JUSTICE FOR THE ROMA I HOPE

OK, I am harping back to the Roma people in Italy – not a problem that has gone away, especially for the Italian government.
!950 – that was the year the Council of Europe introduced the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms – partially in response the the UN charter on human rights introduced in 1948.
The Council of Europe IS NOT the European Union. ALL member of the EU are members of the Council, but not all members of the Council are EU members, (Iceland and the Russian federation are members of the Council).
If you search the Council of Europe site you will find many documents and utterances over Roma – 100’s, 1,000 of pages – and not much else, in spite of the recent persecution of the Roma, especially in Rome.
However, the European parliament, (as a result of pressure and representation from European Italian Radicals, the ALDE Group of the European Parliament and the EveryOne Group), have, at last, as of 12th of July this year have passed a resolution against the census and fingerprinting of Italian Roma people.
The resolution mentions the fact Roma have been the target of discrimination and racism in Italy and Hungary.
I would like to think it will work – like to think something constructive will happen. Only time will tell, but the workings and wheels of the EU, (as with the UN or any oversized distant organisation), grind slow.
You can read the full text at our web site – www.everyonegroup.com
The saying “The spirit’s willing but the flesh is weak” comes to mind. I guess it is hard for someone sitting in Strasbourg with his or her comfortable office, good salary and pleasant life to imagine how it must be for someone who thinks they are Italian,(who IS Italian AND an EU citizen), to be subject to such abuse by their own government.
If left alone to pursue their racist policies, what steps next for this EU member government? Surely action is needed now to prevent yet another European genocide. Maybe I am being a pessimist, but based on past events involving what is, in my opinion, one of the most corrupt governments in the EU, the future does not look good – unless the EU takes firm decisive action now before it is too late.
Take Sicily –as much as Sicilians like to think of themselves as first and foremost Sicilians, Italians second. January this year the president of the regional government of Sicily was found guilty of assisting the Mafia and sentenced to five years in prison (final decision by the courts could take years, with appeals). The judges said there was no wilful intent in his actions – draw your own conclusions if you want.
History is full of “If only we’d seen…..”. Maybe a reasonable argument in the past when news was spread by men on horseback or the telegraph. Today? No excuse at all.
The problem is politicians are mainly in it for their own ends, not ours. How do you know when a politician is lying? You can see his lips moving. (I KNOW!! Not all, but seems more than most in the Italian government).
See ya