FOLLOW-UP PROTESTS AGAINST RACIST BOOK
Sarenge,
Second half of October 2012 we posted the page below on Khetanes. It is from a book by Professor Géza Jeszenszky, a historian, also a welknown Hungarian politician and internationally active.
In Professor Jeszenszky's book, that students at the Faculty of Social Sciences at Corvinus University in Budapest, Hungary, are required to study(!), Roma are called mentally ill.
Quote from the book: "The reason why many Roma are mentally ill is because in Roma culture it is permitted for sisters and brothers or cousins to marry each other or just to have sexual intercourse with each other." This so-called Romani practices are linked to poverty and crime.
The quote can be found on page 273. In this blog also the other pages from the chapter can be read. See further below and click right to enlarge the text!
The book by Professor Jeszenszky, current ambassador for Hungary to Norway, provoked worldwide protests. Also World Artists Initiative "Khetanes" sent letters of protest, to the author, the Corvinus University, the Hungarian Embassy in Norway, the European Commission, the European Parliament and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
This blog is meant to update you on the answers and new letters or steps. The International Romani Anti-Defamation League, part of Khetanes, takes a lead, but all Khetanes members are invited to join and to co-sign!
Thank you!
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Comment by Stoimen on November 13, 2012 at 23:43
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REPLY BY KHETANES TO 2 LETTERS FROM PROF. JESZENSZKY:
dated 12 November 2012, sent cc to European and international institutions
International Romani Anti-Defamation League
World Artists Initiative “Khetanes”
Waterschap 90, 5345 RA Oss, Nl
Telefon: 0031-6-466 318 47
e:Artists_Initiative@ziggo.nl
www.khetanes.org
RISN: 850843467NL, Oss, 12 November 2012
Dr. Jeszenszky,
We appreciate you taking the time to respond to our previous letter; however, we do not feel that your response adequately addressed our concerns. As a man with claims to many grandiose titles––former Minister of Foreign Affairs, former Ambassador to the USA, and currently Ambassador of Hungary to Norway––your words are especially damaging. As a professor and intellectual, your ability to influence others through a book that is factually inaccurate concerns us greatly. Honesty, integrity, and common academic standards demand that you correct the errors in your work and that it not be used in its present form in any university course, obligatory or otherwise.
The Roma do not represent a “problem” and to continually characterize them as such is extremely prejudicial. You suggest you are willing to rewrite the offending passages, while at the same time defending them. Although the phrasing of the paragraph that was initially brought to our attention is racist and incorrect, the whole chapter itself is problematic and riddled with factual and other errors. You claim that your words were taken out of context, that they were taken from the works of others directly, yet the citations you attach are inconclusive and appear openly biased, doing nothing to bolster your claims. One source, from a domestic violence and sexual assault program, quotes out-of-context anecdotal evidence and claims that incest is more common among the Roma than in other population elements, while at the same time admitting that information on the prevalence of incest among the Roma is very limited. Additionally, you cite two extremely limited studies, one from the 1970s and another from the 1980s, one of which suggests that consanguineous unions as a cause of inherited disorders among the Roma is problematic, and neither of which is conclusive.
Dr. Jeszenszky, your tendency is to blame the Roma for their marginalized state, and your errors are not confined to one page, but permeate the entire chapter on the Roma. "Their low status on the job market and higher unemployment rates perpetuate poverty, widespread social problems, and crime" (page 273). You characterize Roma as responsible for their own low status, rather than the victims of prejudice; as unwilling to work; as living in squalid squatter settlements only "partly" due to discrimination; as unruly and unable to be educated; as a people who, in short, perpetuate their own oppression (page 275).
Dr. Jeszenszky, the only problem here is rhetoric such as yours: Rhetoric that is unapologetic in its negative portrayal of a marginalized minority. Rhetoric that whitewashes governments and institutions and fools the general public into believing that the problem with Hungary isn't bad governance, but rather the existence of Roma. In later passages from the same offending chapter, you laud government acts that provide for some self-government among Roma and other minorities, yet you do not note the Hungarian government's failure to curb neo-Nazi groups that have acted violently against the Roma, at times surrounding settlements and preventing citizens from working or attending schools, as well as intimidating, harassing, and beating them. What good is self-government if the national government cannot guarantee one's safety? To leave out such blatant disregard for the human rights of Roma leaves a deeply incomplete picture.
