Macedonia: Local council votes to dislocate Roma from settlement

The website utrinski.mk reported on 12 June that the Kavadarci local council has voted to provide container housing to the inhabitants of a Romani settlement who have permanent residency in the town while requiring the rest to "return to their place of origin". The settlement, called the "Teneke maalo", is said to have been inhabited illegally.

The local council reportedly allocated funding for the purchase of container housing for eight families. The council also "ordered urban and communal inspectors to act within their duties and responsibilities for dislocation of the ‘wild’ settlement", according to utrinski.mk.

Mayor Aleksandar Panov is said to have appealed to the Romani inhabitants of the settlement to clear out on their own within 30 days. The town reportedly plans to use the space for an access road to a new kindergarten.

The EU has previously funded the NGO Habitat for Humanity to promote Romani people’s access to adequate housing in Macedonia. The European Roma Rights Centre, an advocacy group, sent an open letter last fall to the Macedonian authorities expressing concern about efforts by the Government to prevent Macedonian citizens, including Roma, from leaving the country.