Minister and Roma reps agree dialogue the only way forward

"It seems to me that only dialogue, talks and above all the calming of passions both within the Roma community and among residents of the municipalities that live with the Roma community is the right way forward," Poklukar said at a news conference following his meeting with Jožek Horvat Muc and Darko Rudaš on Friday.

Horvat Muc, president of the Roma Community Council, said that Roma issues should be addressed systematically, that is regardless of who is in government.

He believes that the state has only enabled the development of infrastructure in some Roma villages and that municipalities have a major responsibility in this respect.

In Prekmurje, north-east, municipalities have successfully drawn funds and put infrastructure in place, while those in the south-east have failed to do so.

He attributed the failure to several reasons, including to Roma living on other people's land or land that is not designated for construction.

Horvat Muc said that "Roma have been marginalised in the past in the south-east", which is where a series of violent incidents took place in recent months.

Horvat Muc and Rudaš, president of the Forum of Roma City Councillors, condemned crime by Roma but stressed that it is only perpetrated by some individuals.

"The Roma community is being mentioned exclusively as a criminal community, which is not true," said Horvat Muc. Rudaš added that crime in Roma communities is not "a nationwide problem, as presented in public".

However, both said they would like to see Roma in the south-east to be more active, complaining that they have practically no one to talk to in Roma villages there.

They urged mayors and locals from the south-east to work together to take cooperation to a new level.

Horvat Muc stressed that Roma parents should send their kids to kindergarten and school while they should also cooperate with other institutions to get out of poverty.

He believes youth should be redirected from crime towards education, sport and culture.

Rudaš said local authorities will have to take their share of responsibility for providing proper living conditions, while the Roma should adhere to the norms that apply to all.

"Just like in the north-east, Roma in the south-east need to get educated to become workers and taxpayers. When we combine these three things, we get an exemplary level of coexistence," he stressed.

While just over 3,600 people in Slovenia, a country of two million population, declared themselves Roma in the 2002 census, the last featuring a question about ethnicity, the actual number is an estimated 10,000. They live largely in 20 municipalities in Prekmurje in the north-east and in Dolenjska, Bela Krajina and Posavje in the south-east.

Roma are mentioned in the Slovenian constitution as one of the three ethnic communities living in Slovenia for a long period of time alongside the Italian and Hungarian ethnic minorities. While rights of these two are set down in the constitution, the Roma have their rights specified in a special law.