We cite again our own deep knowledge of our culture in contesting your conclusions, and the work of Romani scholars such as many of those listed below in countering your unacceptable sources. Inherited disorders among the Roma cannot be shown to result from our family structure and relationship arrangements. Roma babies are not the only babies to be born with congenital genetic defects; however, they are the only ones you classify as being a product of incestuous relationships. This in itself appears extremely racist and bigoted, regardless of your “record” or intent. Past achievements do not excuse current actions.
As an ambassador, your role is to protect your citizens, support prosperity, and work for peace. These statements, both the paragraph and the chapter in your book and your response to complaints, do nothing to protect Hungarian Roma or support the burgeoning prosperity of Hungary, and they most certainly do nothing to maintain peace. The neo-Nazis who are terrorizing our people in parts of Hungary may not need further documentation to justify their ethnic hatred, but the common citizens who might counter their violent tendencies should be encouraged by accurate and truthful information about the Roma in their midst, not discouraged by academic work that provides cover for discrimination and hatred.
Yours,
Els de Groen, writer, poet, former MEP, Main Board Khetanes, Netherlands
Dr. Ian Hancock, writer, linguist, historian, Main Board Khetanes, USA
Paul Rafferty, journalist, secretary Main Board Khetanes, USA/Netherlands
Ciuin Ferrin, Educational Editor, O Porrajmos Education Society, Daily Board Member Khetanes, USA
Niko Rergo, researcher, lawyer, writer, university teacher, Daily Board Member Khetanes Ukraine
Lukás Houdek, photographer, Daily Board Member Khetanes, Czech Republic
Zoran Tairovic, multimedia artist, painter, master of management in culture, Daily Board member Khetanes, Serbia
Anouk Sluizer, filmmaker, Daily Board Member Khetanes, Netherlands
Cristina Barzi, actress, singer, performer, Daily Board Member Khetanes, Italy
Valery Novoselsky, Executive Editor Roma Virtual Network, Daily Board Member Khetanes, Israel
Roxana Marin, President Center for Action and Responsibility in Education, Bucharest, Daily Board Member Khetanes, Romania
Eszter Pasztor, project manager Bódvalenke Fresco Village, Daily Board Member Khetanes, Hungary
Viola Hinz-Razavi, psychologist and artist, Daily Board Member Khetanes, Germany
Glenda Bailey-Mershon, writer, historian, Romani Rights Activist, Daily Board Member Khetanes, USA
Lynn Hutchingson Lee, artist, Daily Board Member, Khetanes, Canada
Alexandra Beaujard, musician and artistic director of NADARA Gypsy Band, founder of Asociatia Culturala NADARA in Romania, founder of Culture EST in France, Daily Board Member Khetanes
Qristina Cummings, writer, photographer, coordinator International Romani Anti-Defamation League of Khetanes, Media and Public Communications Director, O Porrajmos Education Society, USA
Yvonne Slee, author, activist and president of Roma Sinti United Community Association of Queensland INC, Australia
Chad Evans Wyatt, Professional Photographer, owner Professional Photography Business, USA
Tini Chris, musician, artist, reporter, Hungary
Inma Guiu, Multimedia Producer and Journalist, Owner VGMediaConsulting, Romania
Agnes Daroczi, Minority Researcher, Hungary
Moris Farhi, writer, UK
Adam Dinu, writer, journalist, translator, President of ASPER (Association For a Performant Society), Bucharest, Romania
Jeannette Gregori, teacher at Marc Bloch Highschool (Strasbourg) and photographer, France
Patricia Ter Heun, investments professional, artist and dancer, Canada
Gordana Radulovic, Romologist and project writer, Serbia
H.U Ellenberger, Chemical Engineer, translator, Lucigano (AR), Italy
Miomirka Mila Melank, Communication designer, working at Design Association ULUPUBIH, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Kujtim Pacaku, academic, branch of musicology, poet, actor and journalist, Kosovo
Katjusha Kozubek, artists, director of Romani Dance School, Berlin, Germany
Tina Burbank, educational consult and artist, Canada
Riza Laha, poet, writer, Albania
Mónica Santos Carrilo, human rights activist, Spain
