Romania turns Roma into gypsies

A committee of experts at the Romanian parliament on Thursday gave the green light for a new draft law which would replace the term "Roma" with the word "gypsies" in official documents. On the very same day the European Parliament commemorated the Holocaust of the Roma. This is a clear indication of Romania's democratic shortcomings, political expert Christian Parvulescu writes in a guest commentary for the daily Romania Libera: "Is this racism? Has the politicians' 'naivety' got the better of them? Or is it pure populism aimed at diverting the public's attention from the economic downslide and the ongoing political crisis? Whatever the true motivation for the bill may be, it once again puts the spotlight of the international community on Romanian racism, which was already prevalent between the two world wars. ... This historical anachronism regarding the Roma is a further symptom of Romania's democratic deficit. For democracy is the opposite of the dictatorship of the majority propagated by populist or racist politicians."

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