German Gypsy council calls for halt in Roma deportations

Nov 5, 2010, 16:32 GMT

Heidelberg, Germany - The Central Council of German Sinti and Roma appealed Friday to Berlin to halt deportations to Kosovo of Roma people whose residence permits have expired.

The expulsions have come under the spotlight after France began clearing Gypsy encampments in September and sending Roma people hailing from Romania and Bulgaria back to those nations.

While Germany has no encampments it has taken a strict line towards the Roma, who arrived as refugees in the 1990s from the Kosovo conflict. It has refused to grant them residency extensions and is seeking to gradually deport 8,500.

In a joint letter with the Anti-Racism Network to the Interior Ministry, the council called for the Roma to instead be granted residency in Germany.

The council, which met Friday in Heidelberg to debate its response to the issue, said it was concerned at the electoral success in several European nations of far-right parties with racist, anti-Roma or anti-Jewish policies.

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