Members of the scientific-cultural association “Elita romani” said all the projects and programs concerning the social integration of the Romanies from Moldova remain on paper only. They consider a special group or a mechanism should be created for monitoring the integration of the Roma.

In a news conference at IPN, “Elita romani” vice president Anatolie Cainareanu said the Romanies from Moldova face a series of problems deriving from the fact that they do not have identification papers. Nobody knows the exact number of Romanies living in the country. The reports and information published by the NGOs from the field are inaccurate.

The members of the association are dissatisfied with the inactivity of the Social-Political Movement of the Romanies. Association member Nicolae Farama said that this party was founded several years ago, but held no meeting of the national political council so far. “I never thought that the Roma will be discriminated by Romanies,” he stated, adding that this party includes a group of several persons who pursue their own interests instead of dealing with the problems of the Romanies.

The association’s president Ion Farama said the process of integrating the Romanies is a delicate one. The illiteracy among the Roma population must be liquidated. Foreign funds are needed for this and other purposes, but the money do not reach the population as it is blocked by several NGOs working in the field. A viable mechanism is thus needed for monitoring the social integration of the Romanies, under the Government’s control. The Government should take into account the requests of the Romanies and should implement all the adopted programs and projects concerning the Romani people.

The members of the association noted that if the Social-Political Movement of the Romanies, which is the central mechanism for promoting their interests, does not start to work normally, they will resort to protests.