The National Roma Center calls on the authorities to investigate the fight in Otaci through the angle of racial hatred. In a news conference at IPN, Dumitru Russu, consultant of the National Roma Center, said the information he collected shows that the fight in Otaci two weeks ago followed a conflict that occurred several days earlier.
The parties – Roma and non-Roma citizens – arranged meetings for June 24. That day, a commemoration meal for a dead man was held nearby. The attending people didn’t have any connection with the initial conflict. The discussions resulted in insults at the Roma community and later in altercations. The head of the district, who was among those attending, intimidated the police in Otaci and a fight between the Roma and non-Roma citizens followed.
According to Dumitru Rusu, there was no Roma man who had taken part in the previous conflict there. “The persons became victims only because they were associated with the other persons who were involved in the conflict earlier. The actions aimed at inciting hatred and racial or ethnic division was one of the offense components in that conflict,” he stated.
Ion Bucur, a human rights monitor at the European Roma Rights Center (ERRC) based in Belgium, said that the Center is concerned about the reports of aggression and violence coming from Otaci, according to which the conflict between Roma and non-Roma citizens can be based on racial prejudice. They are even more concerned about the accounts of witnesses, who said that the police officers who were nearby during the incident did nothing to prevent the use of violence.
He noted it is important to conduct an impartial investigation so as to maintain the minorities’ confidence in the capacity of the authorities to protect them against racial violence. Society should condemn racism. The press reported that it was an ethnic conflict, but it was rather revenge taken by persons in epaulets against the Roma community in Otaci.
The ERRC asked the Ministry of Home Affairs to provide information about the conduct of the police inquiry and that any carried out investigation should not exclude the possible racial motivation of the mentioned incident. It also asked for information about the measures taken to ensure the safety of the Roma in the area, who can become the target of racial violence as a result of the conflict.