Ronald Lee, author and lecturer, vice-chairman Board of Directors Roma Community Centre, Toronto, Canada
Wlavira Turczineck, teacher of dance, Brazil
Martin Kaneko, Teacher at the Japan Women's University, Japan
Zuzana Brejcha, film maker, Austria
Kerstin König, economist, Germany
Hasiba Dzemajli, social worker, translator, human rights activist, Kosovo
Tunde Buzetzky, facilitator Decade of Roma Inclusion Secretariat Foundation, Hungary
Dr. H.C. Mariella Mehr, writer, Lucignano (AR), Italy
William Lazarus Bila, Roma Rights activist, France
Anna Marie Stenberg, writer, Canada
Roberto Malini, poet, writer, co-president EveryOne Group, Italy
Dario Picciau, movie director, member of the Executive Board of The International Academy of Digital Art and Sciences, Director White Mouse Publishing, Co-President EveryOne Group, Italy
Steed Gamero, photographer, Co-President EveryOne Group, Italy
Fabio Patronelli, artist, Co-President EveryOne Group, Italy
Yannick Pirod, president of the French cultural Association E-Media Concept, sea captain, France
Bob Kozak, musician, owner of KORO Entertainment, Canada
Hristo Kyuchukov, academic, writer, Free University Berlin, Germany; St Elizabeth University Bratislava, Slovakia
Peter Jorna, Consultancy Social Inclusion, Roma & Sinti Issues 'at Home and Abroad', Netherlands
Emma Patchett, PhD, Candidate in Contemporary Romani Literature, University of Münster, Germany
Omar Zingaro Bhatia, Artist and Environmental Field Teacher, Scotland
Petra Gelbart, Ph.D., Principal Coordinator, Initiative for Romani Music at New York University, Lecturer State University of New York, Member, Board of Directors Voice of Roma
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PRESS RELEASE: Ronald Lauder criticizes Hungarian PM for not acting in defense of Jews, Roma
Press Release
20 November 2012
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Ronald S. Lauder: Hungarian ambassador to Norway should have been dismissed after racist slur
World Jewish Congress head criticizes Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán for not taking action in defense of Jews, Roma
NEW YORK / BRUSSELS – In an opinion piece published Tuesday by the leading Hungarian newspaper Népszabadság World Jewish Congress (WJC) President Ronald S. Lauder called on Prime Minister Viktor Orbán of Hungary to take decisive action against those who religious and ethnic minorities in the country. He accused Orbán of not doing enough in the wake of racist and anti-Semitic incidents in recent months and said the government should have sacked Hungary’s ambassador to Norway, Géza Jeszenszky, a former foreign minister, from his post after it became known that he had suggested in a course book for students that “many Roma are mentally ill because in Roma culture it is permitted for sisters and brothers or cousins to marry each other or to have sexual relations.”
Lauder wrote: “Some of the news that has come out of Hungary in recent months and years is alarming.” Whereas Jews suffered from growing anti-Semitism due to a rise in nationalist sentiment, the situation of the Roma was even worse. “They are collectively defamed as a group of ‘criminals’” and faced constant harassment, in particular by uniformed groups linked to the extremist Jobbik party, the Jewish leader wrote. “Some of Jobbik’s ideology seems to have found fertile ground in mainstream politics,” argued Lauder.
On the Jeszenszky case, the WJC president called it a “scandal that a representative of a democratically elected government should hold such absurd views on an ethnic community that has lived in his country for many centuries.” The WJC president added that growing resentment against Jews and Roma seemed “to worry very few people in the government.”
About the World Jewish Congress
The World Jewish Congress (WJC) is the international organization representing Jewish communities in 100 countries to governments, parliaments and international organizations.
Media contact:
Michael Thaidigsmann
Director, Media relations, World Jewish Congress
Tel: +32 2 552 09 24 - Mob: +32 485 86 95 84
Email: michael.thaidigsmann@wjc.eu
Website: www.worldjewishcongress.org
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Copyright © 2012 World Jewish Congress, All rights reserved.
