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26.03.2014 French mayoral elections: Rroma give their requests a voice

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Courtel (2014) reports on a group of Romanian Rroma who made use of their right to vote as EU-citizens and participated in the French municipal elections in Tourcoing. In addition to their EU-citizenship, they had to prove to be members of their community since more than six months. The participation of immigrant Rroma has mainly socio-political symbolism: in the media, they are accused again and again to not wanting to integrate. Now, they could actively demonstrate their desire for integration with their participation in the elections. Whether their specific demands – access to the labour market, material security – will be heard by the by the elected politicians is another question. Also in other municipalities in France, immigrant Rroma – which are usually visible in the media in contrast to the integrated ones – went voting: “The Rroma from Tourcoing are not the only ones: in Villeurbanne, in Saint-Denis, in Vitry … they also wanted to make use of their European legal rights and go voting. Some of them had access, the request of others was denied, under the pretext that they had no fixed domicile.” Based on the last example, the deprivation of the right to vote as a result of an ascribed homelessness, one can see how cultural stereotypes continue to influence reality. Most Rroma are not travellers.

On occasion of the French mayoral elections, Mathis (2014) reviews the statements of interior minister Manuel Valls towards Rroma. In September 2013, he alleged all Romanian Rroma a general unwillingness to integrate into French society: “The residents of the camps do not want to integrate into our country because of cultural reasons, or because they are in the hands of begging or prostitution networks.” Mathis identifies Valls expressions as deeply shameful and populist, as a disgrace for a French minister. Valls remarks are a clear case of state racism against a minority, a reductionist populism, which does not differ between different individuals of a group. The Rroma are Europeans, both politically and historically, this can not be repeated often enough.

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26.03.2014 Île-de-France: Rroma hindered at entering a bus

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Several French newspapers report about an incident in a public bus in the region of Île-de-France. A 23-year-old Rrom and his two colleagues were hindered at entering the bus 213 by the bus driver shouting with racist remarks at them. The bus driver massively insulted the Rroma and did not want to let them on the bus: “The Romanians walk, they do not get on the bus. I do not care, you can have two Navigo-passes, you will not get on my bus, the bus driver insisted. The bus is not public. You dirty Romanians, I do not like your visages. I take onto my bus who I want. […] Dirty Romanians, you are like dogs.” The Romanian Rroma has filed a complaint against the Parisian bus company Régie des transports autonomous Parisiens (RATP). A call for witnesses of the incident of the 28th of February was started. Meanwhile, RATP has urged all its bus drivers to accept all passengers unconditionally. – The event is thought-provoking, especially in the context of the strong growth of votes for the national-conservative Front National (Le Figaro 2014, Fouteau 2014, The Local, Metronews 2014, Respect Mag 2014).

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26.03.2014 Stereotypes: Article about tricksters reinforces prejudices

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The Landbote (2014) reports on a case of confidence trickster in Winterthur. The article explains in detail the details of the crime, which revolves around the attempted fraud against a Swiss merchant. The perpetrators of the crime are called Serbian Rroma, which is a clear allusion to racist notions of culturally-related crime: “The merchant should have changed 240,000 francs for 200,000 euro and would have received a commission of 10,000 euro. In truth, the native Serbian Roma simply wanted to give the victim counterfeited euro notes.” Mentioning the ethnicity in connection with criminal offenses is unnecessary and nourishes misconceptions about culturally related crimes.

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26.03.2014 The rise of the right-wing populists

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Reinecke (2014) reports on the new upsurge of nationalist parties in Europe. Until now, their influence has remained modest. However, especially in view of the forthcoming elections for the European Parliament, a reversal-trend is looming. A strong growth of nationalistically enclined voters has to be expected. In France, the share of votes for the National Front has already risen to 23 percent: “Admittedly, the conservatives and social democrats will retain the majority in the European Parliament. But if extreme right-wing Euro-sceptics become the strongest party in a core state of the EU – then that is a symbol. Something starts to slide: populism, fears of foreign domination and prosperity chauvinism become stronger.” Reinecke encourages not to stand idly in the face of this swing to the right, but to take action against those who question the free movement of persons and the European Economic zone. One should not simply shrug in reaction to the vote against the free movement of persons by Switzerland. Concerning Rroma, he names the political instrumentalisation of the ethnic group by right-wing publications such as the Weltwoche, which has repeatedly stirred up hatred against the minority. That such tendencies cannot be met with silence, can’t be stressed often enough.

