Citizen Rights Don't Apply to Roma

[Jan Klimkowski]

Additional quotes on the subject of the racist police order:

French interior ministry ordered police to single out Roma, memo shows

The French interior ministry ordered police to single out Roma in its crackdown on illegal camps, a leaked memo shows, despite government denials that gipsies were specifically targeted.

September 13, 2010

The memo orders police chiefs and regional government prefects to launch "a systematic operation to dismantle illegal camps, prioritising those of the Roma".

These unambiguous "specific objectives" expose the French government's claims that Roma are not being targeted on grounds of their ethnicity as a lie. They also blow a hole in France's claim to be treating cases of illegal immigration on a purely case-by-case basis.

The document is particularly shocking in France, a fiercely secular and "colour blind" state where ethnic categories are banned from national statistics.

The document, signed by interior minister Brice Hortefeux's chief of staff and dated August 5, said: "Three hundred camps or illegal settlements must be dismantled within three months, prioritising those of the Roma."

Its contents counter claims made last Thursday by Eric Besson, the immigration minister, who said: "France has not taken any measure specifically against the Roma (who) are not considered as such but as natives of the country whose nationality they have."

Yesterday, Mr Besson scrambled to deny any knowledge of the memo. "I was not aware of this circular. It was not addressed to me and I did not need to know about it," he said.

"I don't know if it was a blunder," he added. However, Xavier Bertrand, the head of Mr Sarkozy's ruling UMP party said he the memo was "the translation of our policy and I take full responsibility for it."

France has deported almost 1,000 Roma migrants to Bulgaria and Romania since President Sarkozy made a hardline speech calling for a crackdown on illegal camps last month. More than 8,000 Roma have been deported since the beginning of the year, compared to 9,875 expulsions in 2009.

Following the memo leak, the European Commission issued a reminder that under EU law, no specific ethnic group can be targeted for any national policy. "No citizen must become the target of repressive action because he belongs to a specific ethnic minority or a certain nationality," said a spokesman for the EU commissioner for justice, Viviane Reding.

French euro MP Harlem Desir said it was illegal.

"This circular is absolutely contrary to numerous French, European and international legal texts, and contravenes several fundamental rights recognised by the European Union and France," he said.

The UN's human rights chief also issued a broadside against France, saying dismantling Roma camps "can only exacerbate the stigmatisation of Roma and the extreme poverty in which they live." "I urge European States, including France, to adopt policies enabling Roma people to overcome their marginalisation," said Navi Pillay, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnew...shows.html