Demand made to 'disinvite' Romania President Basescu from European Roma Summit

The European Commission should rescind the invitation extended to Romania President Traian Basescu to speak at the Third European Roma Summit, being organized by the Commission on 4 April in Brussels, because of his discriminatory Roma remarks, religious statesman Rajan Zed said in Nevada (US). Basescu is listed as third speaker in the 'Opening' part of the summit after Summit Chair Commission Director-General for Justice Francoise Le Bail and Commission President José Manuel Barroso.

Zed, who is president of Universal Society of Hinduism, noted that Basescu was reportedly found guilty and fined in February of discriminatory remarks about Roma population by Romania’s official National Council for Combating Discrimination. Rajan Zed argued that Basescu had no moral standing to attend Roma Summit after making such disparaging remarks about Roma, who formed a major group of the population in Romania. The Council reportedly fined Basescu for saying "very few of them [Roma] want to work'' and "traditionally many of them live off stealing" in a news conference in Slovenia in 2010. It seemed like an attempt by Basescu to demonize the already most prejudiced against community in Europe and eternalizing negative stereotyping of them, instead of showing strong political will to integrate them, Zed said.

Zed further said that the Commission  also had no moral ground to invite Basescu who had such a prejudiced opinion about a large ethnic group of his population. If it continued with its agenda to let Basescu speak at the Summit, this would clearly exhibit that the Commission was not “wholeheartedly and honestly” interested in Roma integration and inclusion. Basescu should not have been invited at the first place if the Commission was “seriously committed” to Roma upliftment, Zed added. According to reports, in Berlin in January, Basescu again reportedly made derogatory remarks against the Roma, besides calling a journalist a “dirty Gypsy” in 2007 and blaming Roma for stealing in buses in 2011.

Zed pointed out that this Summit appeared to be just “sweet talk” as with the previous two Summits (2008, 2010), with no concrete outcome to end Roma apartheid. A big change of heart and firm political commitment was needed for Roma social and economic integration, which the European Union clearly lacked. He indicated that the alarming condition of Roma people was a social blight for Europe and the rest of the world as they reportedly regularly faced social exclusion, racism, substandard education, hostility, joblessness, rampant illness, inadequate housing, lower life expectancy, unrest, living on desperate margins, language barriers, stereotypes, mistrust, rights violations, discrimination, marginalization, appalling living conditions, prejudice, human rights abuse and racist slogans on the interne.

It was simply immoral to let this 15-million-strong European people, whose ancestry reportedly goes as far back as ninth century BC, continually suffer and face human rights violations. It was the moral obligation of Europe to take care of its frequently persecuted Roma community, Zed stressed. Around 500 representatives, including Le Bail, Barroso, Basescu, Commission Vice President Viviane Reding, various European Commissioners, Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister Zinaida Zlatanova, ministers and state secretaries from nine member states, Mayors and MEPs are participating in the summit.

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