Bade (2014) complements these reflexions with his thoughts on the German immigration debate. He begins with the economic idea that the increasing impoverishment of the middle and lower classes make more and more people susceptible to “defensive attitudes and scapegoat theories”: “In this dangerous mélange of problems and prospects, pragmatic evaluations, integration and socio-political as well as socio-legal discussions are burdened by cultural and socio-racial defensiveness from the context of negative integration. They are enforced by the populist exploitation of yet unknown issues for election purposes.” Bade therefore argues as Reinecke that the Rroma are exploited and abused by being designed as scapegoats for political debates about values and impoverishment. It is significant here that one never talks with but always about the Rroma. Through this, a highly one-sided image of the minority is actively encouraged.

Romani Rose, chairman of the central council of the German Sinti and Rroma, emphasized in an interview with the Südwest Presse (2014) his unease about the rise of right-wing groups and their modes of argumentation. He criticizes once more the political instrumentalisation of the Rroma for campaign purposes and the equation of poverty-migration with the group of the Rroma: “This is a harmful discussion. In the last federal election campaign they wanted to poach votes from the right-wing „Alternative für Deutschland“ and the right-wing NPD. The NPD did not let itself slow down by this and advertised with the slogan “Better money for grandma than for Sinti and Roma”. With this, it left the level of our constitutional order. […] We demand guidelines in the election campaigns, which prohibit racist and discriminatory election propaganda. A legal basis is missing.” He perceives as particularly outrageous and frightening that despite the historical awareness of their discrimination, Rroma are blamed for social ills. The extreme right-wing parties are said to want to undermine the state of law. That is why it is so important that democratic parties defend the rule of law. A considerable fear to identify oneself as Rroma in the public remains. This fear of disclosing one’s own origin is a clear indicator of the still strongly rooted reservations of the majority against the minority.

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26.03.2014 “Admission for Gypsy strictly forbidden”: prohibition sign triggers furore

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The Local (2014) informs on a prohibition sign at a bakery in Rome, which prohibits members of the Rroma minority any access. The bakery in the neighbourhood of Tuscolano had a sign with the words “entry for Gypsy strictly prohibited” (È severamente vietato l’ingresso agli Zingari) placed in the shop window. The Rroma organization 21 lugio criticized the sign as analogous to racist practices under National Socialism and apartheid. After the bakery received an anonymous complaint, they removed the sign from the shop window. However, it is very worrying how much approval the prohibition sign obtained, despite some protests: “But in some quarters of Rome the bakery owners got full support.“It’s right – they’re all thieves,” one city shop-keeper told The Local. “You have to be careful around them, how can you distinguish between a good and a bad one?” she said, not giving her name. Another shop owner lamented that only yesterday she had been robbed by someone from a traveller community.” The passive tolerance of such discrimination by a large part of the majority population is especially worrisome, as it is what makes such racism possible.

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26.03.2014 End discrimination against Rroma in the health care system

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Jovanovic (2014) reports on the still poor access of Rroma to the European health care system. This is reflected in lower life expectancy, increased sensitivity to various diseases and outright discrimination in health institutions. The widespread poverty among Rroma additionally hinders their access to good health care. On the occasion of this large deficit, the European Commission launched a conference with the aim to reduce discrimination when accessing health care. For Rroma, this means better participation in the implementation of health programs. The Rroma need to be more involved in the conception and execution of these programs. It is frightening that the topic does not end with discrimination, but there are still deliberate physical interventions such as sterilizations, that are performed: “When Roma are segregated from other patients, coerced into sterilization during childbirth, given substandard treatment, or told to go elsewhere for follow-up, all Europeans are degraded. It is a shocking irony that many of us should experience such harm at the very hospitals and clinics that ought to provide us with support and care. The result is costly for Europe’s economy and for health systems. Europe’s Roma population is young — the average age of Roma is only 25 — but too many of us lack the education and training needed to enter the labor market, resulting in the loss of 175 million euros each year, according to the World Bank.”

