Category Archives: Bulgaria

Bulgarien News Osteuropa

Garmen, again. Petition against “illegal” Rroma housing

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Bulgarian protesters from the village of Garmen deposited a petition in Sofia with 720 signatures against the postponement of the demolition of illegal building in the village. These protesters want all Rroma houses destroyed immediately.

A shame, and a solution should be found to regularise these houses now.

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Meanwhile in France: Further camp news

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Meanwhile in France: Further camp news

Some news of the camps in France: In Bagnolet, near Paris, Bulgarian Rroma buried a man and his daughter who died during a fire; in Roubaix, in the North, activists take 60 Rroma to the sea; in Loos, also in the North, an article about the street with a prison, a Rroma camp and an unused land; while in Vaulx-en-Vélin, near Lyon, cohabitation seems to be difficult; and finally the MRAP (Mouvement contre le racisme et pour l’amitié entre les peoples) denounces what they deem a “real harassment” of Rroma in Lyon.

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High electric meters discriminate against Rroma

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High electric meters discriminate against Rroma

The European court of Justice has issued a warning against the Bulgarian electricity company which installed electric meters at a height that renders them inaccessible, this in a predominantly Rroma part of Dupnitsa. According to the court of justice, this constitutes “ethnic discrimination”.

Bulgarien News Osteuropa

Residents from Garmen in Sofia’s street protest

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Residents from Garmen in Sofia’s street protest

In a further escalation of the conflict in Garmen, around 150 residents from Garmen staged a protest in Sofia to request the demolition of 120 “illegal” Rroma houses in their village.

This escalation of an already festering problem will not resolve anything, and is providing ammunition to populist politicians on the overall minority “issue” in Bulgaria.

This has to stop!

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There is no invasion …

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According to the Council of Europe, and this in spite of what populist politicians claim, there has been no “invasion” of Rroma from Bulgaria and Romania since citizen from these countries have been granted free circulation within the EU. The Council of Europe criticises the “unfounded” numbers cited by the press in the migration debate in several European countries, such as the UK, Germany, Switzerland, and Italy.

We wholeheartedly agree!

Bulgarien News Osteuropa

Bulgaria: OSCE urges Bulgaria to halt evictions

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Bulgaria: OSCE urges Bulgaria to halt evictions

The OSCE has been urging Bulgaria to halt the evictions of Rroma in the village of Garmen. Gerge Link, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODHIR) also added: “Politicians should lead by example and refrain from anti-Roma rhetoric to gain support from the electorate.”

We agree wholeheartedly!

Bulgarien News Osteuropa

Prejudice against Jews and Rroma in Bulgaria

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Prejudice against Jews and Rroma in Bulgaria

A US State department report on Bulgaria notes the increased prejudice against Jews and Rroma as well as the increasing number of incidents related to ethnicity. The press, according to the report, describes Rroma and other minorities in “discriminatory and abusive language”, thus contributing to the issue.

Scary…

Bulgarien News Osteuropa News Schweiz

Switzerland pays 8 Mio CHF to Bulgaria for Rroma Integration

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Switzerland pays 8 Mio CHF to Bulgaria for Rroma Integration

Switzerland just signed an agreement with Bulgaria providing 8 Mio Swiss Francs to the municipalities of Burgas, Ruses, and Sliven to further Rroma (and other minorities) inclusion, centring on education and basic health care. In view of the more and more extremist views of the general population towards minorities and Rroma in particular, this in a country that used to be tolerant, one wonders whether this is the right approach.

Bulgarien News Osteuropa

Plovdiv Rroma ask for the resignation of the Bulgarian health minister

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Plovdiv Rroma ask for the resignation of the Bulgarian health minister

Rroma in Plovdiv asked for the resignation of the minister of health in Bulgaria because of his xenophobic statements. In one of these, he compared Rroma to “stock” and to “horses”.

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Another Article on the rising tensions in Bulgaria

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Another Article on the rising tensions in Bulgaria

A summary of the events and latest developments in the rising tensions in Bulgaria and on the increasing instrumentalisation of Rroma among rightist parties.

Bulgarien News Osteuropa

Bulgaria ethnic tensions

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Bulgaria ethnic tensions

According to the Novinite News Agency of Bulgaria, the continuing ethnic tensions in Bulgaria show that politicians are good at doing nothing. The article gives a good summary of the issues, the views of the various groups on the Rroma situation in Bulgaria. That this has changed in recent times is unfortunate. Rroma were quite well integrated in Bulgaria.

Bulgarien News Osteuropa

Integration in Bulgaria

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A statement of a Bulgarian political scientist is totally off … Rroma are not a century old problem in Bulgaria. Nationalism is. Rroma lived fully integrated in Bulgaria for centuries before nationalists declared them and other minorities unwelcome.

Shame.

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EC sees “some progress” in Rroma integration

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EC sees “some progress” in Rroma integration

According to the European commission, EU member countries have made some progress on Rroma integration in the last year. We really do wonder where… Certainly not in Bulgaria, in Hungary, in Romania, all countries where the pendulum is swinging the other way around. And Western Europe is not much better, see France, England etc.

Bulgarien News Osteuropa

Bulgaria: Garmen tensions continue

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In the night of the 15th, a group of unknown people tried to storm the Rroma neighbourhood of Garmen. This is the latest escalation in a series of confrontations between Rroma and general population in that village. The confrontation centres on the will of the municipality to destroy “illegal” buildings, i.e. houses built without permits or landownership. This overwhelmingly affects poor Rroma.

This is dangerous, especially since there were until recently very few tensions between Rroma and the general population in that country.

Bulgarien News Osteuropa

Rroma houses to be torn down near Stara Zagora in Bulgaria

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Rroma houses to be torn down near Stara Zagora in Bulgaria

The municipality of Stara Zagora is planning to tear down up to 60 buildings in the local Roma Mahala of Lozenets as the buildings are deemed illegal. This is the case for many Rroma houses in Bulgaria as land ownership is often uncertain following the fall of communism.

This destruction of houses is a source of tension in Bulgaria and has already resulted in riots. This is also a way to get rid of unwanted people. It has to be stopped and Rroma have to be given a chance to register their buildings.

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