Fw: II Roma World Congress - CONGRESS PRESS RELEASE

----- Original Message -----
From: "Roma World Congress" <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, May 17, 2002 5:05 AM
Subject: II Roma World Congress - CONGRESS PRESS RELEASE


>
> II Roma World Congress Lodz, Poland 3rd of May 2002
>
>
> PRESS RELEASE
>
>
> The II Roma World Congress was held on May 1st -3rd, 2002 at Lodz in
Poland,
> 65 years after the first Congress in 1937. Nazism and Communism have
> prevented the Roma people to adequately organise themselves
internationally
> in order to improve their social, economic and cultural living conditions
> through international recognition and compensation.
>
> In twenty  years from to-day however, Roma will be 30 millions in around
40
> European countries. This social reality constrains everybody responsible
to
> act promptly and efficiently to avoid this social bomb to burst.
>
> The II Roma World Congress has thus decided to set-up a political European
> body named "European Roma Forum" [www.EuropeanRomaForum.org], whose
> membership is open to all Roma organisations, leaders, churches and
> institutions willing and ready to act with transparency, democracy and for
> the common good of the Roma nation. This body will claim from the dominant
> society authorities respect of the internationally recognised legal
> principles of self-determination and equal footing as of respect of the
Roma
> unique and precious cultural difference in order to organise as soon as
> possible a real bottom-up program of actions conceived, implemented and
> empowered by Roma local, regional and national structures.
>
> The II Roma World Congress appointed for one year an Executive Committee
of
> 7 highly respected Roma in charge of setting-up the statutes and by-laws
of
> the Roma Council of Europe, to propose priorities of action and to
organise
> its first meeting in Autumn 2002. The Executive Committee will also take
> part to the coming discussions with the Council of Europe as regards the
> recent recommendations of a "Roma Forum" taken by the European
Parliamentary
> Assembly of the CoE.
>
> Furthermore the II Roma World Congress has resolved to set-up in Geneva,
> Switzerland, a Roma Financial Foundation which will be the recipient of
any
> monies got for compensation for the Holocaust. The Geneva-based
association
> GIRCA has been entrusted to take any further steps considered fit and
proper
> for getting such direct compensation from the Swiss Shoa Fund, the IBM
case
> pending in Geneva, the German Foundation "Remembrance, Responsibility and
> Future" in Berlin  and from the Swiss Banks Holocaust Assets in New-York.
>
> Roma have to take their political international destiny in hands and to
join
> the battle of the other 5000 indigenous peoples and hundred of thousands
> local traditional communities who fight for their right to cultural
> difference and against rampant genocide through destructuring of their
> social and economic living conditions.
>
> For an fully II WRC coverage please visit www.RomaWorldCongress.org
> On 3rd of June 2002 you will find on the RWC Website:
> - Videos from all important speeches
> - Presentation Videos from the elected European Roma Forum
> - Elected results of the Working Groups
> - Pictures
> - Comments
> - Statements
>
> For updates on the European Roma Forum please visit
> www.EuropeanRomaForum.org
>