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21.03.2014 Bohuslav Sobotka wants to fight discrimination against Rroma

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Acting Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka stated in a message to the Council of Europe that he wants to fight discrimination against Rroma in the Czech Republic. At the end of February, the human rights minister of the council, Nils Muiznieks, wrote a letter to Sobotka, in which he expressed his concern about the marginalization and discrimination against Rroma. Muiznieks called forth a firm approach of the Czech government against anti–Rroma demonstrations and pogroms that are taking place all over the Czech Republic and are often organized by extreme right-wing groups. Twenty-two Rroma were victims of racially motivated attacks in 2013. Sobotka announced in his reply that his government is striving to curb the exclusion and discrimination against Rroma. He wants to support all the mayors of the country actively in taking action against anti-Rrroma demonstrations and pogroms. The government is also working on a national Rroma integration strategy. The racism of the population is in part due to poor social and economic conditions, the prime minister said, but this does not justify in any way the scapegoating of the Rroma for these problems. The Council of Europe has repeatedly criticized Czech Republic for the marginalization of the minority (Prague Daily Monitor 2014). It is much to be hoped that these statements will be followed by concrete actions and not, as it unfortunately often happens, remain only intentions.

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21.03.2014 Fire in Rroma camp in Fontaine

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France 3 (2014) reports on a fire in a Rroma camp in Fontaine, in the region of Grenoble. Most of the dwellings of the thirty residents were destroyed or rendered uninhabitable:  “The fire broke out in the Rroma camp behind the BUT store at around 15 o’clock, near the Gérard Philippe high school. The residents of the camp and the students who were present at the site were quickly evacuated. Firefighters believe explosions of gas bottles in the barracks caused the fire. Several of them in fact exploded but the firefighters were able to cope with the flames.” Two men were slightly injured. The residents of the camp were housed in tents by the city council of Fontaine (see Le Dauphiné 2014). – The safety deficiencies in illegal settlements are the subject of repeated political disputes. While certain politicians interpret these as a justification for rigorous evictions, others see them as evidence for the need to better supply the camps with water, electricity and sanitation, rendering improvised installations unnecessary, installations which indeed show security flaws.

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21.03.2014 Reference to “pickpockets and gypsies” results in internal investigation

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Several British newspapers report on a racist announcement in a train of the London Midland Trains. The train was carrying many fans of an afternoon soccer game. The train speaker is said to have tried to entertain them at every stop with a witty remark. This didn’t stop the speaker from making a racist remark about Rroma: “Telford Central – Please be aware of pickpockets and gypsies”, he announced when the train was entering Telford station. London Midland Trains stated that they would fully investigate into the incident. The Youtube video recorded using a mobile phone shows a group of mostly laughing passengers, in response to the announcement. This raises the question of how socially acceptable racism against Rroma still is in the UK. Les Walton from the BBC relativises this interpretation: people looked at each other in disbelief and laughed out of bewilderment that the train conductor could made such remarks. A spokeswoman for Midland Trains announced: „We are deeply sorry to anyone who was offended by the announcement. We do not tolerate comments of this nature being made by anyone on a London Midland train, and a full internal investigation is being carried out“ (BBC News 2014, Bartlett 2014, The Independent 2014, Wells 2014).

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21.03.2014 Rroma in Saint-Denis can vote

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In Saint-Denis, a verdict was reached concerning the dispute around the right to vote of a local Rroma group. The socialist candidate Mathieu Hanotin had filed a complaint at the local district court, wanting to clarify the legitimacy of the voting rights of the Rroma in question, which where accused of not possessing a residency permit. The acting communist mayor of Saint-Denis, Didier Paillard, successfully rejected the allegations of Hanotins that the registration of the Rroma was a case of electoral manipulation. The legitimacy of the electoral rights of the Rroma group has now been confirmed by the local district court, which rejected Hanotin’s complaint as inadmissible. The complaint should have been filed within a period of ten days after the publication of the list of voters: “They [the Rroma ] were very moved by the polemic. This judgment is very important because it means that they can vote. It is a pride for them and us, the unions, Agnès Cluzel from the local collective in support of the Rroma announced.” It is said to be a pity that the court didn’t judge over the actual point of question, the residency permit. Saint-Denis is the last city with over 100,000 inhabitants, which has a communist mayor (Libération 2014, RTL 2014 Thréard 2014).

