Roma organization in Bulgaria protest

More than 50 Roma organizations from the territory of whole Bulgaria signed a letter to the Bulgarian Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev expressing their concern and disagreement from the political control and pressure put from the state institutions of the executive power over the independent civic organizations and their exclusion from the decision-making process regarding Roma integration in Bulgaria. They point in the letter that their reaction has been provoked by:

• Denying Roma NGOs access to the process of elaboration of the new version of the Framework program for equal integration of Roma into Bulgarian society;
• Taking important decisions on behalf of the National council for cooperation on ethnic and demographic issues solely by its political presiding body without any
  consultations with the non-governmental organizations members of the NCCEDI;
• Rejecting the Roma experts nominated as observers in the Human Resource Development Monitoring Committee by a broad coalition of independent Roma organizations and an attempt of a governmental structure as the National council for cooperation on ethnic and demographic issues to present itself as a representative body of the Roma civil society;
• Sending a letter with untruly content by the administration serving the National Council for Cooperation on Ethnic and Demographic Issues to the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy regarding a decision of the Roma organizations members of the Council.

The letter, the list of supporting organizations and the following stages of the campaign were announced at a press-conference which took place on November 30.

Lili Makaveeva (Integro Association – Razgrad), Deyan Kolev (Center Amalipe – Veliko Turnovo), Maria Stoimenova (Gyulchay Foundation – Sofia), Kalina Bozeva (Interethnic Initiative for Human Rights Foundation – Sofia), Gancho Iliev (World without Borders Association), Maryana Borisova (Youth Development Network – Simitly), Nikolay Yankov (Neve Droma Foundation – Shumen), etc took part in the press conference. T

he press conference was also attended by Mrs Dushana Zdravkova, Bulgarian MEP. Lili Makaveeva pointed that the Roma organizations have managed to create a number of concrete successful practices for solving Roma problems at the grassroot level but it is necessary the institutions to take the initiative and apply these practices at the national level. Most of the institutions instead impede the initiatives of organizations and informal groups if they are not connected with certain political parties.

Deyan Kolev provided concrete examples for the exclusion of Roma organizations from the decision-making integration process. He argued that the National Council for Cooperation on Ethnic and Demographic Issues had turned into a tool for political control over the civic society and following this trend the institution would turn into a “Fatherland Front on Ethnic and Demographic Issues” (an analogue of the “civic” structures of the Communist regime before 1989).

The Deputy Chairman of the National Council Miroslav Popov answered that the Roma organizations would be included in the elaboration of the Framework program but just after the institutions have woked out the first draft of the document. The organizations present at the press conference opposed that this was against all democratic principles for civic participation which should include all stages. Dushana Zdravkova, Bulgarian MEP, completely agreed with the organizations and declared her support. She underlined that the institutions should not behave like offended children but provide maximum possibilities for partivipation of the independent sivic organizations and the Roma community in general in the integration process which would be the best guarantee for its success. “I hope the letter of the active Roma organizations would be taken seriously and the problems it raises will be quickly solved here in Bulgaria. If not, I will take the engagement to pose this issue in the European parliament”, Mrs. Zdravkova underlined.

After the press conference the letter was sent to the Prime Minister Sergey Stanishev with a copy to the President of Bulgaria Georgi Pirinski and the Chairman of the Bulgarian Parliament Georgi Pirinski. In the accompanying letter the organizations insist on a meeting to discuss the situation. If they are not answered within a month a parliamentary question would be initiated in the Bulgarian Parliament and after this the issue will be taken to the European parliament.