Fokus ROMI.HR

Ovaj dan je bio izabran jer je rođendan bivšeg indijskog vođe Mahatme Gandhija, osobe koja utjelovljuje ideju nenasilja.  Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi je rođen 1869. godine u tadašnjoj Britanskoj Indiji.  Nakon završetka studija u Londonu, postao je poznata osoba zbog borbe za ljudska prava. Nakon nekoliko desetljeća, zahvaljujući njegovom mirnim akcijama Indija je konačno stekla nezavisnost od Britanske krune 15. kolovoza 1947. godine. Njegovo naslijeđe je nastavljeno od strane poznatih ličnosti poput Martina Luthera Kinga i Nelsona Mandele. Gandhijev primjer dokazuje da se i najgori sukobi mogu riješiti na miran način.

Kad govorimo o nasilju, većina ljudi će pomisliti na vojnike i rat ili zločince i mafijaše. Međutim, ovaj članak biće posvećen onima koji bi se trebali boriti protiv nasilja i kriminala: policiji. "Monopol na nasilje" koji policija ima ponekad ima dramatičke posljedice pred kojima vlasti nažalost često zatvaraju oči. Budući da su Romi izloženi diskriminaciji u većini europskih zemalja, često su među glavnim žrtvama takvih zloupotreba bez jasne osude društva tih zloupotreba.

Posljednji slučaj takvog nasilja se dogodio 18. rujna na jugu Sjeverne Makedonije u gradu Bitola. Video snimak lokalne nevladine organizacije Avaja je pokazao kako policajac udara jednog Roma i time krši zakon. Nakon što je ovaj slučaj otkriven, ministar unutarnjih poslova Sjeverne Makedonije Oliver Spasovski je najavio otpuštanje iz službe optuženog policajca kao i njegovog kolege koji se nije umiješao tokom incidenta. Ministar je takođe naglasio da "nijedan takav čin ne može biti opravdan“. Ovaj incident je rezultirao mirnim prosvjedima koji su održani 26. rujna. Prema aktivistu Ramziju Mediku, predsjedniku nevladine organizacije Bairska Svetlina nekoliko stotina Roma je došlo do glavne policijske postaje u "gesti pomirenja".

Prema Avaji takvo kršenje zakona je nažalost česta pojava u Bitoli. Avaja takođe tvrdi da je policija nedavno pretukla još trojicu Roma u Bitoli. Takva pojava nije nažalost tipična samo za drugi po veličini grad Sjeverne Makedonije.  U lipnju je, u Skopju, policija pretukla Rome beskućnike u blizini željezničke stanice.  Helsinški odbor za ljudska prava je takođe objavio da je policijsko nasilje nad Romima ozbiljan problem u Sjevernoj Makedoniji koji treba riješiti. 

Romska zajednica kao najveća manjinska skupina u Europi, koja prema procjenama ima 10 milijuna ljudi, se širom svijeta suočava s diskriminacijom, uključujući i od strane policije. Gotovo u svim europskim zemljama od zapada do istoka policijsko nasilje nad Romima je česta pojava.  Na primjer, u Francuskoj vlade i lokalne vlasti protjeruju Rome iz kampova u kojima ilegalno žive, većinom ne pružajući im niti privremena niti dugoročna rješenja za poboljšanje njihove situacije.  Najpoznatiji je primjer iz 2010. godine kada je francuski predsjednik Nicolas Sarkozy odlučio protjerati Rome koji su dolazili uglavnom iz Bugarske i Rumunjske uspoređujući ih s kriminalcima. Otada su Amnesty International kao i druge nevladine organizacije redovito osuđivale pristup francuske vlade prema Romima, optužujući vlasti za kršenje ljudskih prava ali i francuskih zakona prema kojima vlasti moraju osiguravati alternativni smještaj.  Slična nesrazmjerna upotreba sile zabilježena je i u mnogim drugim zapadnoeuropskim zemljama poput Belgije ili Italije. 

U istočnoj Europi policijsko nasilje nad Romima je još češća pojava.  To se posebno odnosi na zemlje poput Rumunjske i Bugarske gdje Romi čine značajan dio stanovništva. U travnju 2020. godine Europski centar za prava Roma (ERRC) je izvijestio o osam slučajeva nesrazmjerne upotrebe sile od strane policije u Rumunjskoj. Istovremeno, zabilježena su tri slučaja nasilja u Slovačkoj i dva u Srbiji.  Prema aktivistu iz Walesa Jonathanu Leeju takav posebno visoki broj je posljedica krize Covid-19 i straha koji je kriza izazvala među stanovništvom. To je rezultiralo porastom nasilja prema segregiranim skupinama. Problem dodatno zaoštrava i činjenica da su političari skloni podržati svoje policijske snage po svaku cijenu.  Na primer, nakon spornog slučaja u kojem su bili umiješani policajci i Romi, sadašnji ministar unutarnjih poslova Bugarske Krasimir Karakačanov je izjavio da "Ako se mora izabrati da li vjerujem tim ljudima (Romima) ili policiji, vjerovat ću policiji". Međutim, prema  podacima lokalnog ogranka Helsinškog odbora 30% Roma uhićenih od strane policijskih snaga u Bugarskoj se suočilo s nasiljem ili drugim zlostavljanjima, što pokazuje koliko je dubok ovaj problem u zemlji unatoč izjavama vlade.