Villa (2014) points out in his article that Manuel Valls’ circular from July 25th 2013 is unconstitutional. In it, Valls encourages to exclude European nationals without permanent residence of the French mayoral elections. The French league for human rights (LDH) therefore calls for the invalidation of the circular: “All citizens have the right to participate in the democratic life of the Union. For that purpose, the exercise of the right to vote in the mayoral elections and the European elections is recognised for all citizens of the European Union, no matter in which member state they reside and with the same rights as citizens of that state.”

Gilman (2014) discusses in his article the efforts of the collective for solidarity with the Rroma of Roubaix. The collective has put together a list of questions for the candidates as mayor of Roubaix, based on the declaration of human rights and the rights of children declaration. Thus, the candidates are expected to express their views on the situation of the Rroma in Roubaix. In response to the submission of the questions two weeks ago, so far only two of the ten candidates have replied: Jean-Pierre Legrand and Philippe Delannoy. – This is astonishing in so far, as the Rroma have been a central topic of the mayoral campaigns so far, being instrumentalized as a reference in opposition to bourgeois values.

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19.03.2014 Fassin: residents are not automatically against Rroma

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French sociologist Eric Fassin writes an article against the media which is often equating residents with Rroma-phobics. This viewpoint was suggested and strengthened by the French media and nationalists: “Why this astonishment? It means that residents are not perceived as bobos [bourgeois-bohème] (and vice versa) – neither sociologically nor politically. Since the campaign of Nicolas Sarkozy against prostitution during the mayoral elections in 2001, the “resident” is, the new figure of the nation.” Local residents are not a homogeneous mass of Rroma-phobics as stated by the Front National and the other right-wing populists. Rather, the social reality is determined by heterogeneity. Also the people who are committed to the Rroma and their rights are ordinary locals: “In short, it is high time to change our socio-political vocabulary. The bobos [bourgeois-bohème] are also local residents. Conversely, there are good neighbours whose commitment is stimulated by pity and indignation and not by bitterness. Finally, we need to stop believing that voters and the elected governmental majority are […] free of Roma-phobia.” Fassin addresses with his article an important topic in the public debate about Rroma that so far has received too little attention. Up till now, medias were almost exclusively dominated by articles talking about a confrontation between local residents and migrant Rroma. That this is not the norm cannot be stressed often enough. More on the subject can be read in Fassin’s book Rome et Riverains: Une politique Municipale de la race.

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19.03.2014 Fire in Rroma camp in Montgeron

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Numerous French newspapers report on the fire in Rroma camp in Montgeron. The fire broke out in the night from 16th to the 17th of March. About half the dwellings were destroyed by the fire. Fortunately, nobody of the approximately 140 residents, including 50 children, was hurt. The residents of the camp were relocated to a nearby gym. A planned eviction of the camp was scheduled for the end of March 2014. Rroma shanty-settlements are regularly the scene of incidents such as fires. However, there is disagreement over the question as to whether the fires are indeed the result of insufficient safety precautions, as repeatedly emphasized by the authorities, or whether political intentions and therefore arson are behind it (20 minutes in 2014, Le Parisien 2014 Le Républicain 2014).

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19.03.2014 Geneva squat evicted

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Tribune de Genève (2014) and 20 minutes (2014) report on the eviction of an occupied house in Geneva. The vacant property had been inhabited by fourteen Rroma, the journalists state. The owner of the house asked the police to evict the house, but did not want to press charges. The house has been the cause for discussions several times already: “The multi-family house has been the cause for conflicts in Geneva for years. The owners want to demolish the building, which is referred to by opponents as the “eyesore”. The building has even been vilified by the foundation for elderly and social housing (Flpai), whose director did not hesitate to let it brick up, as it was still inhabited in 2007.” In the public perception, Rroma live almost exclusively in slums or squats. The articles cited here reinforce this idea. The fact that a large part of the Rroma are living unobtrusive and integrated is almost never mentioned.

