In Hungary, Roma Self-Government Moves Office to Dump in Protest

10 July 2002

On April 2, 2002, the Jászladány Roma Self-Government in Szolnok county moved its office to an illegal dump in the village in protest of local residents illegally dumping waste, according to a Roma Press Center (RSK) report dated April 3, 2002. Also according to the report, most of the 2,500 Roma residents in Jászladány are reportedly exposed to serious health risks as a consequence of living next to the waste site. Mr László Kállai, president of the Jászladány Roma Self-Government, reportedly stated that they would remain in their tent office until the village government found a permanent solution to the problem. However, on May 8, 2002, RSK reported to the ERRC that the Jászladány Roma Self-Government was forced to end their protest on April 5, 2002, because all of the Roma working in the dump had contracted infections. Roma Self-Governments are advisory bodies to local governments established under Hungary's 1993 Minorities Act.

(Roma Press Center)