World Jewish Congress · 84 rue de stassart · Brussels 1000
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THIRD ANSWER FROM PROF. JESZENSZKY TO "KHETANES"
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NEW REPLY BY "KHETANES" TO THIRD LETTER FROM PROFESSOR JESZENSZKY
International Romani Anti-Defamation League
World Artists Initiative "Khetanes"
Waterschap 90, 5345 RA Oss, Nl
Phone: 0031-6-466 318 47
e:Artists_Initiative@ziggo.nl
RISN: 850843467
NL, Oss, 21 November 2012
Dr. Jeszenszky,
We thank you for your extensive letter dated 19 November in reply to our letter of 12 November.
We thank you for your respect for our dedication to the cause of Roma, but hope that this respect will be expressed in the fulfillment of our urgent requests.
Neither the length of that challenged phrase ("The reason why many Roma are mentally ill is because in Roma culture it is permitted for sisters and brothers or cousins to marry each other or just to have sexual intercourse with each other") on page 273, nor the length of the chapter is relevant.
Your words "my university ‘course-pack’ and its 10-odd pages on the Hungarian Roma" or "My modest summary…" cannot play down the content and the impact of your statement. You admit that the wording in your book was unfortunate and most probably borrowed from a paragraph in Wikipedia. You regret that it offended people and you would not repeat it in a new edition. Yet you are afraid that many scientific publications will show that among Roma a higher percentage of children are born with physical or mental defects and that many publications ascribe that to consanguinity.
We, artists and scholars of World Artists Initiative "Khetanes", are not interested in what you are afraid of, but in what you can prove. If you can prove that our culture allows brothers and sisters and cousins to marry and/or have sexual intercourse, we bow our head in shame. In your book and all written replies, however these proofs are lacking. A scholar yourself, you know that it IS your task to prove and not to forward assumptions. A university course-pack is no weather report.
Below you will find two quotes. One is from a press release, dated 20 November, by the World Jewish Congress. The other is from the European Roma Rights Centre on the "Magyar Gárda". In your letter to us, dated 19 November, you write: "The so-called "Magyar Gárda" is banned and will remain so. People who committed serious crimes against innocent Roma are under arrest and trial. No serious offence has been reported since 2009".
Quote 1
Ronald S. Lauder: Hungarian ambassador to Norway should have been dismissed after racist slur
World Jewish Congress head criticizes Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán for not taking action in defense of Jews, Roma
NEW YORK / BRUSSELS – In an opinion piece published Tuesday by the leading Hungarian newspaper Népszabadság World Jewish Congress (WJC) President Ronald S. Lauder called on Prime Minister Viktor Orbán of Hungary to take decisive action against those who attack religious and ethnic minorities in the country. He accused Orbán of not doing enough in the wake of racist and anti-Semitic incidents in recent months and said the government should have sacked Hungary’s ambassador to Norway, Géza Jeszenszky, a former foreign minister, from his post after it became known that he had suggested in a course book for students that “many Roma are mentally ill because in Roma culture it is permitted for sisters and brothers or cousins to marry each other or to have sexual relations.”
Lauder wrote: “Some of the news that has come out of Hungary in recent months and years is alarming.” Whereas Jews suffered from growing anti-Semitism due to a rise in nationalist sentiment, the situation of the Roma was even worse. “They are collectively defamed as a group of ‘criminals’” and faced constant harassment, in particular by uniformed groups linked to the extremist Jobbik party, the Jewish leader wrote. “Some of Jobbik’s ideology seems to have found fertile ground in mainstream politics,” argued Lauder.On the Jeszenszky case, the WJC president called it a “scandal that a representative of a democratically elected government should hold such absurd views on an ethnic community that has lived in his country for many centuries.” The WJC president added that growing resentment against Jews and Roma seemed “to worry very few people in the government.”
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Quote 2
From the ERRC Factsheet: Roma Rights in Jeopardy:
In Hungary, the Magyar Garda (banned in 2009), Szebb Jövőért Polgárőr Egyesület and related organisations engaging in paramilitary activities with an explicitly racist agenda continue to operate openly. In Gyöngyöspata the groups patrolled a Romani neighbourhood for 16 days in March 2011, intimidating and harassing Romani residents. Shortly afterwards, the group was disbanded by order of Hungarian courts. Jobbik, an extremist party with an overtly anti-Romani platform, won four seats in the European Parliament elections in 2009 and 47 seats (17% of the vote) in the national parliament in 2010.
