The National Roma Center is requesting politician Anatol Plugaru, a former security minister, to appear at a court hearing scheduled for November 30, after he repeatedly ignored summonses in a lawsuit against him. The organization sued Plugaru almost two years ago after he stated at a press conference that “the Eurointegration Alliance is behaving like Gypsies are behaving with their kids: they'd rather make a new one than wash them”, a remark which the defendant earlier excused as being a proverb. “We sued Mr. Plugaru for this racist remark, but the lawsuit cannot move on because he constantly fails to appear or makes up excuses. Today he says he's sick, although he appears on television the same day, and tomorrow he invites experts to check out my mental health”, said Nicolae Radita, the chairman of the Center and one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit. Radita says Plugaru's attitude is “a lack of respect for the law”. “I hope this time he will show up, or we'll request that the case be tried in his absence. Mr. Plugaru is a public figure, he wishes to be a role model in society, but he insults us with those remarks and he doesn't event want to answer for his statements. During one and a half year we had somewhere around sixteen court sittings. Mr. Plugaru appears at one and then skips the next two or three”. Radita thinks that the sort of remarks and proverbs used by Plugaru perpetuate stereotypes and prejudices against the Roma. Radita also recalled that it was appropriate to call his ethnic group Roma, as opposed to Tzigani/Gypsy, which has pejorative connotations.