Welcoming Croatia to
EU, but Roma’s maltreatment must end
Welcoming Croatia as
28th member of the European Union (EU), Hindus have urged Croatia to end the
maltreatment of its Roma population, who reportedly live in apartheid like
conditions.
Hindu statesman Rajan
Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, said that Croatia should make an all
out effort to do something “concrete and real” for Roma upliftment.
Zed, who is President
of Universal Society of Hinduism, pointed out that Roma people in Croatia
reportedly frequently faced social exclusion, racism, substandard education,
hostility, endemic joblessness, rampant illness, inadequate housing, lower life
expectancy, unrest, living on desperate margins, stereotypes, mistrust, rights
violations, discrimination, marginalization, hate speech, appalling
living conditions, prejudice, intolerance, violence, reduced access to
healthcare, human rights abuse, etc.
Rajan Zed argued that
reported Croatian neglect was trapping Roma in cycles of persecution and
poverty. Roma issue should be one of the highest priorities of human rights
agenda of Croatia and EU should ensure that it was undertaken as a matter of
urgency.
Zed urged various
religious leaders and organizations of Croatia, especially the majority Roman
Catholic Church, to openly embrace and bless the Roma cause as religion told us
to raise the voice for the helpless. It was a sin to watch the Roma suffer day
after day for the last many centuries and not do much about it, Zed added.
Rajan Zed further
said that instead of reportedly continuing to marginalize Roma socially, this
country of explorer Marco Polo and seven World Heritage sites should be more
embracing of Roma brothers and sisters.
Talking about Croatia,
Croatia National Tourist Board claims: "Songs extol justice and love,
indeed a love for justice and fairness in whatever kind of love...”. Croatia
should exhibit that love, fairness, and justice to its Roma minority also, Zed
noted.
According to US
Department of State Report on Human Rights Practices for 2012 on Croatia:
“Societal violence, harassment, and discrimination against Roma continued to be
a problem… Roma faced widespread discriminatory obstacles, including in
citizenship, documentation, education, employment, and language.”
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