Dakle, čini se da je rasprava o ovim problemima izuzetna važna, uzimajući u obzir ignoriranje problema Roma u europskim društavima. Budući da su policijske snage u Europi sve češće optužene za nesrazmjernu upotrebu sile prema manjinama i/ili prosvjednicima, važno je povećati povjerenje u policijske snage i osigurati da policija koristi primjerna sredstva kako bi se borila protiv kriminala i nezakonitih aktivnosti.  Ipak, da bi uživale takvo povjerenje, policijske snage i vlasti koje ih predstavljaju moraju osuđivati svaku vrstu propusta u vlastitim redovima. U ovom kontekstu, Europska unija ima ogromnu odgovornost, posebno kada su Romi u pitanju, jer ovaj problem ima nadnacionalnu dimenziju i zahtijeva suradnički pristup. Sprječavanje neprihvatljivih praksi je neophodno kako bi se zaštitile ranjive skupine, posebno od zloupotrebe moći od strane tijela zaduženih za provođenje zakona.

Following the General Assembly resolution A/RES/61/271 of 15 June 2007, the International Day of Non-Violence is celebrated on 2 October. According to the United Nations, this day is an opportunity to “disseminate the message of non-violence, including through education and public awareness” as a way to improve “a culture of peace, tolerance, understanding and non-violence” which has to become universal.

This date has been chosen as it is the birthday of former Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi a personality which embodies the idea of non-violence. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born in 1869 in British India. Following his studies in London, he became a prominent figure of the fight for human rights. After several decades, thanks to his peaceful activism, India finally obtained its independence from the British Crown on 15 August 1947. His legacy has been praised by other famous figures such as Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela. Gandhi’s story proves that even the worse conflict can be solved through a peaceful approach.

Police is here to protect, but sometimes it hurts. And Roma are not the last to face this kind of violence. Impunity for this crime can not be tolerated.

When speaking about violence, most will think about soldiers and war, or criminals and mafias. However, sometimes, the ones supposed to tackle violence and criminality are the ones who are violent. The “monopoly on violence” that the police enjoys leads to some dramatic events which are unfortunately not always condemned by the authorities. Being discriminated in most European countries, Roma people are among the main victims of such abuses without a clear condemnation from society.

One of the last examples of such violence happened on 18 September 2020, in the South of North Macedonia, in the city of Bitola. A video of the local NGO Avaja showed a policeman beating a Roma without any legitimate reason. Following these revelations, Interior Minister Oliver Spasovski announced the suspension of the accused police officer as well as his colleague who did not intervene during the beating. Mr Spasovski then claimed that “no such act can be justified”. In reaction to this incident, a peaceful demonstration occurred on 26 September 2020. Several hundred Roma walked to the main Police station in “a gesture of reconciliation” according to the activist Ramzi Medik, president of the NGO Bairska Svetlina.

Unfortunately, according to Avaja, this kind of event is frequent in the city. The NGO claimed that three other Roma were recently beaten by police forces in Bitola.  Unfortunately, the phenomenon does not only concern the second-largest city in North Macedonia. In June, in Skopje, police beat a homeless Roma near the train station. The Human Rights organization Helsinki Committee also claimed that police violence towards Roma is a well-known issue in North Macedonia which needs to be addressed.

Being the biggest minority in Europe, with an estimated 10 million people, the Roma community is globally facing discrimination, even from the police. In almost every European country from the West to the East, police violence against Roma is frequent. For example, in France, governments and local authorities are expelling Roma people from unlawful camps where they live, most of the time without providing them with any kind of temporary nor long-term solution to improve their situation. The most well-known example happened in 2010 when President Nicolas Sarkozy decided to expel Roma coming mostly from Bulgaria and Romania with political rhetoric assimilating them to criminals. Since then, Amnesty International, as well as other NGOs, regularly denounce the French government approach towards Roma, blaming the authorities for not respecting Human Rights and even French laws which impose the authorities to provide an alternative accommodation. Similar disproportionate use of force has been reported in many other Western European countries like Belgium or Italy.

In Eastern Europe, police violence against Roma is even more common. This is especially true in countries like Romania and Bulgaria where they represent a significant part of the population. The European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) reported eight cases of disproportionate use of force by the police in Romania in April 2020. At the same time, they recorded three abusive cases in Slovakia and two in Serbia among others. According to Jonathan Lee, an activist from Wales, this especially high number is the consequence of the Covid19 crisis and the fear it raised among the population, leading to an increasing amount of violence towards segregated communities. The problem is especially hard to tackle considering the fact that politicians tend to support their police forces at all cost. For example, following a controversial case implying policemen and Roma, current Interior Minister of Bulgaria Krasimir Karakachanov stated that “If (he has) to believe these people or the police, (he) will believe the police”. However, according to the local branch of the Helsinki Committee, 30% of Roma arrested by police forces in Bulgaria faced beatings or other abuses, illustrating how deep the problem is in the country despite the comments of the government.

Addressing police brutality is necessary, and even more regarding the blindness of European societies regarding Roma issues. While police forces in Europe are increasingly accused of disproportionate use of force regarding minorities and/or demonstrators, it is crucial to ensure that the Police remains trustworthy and use appropriate means to tackle crime and illegal activities. To enjoy this confidence, police forces and the authorities representing them have to condemn every kind of blunder in their own ranks. The European Union has a huge responsibility in that sense, especially when it comes to Roma, as the issue is a transnational one which requires a collaborative and common approach. Ensuring a way to tackle unacceptable practices through justice is a necessity to endorse the right for everyone to be protected, even from the excesses of bodies in charge of enforcing the law.