News Eastern Europe Slovenia

New Security Law

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New Security Law

Roma representatives do not oppose the proposal of the so-called Šutar Act, which was approved, but they warn that the constitutionality of some of the planned measures needs to be checked. Representative of the Črnomalj Roma Zvonko Golobič also warns of overly strict measures regarding social assistance. “These could plunge the Roma into even greater poverty,” he believes.

President of the Slovenian Roma Association Jožek Horvat Muc agrees with the adoption of measures that prevent crime and the actions that led to the law in the first place. However, he warns that the law must be drafted in such a way that the measures envisaged in it will not be constitutionally controversial, which some lawyers warn about. “Therefore, the government should submit some of the proposed measures to lawyers for review and obtain an opinion on whether they are in accordance with the constitution and legal norms,” ​​he told STA. He warns that the law will apply equally to everyone, not just the Roma.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Slovenia and New Security Law

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Slovenia and New Security Law

In the wake of the altercation and murder of a Slovene man, the Slovenian government passed a new law significantly increasing police powers to deal with criminality. Roma now fear to be victimised.

Germany News Western Europe

Germany and Racism

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Germany and Racism

The Higher Regional Court Thürigen (OLG) has decided not to open the case against Bengt Fuchs, Vice President of the Gera Administrative Court, on charges of incitement to hatred.

The Gera Public Prosecutor’s Office indicted Fuchs in April 2025. The indictment stemmed from a Facebook post in which he referred to members of the Sinti and Roma community as “rotating Europeans with a weakness in property rights.” The Public Prosecutor’s Office considered this to constitute the offense of incitement to hatred under Section 130 of the German Criminal Code (StGB).

Well, this is racism.

News Eastern Europe Poland

Poland and Cemeteries

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Poland and Cemeteries

A photo, taken at Poznań’s Junikowo cemetery, shows a huge, roofed tomb with a platform, as well as chairs, benches, and a table embedded in the wall and generated quite a bit of commentaries on social media.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

International Romanes Day in Slovenia

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International Romanes Day in Slovenia

On the World Romani Language Day, which we mark today, the Romani community around the world and in Slovenia emphasizes the importance of preserving language as a key element of identity. Romani scholar Jožek Horvat Muc believes that “the Romani language is what tells members of the Romani community who they are and what their history was like”.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Slovenia and Integration Programs

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Slovenia and Integration Programs

Slovenian municipalities will now have to report to the state on the use of money in which Roma live. 25 of them, received over nine million euros from the state budget for this purpose this year, the most ever. But there is no clear answer to the question of where the money ends up.

Data reveals that in previous years quite a few municipalities did not spend the money at all or spent it on something else instead of integrating Roma. This is precisely why they will now have to report to the state on the use of the money in detail on a special form.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

International Romanes Day

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International Romanes Day

An article in the Slovak press on the international Romanes day.

16 years ago, in 2009, at a conference on the Romani language in Zagreb, linguists, educators and leaders of Romani organizations from 15 European countries declared November 5th as the International Romani Language Day. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization – UNESCO also designated November 5th as the World Romani Language Day in 2015.

Romanes is taught in schools in Slovakia and is used in the media.

Romanes is an Indo-Aryan language that belongs to the Indo-European language branch. István Vályi, who came from the area around today’s Komárno, was one of the first to conclude in the 18th century that the Romani language is of Indian origin. While studying theology in the Netherlands, he met students from India and, in conversations with them, realized that the language they spoke was similar to the language of the Roma from his native region.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Repressive Measures

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Repressive Measures

In the wake of the killing of a man by Roma in Slovenia, the government is planning new repressive measures. The current proposal will allow cutting social benefits to perpetrators of crimes and their families.

The Faculty of Social Work of the University of Ljubljana and the Association of Social Workers of Slovenia have described several measures from the so-called Šutar Act as unconstitutional and a departure from the principles of the welfare state. They called on the government to avoid collective punishment, stigmatization and repression of the poorest and most socially excluded groups.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Romanes 

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Romanes 

The Murska Sobota Regional and Study Library marked the upcoming World Romani Language Day, which is celebrated on November 5, with a presentation of a poetry collection and a discussion about the importance of the Romani language.