Professor Jeszenszky, we repeat our urgent requests. We hope you will have the wisdom and sincerity to apologize in public and announce the withdrawal of your textbook from libraries and all selling-points. Admitting a fault is the first step to doing good.
Yours,
Els de Groen, writer, poet, former MEP, Main Board Khetanes, Netherlands
Dr. Ian Hancock, writer, linguist, historian, Main Board Khetanes, USA
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Co-signers (following pages)
Paul Rafferty, journalist, secretary Main Board Khetanes, USA/Netherlands
Juan de Dios Ramírez Heredia, lawyer, President Union Romaní, Honorary Supporter "Khetanes", former MEP, Spain
Ciuin Ferrin, Educational Editor, O Porrajmos Education Society, Daily Board Member Khetanes, USA
Niko Rergo, researcher, lawyer, writer, university teacher, Daily Board Member Khetanes Ukraine
Lukás Houdek, photographer, Daily Board Member Khetanes, Czech Republic
Zoran Tairovic, multimedia artist, painter, master of management in culture, Daily Board member Khetanes, Serbia
Anouk Sluizer, filmmaker, Daily Board Member Khetanes, Netherlands
Cristina Barzi, actress, singer, performer, Daily Board Member Khetanes, Italy
Valery Novoselsky, Executive Editor Roma Virtual Network, Daily Board Member Khetanes, Israel
Roxana Marin, President Center for Action and Responsibility in Education, Bucharest, Daily Board Member Khetanes, Romania
Eszter Pasztor, project manager Bódvalenke Fresco Village, Daily Board Member Khetanes, Hungary
Viola Hinz-Razavi, psychologist and artist, Daily Board Member Khetanes, Germany
Glenda Bailey-Mershon, writer, historian, Romani Rights Activist, Daily Board Member Khetanes, USA
Lynn Hutchingson Lee, artist, Daily Board Member, Khetanes, Canada
Alexandra Beaujard, musician and artistic director of NADARA Gypsy Band, founder of Asociatia Culturala NADARA in Romania, founder of Culture EST in France, Daily Board Member Khetanes, France, Romania
Qristina Cummings, writer, photographer, coordinator International Romani Anti-Defamation League of Khetanes, Media and Public Communications Director, O Porrajmos Education Society, USA
Yvonne Slee, author, activist and president of Roma Sinti United Community Association of Queensland INC, Australia
Chad Evans Wyatt, Professional Photographer, owner Professional Photography Business, USA
Tini Chris, musician, artist, reporter, Hungary
Inma Guiu, Multimedia Producer and Journalist, Owner VGMediaConsulting, Romania
Agnes Daroczi, Minority Researcher, Hungary
Moris Farhi, writer, UK
Adam Dinu, writer, journalist, translator, President of ASPER (Association For a Performant Society), Bucharest, Romania
Jeannette Gregori, teacher at Marc Bloch Highschool (Strasbourg) and photographer, France
Patricia Ter Heun, investments professional, artist and dancer, Canada
Gordana Radulovic, Romologist and project writer, Serbia
H.U Ellenberger, Chemical Engineer, translator, Lucigano (AR), Italy
Miomirka Mila Melank, Communication designer, working at Design Association ULUPUBIH, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Kujtim Pacaku, academic, branch of musicology, poet, actor and journalist, Kosovo
Katjusha Kozubek, artists, director of Romani Dance School, Berlin, Germany
Tina Burbank, educational consult and artist, Canada
Riza Laha, poet, writer, Albania
Mónica Santos Carrilo, human rights activist, Spain
Ronald Lee, author and lecturer, vice-chairman Board of Directors Roma Community Centre, Toronto, Canada
Wlavira Turczineck, teacher of dance, Brazil
Martin Kaneko, Teacher at the Japan Women's University, Japan
Zuzana Brejcha, film maker, Austria
Kerstin König, economist, Germany
Hasiba Dzemajli, social worker, translator, human rights activist, Kosovo
Tunde Buzetzky, facilitator Decade of Roma Inclusion Secretariat Foundation, Hungary
Dr. H.C. Mariella Mehr, writer, Lucignano (AR), Italy
William Lazarus Bila, Roma Rights activist, France
Anna Marie Stenberg, writer, Canada
Roberto Malini, poet, writer, co-president EveryOne Group, Italy
