The state institutions do not examine the cases of hate speech and the complaints of people who are directly involved in cases of instigation of hatred. This fact means the institutions responsible for holding those to blame for such deeds accountable tolerate such behavior, said Ion Bucur, who heads the Center for the Rights of Roma based in the municipality of Chisinau. He related a case in which civic activist Vasile Sinigur made racist and insulting statements about the Roma.
In a news conference at IPN, Ion Bucur said that on May 7, 2020, a group of citizens led by Vasile Sinigur made a video in which they express their dissatisfactions with the activity of Prescient Igor Dodon. “Vasile Sinigur, having the direct intention of discrediting the President, together with other citizens, repeatedly named the President a Gypsy, associating him with a Roma ethnic. He urged the people to protest against Gypsy Dodon, “to arrest and punish this Gipsy”, as he called him. In the same speech that incites hated, Vasile Sinigur explains why he associates Igor Dodon with Roma ethnics. According to him, the Romanies are the dirtiest jackals and the citizens of the Republic of Moldova should go against them,” related Ion Bucur.
On May 15, 2020, they submitted a complaint to the Prosecutor General’s Office and the General Police Inspectorate, asking to hold accountable the persons who appear in the video. On September 30, 2020, the prosecutor of the municipal Prosecutor’s Office informed in written form that the investigation body of the Ciocana Police Inspectorate took legal action. The criminal case was transmitted to the Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime and Special Cases. Ultimately, the prosecutor informed that they didn’t identity elements of an offense and the case was dropped.
According to Ion Bucur, discrimination affects each aspect of people’s lives and, if measures are not taken to combat this , the mentioned persons will be marginalized. “The Prosecutor’s Office does not know or does not want to investigate cases that incite hatred against the Roma. There are more such cases, but they weren’t made public,” stated Ion Bucur.
Gheorghina Drumea, consultant of the National Roma Center, condemned the intolerance of the Roma ethnics shown by the authorities. “These are absolutely unacceptable situations for a state that is obliged to defend the human rights and freedoms, regardless of the ethnicity or affiliation to a group. Equality should be one of the main respected rights. Regrettably, the situation hasn’t improved,” said the jurist.