Jožek Horvat Muc said that “the Romani language is always the one that tells members of the Roma community who and what they are”. According to Horvat Muc, preserving the language is directly related to preserving the identity of the Roma community.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Slovenian President

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Slovenian President

Following the killing of a man in Novo Mesto, news in Slovenia are full of discussion about the Roma “problem”.

President of the Slovenian Republic Nataša Pirc Musar warned in the show Odmevi on TV Slovenija that measures will have to be prepared according to the principle of ‘nothing about Roma without Roma’.

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

On the Election Campaign

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On the Election Campaign

The portrayal of migrants in Toni Okamura’s SPD election campaign is similar to how members of other races and social classes were portrayed in Nazi and communist propaganda, the Supreme Administrative Court (NSS) said. In today’s decision, it was critical of the SPD campaign, but it still rejected the complaint of a voter from the Central Bohemian Region. It failed to prove grossly influencing the election result, which is a condition for possible court intervention. According to the NSS, the SPD campaign speaks more about the movement itself, other parties could have reacted to it and voters ultimately made up their own minds. The decision is temporarily available on the official noticeboard.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Roma Spirit Nomination

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Roma Spirit Nomination

The Institute of Ethnology and Social Anthropology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, v. v. i., has received the extremely rare award of being among the 21 finalists of the 17th Roma Spirit Award, in the Society and Employer category. This year, a total of 163 nominations were received in seven categories. Roma Spirit is a prestigious award “that highlights personalities, organizations and initiatives that contribute to improving the status of Roma and building a fairer and more cohesive society. Every year, it gives a voice to those who work tirelessly for others and prove that inclusion is not just a vision, but an everyday reality” (www.romaspirit.sk).

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Novo Mesto

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Novo Mesto

The Slovene President Nataša Pirc Musar visited Novo mesto for the first time since the tragedy. She lit a candle in memory of Aleš Šutar who was killed recently and met with Mayor Macedoni. “If the state reacts only with repression, these are short-term solutions,” the president is convinced.

The president  “told the representatives of the Roma community that if they do not try to limit violence and criminal acts among themselves, it will not be good for them or for us. If the state only reacts with repression, these are short-term solutions. The Roma must help us with this.”

France News Eastern Europe News Western Europe Slovenia

Slovenia: Manifestations

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Slovenia: Manifestations

Two articles in the French press about the manifestations and fall out after a man was killed after being aggressed by Roma in Novo Mesto.

France News Western Europe

French Chronicle …

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French Chronicle …

Many articles about Roma this week in France.  Four camps in Hellemes, in the North of France will be dismantled shortly. One camp in Annecy in the French alps will also be closed in November. A large camp that exists since 5 years will be closed in Marseille. In the same city afire broke out in another Roma camp. Near Paris, another camp is slated for closure. In Annecy, tensions are on the rise between residents and Roma from a nearby camp.

Evacuation d’un camp de roms installé près des Espaces V à Villepinte. In: Aulnay Libre. 28.10.2025. https://www.aulnaylibre.com/2025/10/evacuation-d-un-camp-de-roms-installe-pres-des-espaces-v-a-villepinte.html

News Eastern Europe Poland

All Saints Day in Poland

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All Saints Day in Poland

A Polish article on all saints day customs among Polish Roma. Roma celebrate All Saints’ Day differently from Poles, focusing mainly on gatherings at gravesides. “We drink, play music, sing, talk, and tell stories about our deceased loved ones,” Bogdan Trojanek, a Roma singer, leader, and founder of the band Terne Roma told journalists.

Italy News Western Europe

Rome, Roma, and Threats

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Rome, Roma, and Threats

Last October, two villas illegally built by a family involved in various criminal activities were destroyed in Via Arzachena, in the Rocca Cencia area of greater Rome.

Now, Rome’s mayor, Roberto Gualtieri is being threatened on social media: A young man in a black overall holding a submachine gun: “This is for you, Mayor, and for your family. Just as you’ve already destroyed our house, I’ll destroy yours; time will tell. The State doesn’t scare me.”

The threats on social media against Rome Mayor Roberto Gualtieri, along with the Facebook post since deleted, were made by Silvio Hilicic, nicknamed “Silvio Silvietto,” a member of the Komarov-Hilicic family.

The Italian press qualifies them as Sinti, which seems dubious.

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