Expelled Roma return to Romania from France (2nd Roundup)

Aug 19, 2010, 19:57 GMT

Bucharest/Sofia - Dozens of Roma arrived in Romanian capital Bucharest Thursday after France began a controversial expulsion of Roma migrants despite criticism at home and abroad.

Two flights from Lyon and Paris, carrying 75 Roma, arrived at Bucharest airport within an hour of each other during the afternoon, according to Romanian border police officials.

It is the largest expulsion seen in France since President Nicolas Sarkozy called for tougher action against Roma living in the country illegally.

Among a group of 61 returning from Lyon, almost all said they would soon return to France, the Romanian news agency Mediafax reported. The Roma travelled to their homes outside Bucharest and in the provinces.

Earlier, another group of 14 Roma had arrived in Bucharest in a flight from Paris.

A total of 371 Roma are expected to be sent back to Romania by mid-September, with another 41 going to Bulgaria, 13 of them on Wednesday.

Mediafax quoted a representative of the Romanian Roma Party as saying that the return had been 'suspiciously normal,' after he met his expelled compatriots at the airport.

One woman from the group coming from Lyon said half of the returnees used to beg for money in Lyon, while the other half worked for a living. Some of those returning from Paris said they did not receive any money from French authorities for leaving.

French government officials said the Roma were leaving 'on a voluntary basis,' after each adult was paid 300 euros (390 dollars) and 100 additional euros for each child.

Since Romanian and Bulgarian Roma are considered European Union citizens, they can return anytime, but can be deported if they commit a punishable crime or are deemed a burden on society.

France plans to start recording digital fingerprints of voluntary deportees in September to prevent people from seeking the financial benefit from repatriation more than once.

The Central Council of German Sinti and Roma called on the French government to abandon the expulsions, arguing that the migrants involved are being sent back to extreme poverty and hardship.

Bulgarian politicians called the expulsions a 'superficial' attempt to solve the problem and warned that the Roma issue is 'a European problem' and not just Romanian, Bulgarian or French.

Leading politicians in Romania, on the other hand, were more restrained. President Traian Basescu pledged cooperation with Paris in the handling of Roma criminals, announcing that more police officials would be dispatched to France.

'We understand the position of the French government,' he said. 'At the same time, we support without reservation the right of every Romanian citizen to move freely within the EU.'

Meanwhile, French Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux called on the European Union to do more for the integration of Roma.

'I am waiting for the European Commission to show that it is capable of facilitating the Roma's access to education, jobs and apartments,' he said.

The Commission's spokeswoman said Thursday there are 17.5 billion euros available over the 2007-2013 period to finance Roma inclusion projects, which she defined as 'a lot of money.'

However, Matthew Newman, spokesman for Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding, stressed that 'it's ultimately member states' responsibility to use these funds, they need to come up with specific projects.'

French Secretary of State for Family Affairs Nadine Morano said her country would pursue an agreement with Romania to regulate how unaccompanied Roma minors who end up in custody should be handled.

A corresponding text is to be taken up by the National Assembly in the autumn, she told the broadcaster Europe1.

At the same time, she criticized the exploitation of some Roma children.

'When you see these people, who sit on the street and use children to beg - some of whom have been given pills so they are dazed and sleep - then I think that you can't accept this behaviour,' she said.

Roma - or Gypsies - can usually be seen on the streets begging, often with children and are considered as a nuisance by many, while their camps are seen as sources of children's exploitation and prostitution.

The expulsion action came after French authorities cleared more than 50 illegal Roma encampments in the last few weeks.

Hortefeux had announced in July that the government intended to dismantle half of all the illegal Gypsy camps in the country - or about 300 - within three months. It also pledged to take harsher measures against criminals among them.

The clampdown came in the wake of a violent clash between police and a group of travellers earlier in July. The riots followed the death of a young Roma man at the hands of police.

The decision to dismantle the camps has been widely criticized by human rights associations, trade unions and opposition politicians, with some saying it amounts to racism and xenophobia.

French opposition politicians have also accused the government of turning the Roma and other itinerants into scapegoats, and using them to deflect attention from ongoing political scandals.