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19.03.2014 Integration of Rroma in Montreal

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Solyom (2014) focuses on the integration of Rroma in Montreal, based on the enrolment of Rroma children. Many immigrant Rroma families from Eastern Europe have great reservations about public schools because they made bad experiences with public services in Europe. This applies in particular to school psychologists, who are often responsible for the wrongful admission to special school in Eastern Europe. For example, some parents didn’t give their phone number to the local school, fearing that their children could become victims of discrimination and bullying there: “In Europe, school is seen as an arm of the government, and when you’re Roma, you always assume you’ll be treated badly,” Savic [a Romni mediator] says, adding that if there’s a conflict between a Roma student and a non-Roma student, the Roma student is blamed. “Even my family doesn’t always say they’re Roma. Here, being Roma is exotic. There, people stop talking to you.” It is also thanks to Savic that Rroma children were not, as initially planned, incorporated into a separate class, but allocated into existing classes. However, the motivation to attend school is weakened by forthcoming repatriations. Two-thirds of the Rroma immigrants are deported back to Eastern Europe.

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19.03.2014 “The health of the Rroma”

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Dupiot (2014) reports on the mostly inadequate health care of Rroma in French and Romanian slums. The reasons for the poor integration of immigrated Rroma into the French health system are inadequate language skills, lack of clarity about their rights and forced evictions. In terms of health conditions in the camps, Dupiot criticizes the often poor hygienic conditions in terms of water quality and sanitary facilities. The same is the case Rroma in Romania, where poor sanitary conditions lead to diseases such as tuberculosis, a “disease of poverty”. It must be emphasized that the health problems are a problem of poverty and have nothing to do with the culture of the Rroma, as sometimes stated by outsiders.

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19.03.2014 The Rroma and the European free movement of persons

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Rosendorff (2014) reports on an informal Rroma camp in the Gutleutviertel of Frankfurt am Main. The 19 Romanian Rroma who lived so far on an industrial wasteland must vacate the location. The social security office will clarify whether the residents of the settlement have pursued social insurance work. If not, they are not entitled to social security benefits and are likely to be expelled, Rosendorff states. The 37-year-old Rrom Mirkea sees the asylum system as unfair. He criticizes: “My country is terribly corrupt, and I can not get a job there”, he says. “Why does Europe exist? We are all colleagues. I do not understand why so many German say ‘shit Romanians’. We have financed our food by collecting returnable bottles. We do not steal”, asserts Mirkea.” The deportation method described is in conflict with the free movement of workers within the European Union, to which Romania and Bulgaria belong since January 2014. Under this scheme, residents of member states are allowed to reside six months or longer in another EU-member state if they are actively looking for a job.

Die Linke (2014) criticizes in a recent statement the efforts of the government coalition to classify the countries Serbia, Macedonia and Bosnia-Herzegovina as safe countries of origin. With this decision, asylum reasons such as discrimination and exclusion would no longer be recognized: “As long as even only one asylum seeker from these countries is recognized as requiring protection, there can be no acceleration of proceedings by law. In 2013, at least 64 Serbian and 43 Macedonian asylum seekers were recognized as refugees or were given protection from deportation on humanitarian grounds. In two thirds of these cases, recognition was granted only by the courts, because the measures taken under an emergency procedure by the federal office for migration and refugees were wrong.” Die Linke criticizes correctly that the discrimination against Rroma is insufficiently highlighted by such country analyses. When determining migration policies, economic and not socio-political considerations are central to decisions, which is done at the expense of minorities such as the Rroma.

Gedziorowski (2014) spoke with Joachim Brenner, director of the Förderverein Roma. Brenner criticizes the widespread reservations about the minority and the polemical discourse against immigrants that is not dominated by facts but suspicion and emotions: “The whole terminology of tide, currents and wave – this is scaremongering. We took notice that we have to do more in the social counselling, but we also have to work with more people who live in poor conditions. [ … ] The last demoscopic studies by sociological institutes show that the resentments have not diminished, but still are manifest. When looking for housing Sinti and Roma have major problems.” Brenner further criticizes that it is above all a lack of political will, which leads to the marginalization of poor people and minorities, and not the lack of financial resources, which are certainly present. This may be seen with reference to the housing project Kulturcampus Bockenheim, which encountered great resistance by the welfare department from the very beginning.

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19.03.2014 Visible Rroma in Helsinki

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Yle Uutiset (2014) reports about visible Rroma in Helsinki. The number of immigrants from Southeast Europe has increased significantly compared to the previous year. Already four hundred Rroma are said to have entered to Finland this spring, as much as last year during the summer peak. The article focuses solely on visible Rroma. In addition, it sweepingly assumes that a majority of the immigrants will end up as beggars in the streets of Helsinki, which is racist. It is now being discussed whether begging should be criminalized in Finland. Finnish officials argue that such a criminalization of begging does not fights poverty and is in contradiction to the free movement of persons in Europe.

