there is no indication that those who were detained were begging.

In a second serious incident which would appear to be part of a series of anti-Romani moves by municipal authorities in Tirgu Mures, it was reported in the newspaper 24 ore muresene on May 10, 2001, that municipal authorities had issued an order to evict the Romani residents of Calarasilor Street. The reported official reason is that the street was infested with rats. Authorities have reportedly threatened the Roma of Calarasilor Street that the eviction order may be implemented during the night. As of May 28, 2001, the eviction had not been carried out. The removal of the Romani families from Calarasilor street would be particularly unfortunate, as it is the last remaining place in Tirgu Mures where Romani residents live alongside non-Romani, in non-segregated housing, in any significant numbers.

In its May 31 letter, the ERRC reminded Mayor Florea of his duties under international law to carry out his responsibilities in accordance with the law and without discrimination as to race. In this regard, the ERRC urged Mayor Florea not to authorise any further attempts at rounding up "beggars". Furthermore, the ERRC submitted that Mayor Florea should officially and publicly remove the threat of eviction from the Romani residents of Calarasilor Street. Further information on the situation of Roma in Romania is available on the Internet at: http://errc.org. The text of the ERRC letter follows:

Honourable Mr Florea,

The European Roma Rights Center, an international public interest law organisation which monitors the human rights situation of Roma and provides legal defence in cases of human rights abuse, is concerned about the reported harassment and attempted ghettoisation of members of the Romani population in Tirgu Mures.

The ERRC has received information that on May 7, 2001, an order was issued from your office to the public guardians civilians deputised by the mayor to conduct rudimentary police duties - to take all beggars into custody. Approximately forty Roma were reportedly detained the same day, taken to a castle in Tirgu Mures and held there for identification purposes. Those who were not resident in the town were expelled from the city. On May 8, 2001, the action was repeated and a similar number were reported to have been detained; of the seventy to eighty people stopped over the two days, reportedly only two or three were non-Roma. The reported justification for this action was to discourage beggars from coming to Tirgu Mures. However, there is no indication that those who were detained were begging.

In a second serious incident which would appear to be part of a series of anti-Romani moves by municipal authorities in Tirgu Mures, it was reported in the newspaper 24 ore muresene on May 10, 2001, that your office had issued an order to evict the Romani residents of Calarasilor Street. The reported official reason is that the street was infested with rats. Authorities have reportedly threatened the Roma of Calarasilor Street that the eviction order may be implemented during the night. As of May 28, 2001, the eviction had not been carried out. The removal of the Romani families from Calarasilor street would be particularly unfortunate, as it is the last remaining place in Tirgu Mures where Romani residents live alongside non-Romani, in non-segregated housing, in any significant numbers.

Romania is a signatory to a number of international human rights treaties, notably the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The detention of groups of people and their forced expulsion represents, inter alia, a breach of the right to liberty and security of person as protected by Article 9 of the ICCPR and Article 5 of the ECHR, as well as an unwarranted restriction on the right to freedom of movement under Article 12 of the ICCPR. Moreover, the evident disparate impact on Roma of the detention and expulsion action engages Romania's responsibility under the ICERD, notably Articles 5(b) and 5(d)(i), which commit parties to guaranteeing, without distinction as to race, the right to security of person and the right to freedom of movement respectively.

Concerning the threatened eviction of Roma living in Calarasilor street, Article 8(2) of the ECHR states that all interferences with the exercise of the right to respect for one's home and family life must be "in accordance with the law" and be "necessary in a democratic society". We submit that the proposed evictions of Romani families from homes they lawfully occupy would arguably constitute a violation of Romania's international legal commitments in this regard. Such attempts to rid an area of a town of residents on the basis of their ethnicity would also constitute a breach of Article 14 in conjunction with Article 8 of the ECHR, which protect the right to respect for one's home and family life without discrimination on any grounds, and Article 5(e)(iii) of ICERD, guaranteeing the right to housing without discrimination on the grounds of race.

Honourable Mr Florea, we respectfully remind you of your duties under international law to carry out the responsibilities of your office in accordance with the law and without discrimination as to race, and in this regard we urge you not to authorise any further attempts at rounding up "beggars". Furthermore, we submit that you should officially and publicly remove the threat of eviction from the Romani residents of Calarasilor Street.

Sincerely,
Dimitrina Petrova
Executive Director

Persons wishing to express similar concerns are urged to contact:

Mr Dorin Florea
Mayor of Tirgu Mures
4300 Tirgu Mures
P-ta Victoriei nr. 3
Romania
Fax: (40 65) 166 963