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19.03.2014 Commemorating the Rroma-Holocaust

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The Giessener-Allgemeine (2014) reports on an event to commemorate the Rroma of Giessen murdered by the Nazis. The historian Engbring-Romang talked about the persisting prejudice against the minority and the poor recognition of the exclusion and persecution of the Rroma. As a particular concern, the historian sees social acceptance of pejorative stereotypes: “More than 40 percent of Germans do not want to live in the neighborhood of Sinti and Roma. According to a survey by the Allensbach Institute – in 2011. “And those are only the ones that adhere to their prejudices”, Engbring-Romang the reviews the result.” It is therefore the task of the present society to break with deadlocked prejudices and replace them with independent, critical thinking and empathy. The fate of the fourteen Sinti, who were deported to the extermination camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau on the 16th of March 1943, remains unknown to this day, the newspaper states.

Helwig replaces this lack of clarity with a detailed analysis of the history of Johanna Klein and her family. On March 16th 1943, the parents and six siblings of Klein were deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau. Klein herself could stay in Giessen because she suffered from diphtheria at the time. After her recovery, she was also deported. It is thanks to the “atypical racial characteristics” in eugenic terms that Klein was not murdered like the rest of her family in the concentration camp: “My blonde hair and blue eyes saved me”, says Johanna Klein. […] “Otherwise, I too would have gone through the oven”, the statement bursts out of the 84-year-old, while tears run down her cheeks. “I have to think about it every day.” Because then, her younger siblings Anna and Friedrich remained behind.  “This plagues me to this day.” Both were murdered in Auschwitz-Birkenau as were previously the parents and the three siblings Karl, Mathilde, and Wilhelmine.” (Helwig 2014).

Several German newspapers report about the death of 91-year-old Rrom and Holocaust survivor Reinhard Florian. Florian was interned into the concentration camp Mauthausen in 1941. This was followed by forced labour in the camps Auschwitz, Monowitz, Rydultau and Blechhammer. Florian was present as a contemporary witness in the post-war years and “a living example that [the] memory of the crimes of the Nazis is an obligation for the present.” With the exception of a brother and the father, all eighteen members of his family were murdered. In October 2012, he was guest of honour at the inauguration of the monument to the Rroma murdered under the Nazis in Berlin (compare Bild 2014, Focus online 2014, Main-Netz 2014, Merkur online 2014).

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14.03.2014 Pogrom against Rroma in Naples

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Roberts (2014) reports on a pogrom against Rroma in Naples, with little sympathy for the Rroma side. In response to an alleged attack by two Rroma on a 16-year-old Italian girl, a 50-person mob rushed to the local Rroma camp and threatened the residents with stones. Only the intervention of the police prevented the worst. Roberts gives the last word to the mayor of the fourth district, Armando Coppola. In his statement, he shows no sympathy for the Rroma: “Residents have already had to put up with thefts and obscene acts by the gypsies who are inclined to urinate in the street. […] I have requested the council to order the immediate eviction of the camp. Otherwise the justifiable exasperation of the citizens of Poggioreale will no longer be controllable.” The comments section of the article is filled with racist remarks from readers who praise the violence of the mob. These unscrupulous, hateful actions and statements against the Rroma give food for thought. Italy, as other European countries, has been repeatedly criticized for its repressive policy against the minority.

  • Roberts, Hannah (2014) Dozens of Romas flee their camp after 50-strong mob attack their site following claims two of the gypsies had raped a local girl in Italy. In: Daily Mail online vom 12.3.2014.
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14.03.2014 Stereotypes: Rroma and begging in the canton of Vaud

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Jean-Pierre Tabin, professor of sociology at the College of social work and health in Lausanne, published a book about the policy towards the Roma in the canton of Vaud. The publication is based on research that was conducted between 2011 and 2013 in the streets of Lausanne. Tabin and his team studied who begs, who gives and how beggars live. He qualifies clichéd ideas that one earns a lot of money with begging, as well as stereotypes about Rroma, who are not automatically parts of organized begging networks. In the public discourse begging is often deemed a crime that needs to be punished. Through this line of reasoning poverty, poverty-migration, and the causes that lead to poverty are criminalized, Tabin argues (RTS 2014).

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