Dario Picciau, movie director, member of the Executive Board of The International Academy of Digital Art and Sciences, Director White Mouse Publishing, Co-President EveryOne Group, Italy
Steed Gamero, photographer, Co-President EveryOne Group, Italy
Fabio Patronelli, artist, Co-President EveryOne Group, Italy
Yannick Pirod, president of the French cultural Association E-Media Concept, sea captain, France
Bob Kozak, musician, owner of KORO Entertainment, Canada
Hristo Kyuchukov, academic, writer, Free University Berlin, Germany; St Elizabeth University Bratislava, Slovakia
Peter Jorna, Consultancy Social Inclusion, Roma & Sinti Issues 'at Home and Abroad', Netherlands
Emma Patchett, PhD, Candidate in Contemporary Romani Literature, University of Münster, Germany
Omar Zingaro Bhatia, Artist and Environmental Field Teacher, Scotland
Petra Gelbart, Ph.D., Principal Coordinator, Initiative for Romani Music at New York University, Lecturer State University of New York, Member, Board of Directors Voice of Roma, USA
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DG JUSTICE (EUROPEAN COMMISSION) WILL STUDY DOSSIER
Dear Ms Els de Groen,
Thank you for contacting the Directorate General Justice of the European Commission and sharing with us your concerns. Our Head of Cabinet Mr Selmayr has forwarded us the file on the Jeszenszky book expressing your position.
Currently the Non-discrimination and Roma coordination unit is looking into all related correspondence and examining the issue.
Our response will reach you shortly.
Best regards,
Ilona Negro
Roma Team Leader
European Commission
DG Justice
Unit D4 – Non discrimination policies and Roma coordination
LX40 01/158
B-1049 Brussels/Belgium
+32 2 297 1991
ilona.negro@ec.europa.eu<mailto:ilona.negro@ec.europa.eu>
From: "Artists Initiative" <artists_initiative@ziggo.nl<mailto:artists_initiative@ziggo.nl>>
To: "SELMAYR Martin (CAB-REDING)" <Martin.SELMAYR@ec.europa.eu<mailto:Martin.SELMAYR@ec.europa.eu>>
Cc: "LAITENBERGER Johannes (CAB-BARROSO)" <Johannes.Laitenberger@ec.europa.eu<mailto:Johannes.Laitenberger@ec.europa.eu>>
Subject: Fw: Letter of protest against racist book
Dear Mr Martin Selmayr,
Please, find enclosed the complete dossier, and two new letters (PDF files), JG to Romani A-D L 19 Nov and Jeszenszky 2nd reply from Khetanes (21 November).
As we do not exactly know who within DG JUST is taking care of this issue, we kindly request you to forward the dossier. We value highly that the Commission is well informed on a matter that has caught international attention.
Yours sincerely,
Els de Groen
Main Board "Khetanes"
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REACTION FROM DG JUSTICE, EUROPEAN COMMISSION, on 24 JANUARY 2013, ON OUR E-MAIL OF 20 jANUARY 2013 (SEE BELOW)
Dear Ms De Groen,
I would like to confirm that on 29th November 2012 the European Commission provided you with an answer to your previous letters and messages concerning the university textbook "Post-communist Europe and its National/Ethnic Problems: a course-pack" written by Professor Jeszenszky,
Please find here enclosed the letter we sent you.
I thank you for the information you bring to our attention related to recent public statements concerning Roma and Jews. The European Union values include the respect of the rights of everyone, whatever their ethnic origin or religion. As you mention, the principle of equal rights is not less important than the right to free speech.
As highlighted in our previous reply, the European Commission rejects and condemns all forms and manifestations of racism and xenophobia. It uses all instruments available under the Treaties to enforce the respect for the values of the Union, including by fighting against public incitement to racist, xenophobic or anti-Semitic violence or hatred, prohibited by Framework Decision 2008/913/JHA on combating certain forms and expressions of racism and xenophobia by means of criminal law.
Ensuring you that the European Commission will keep high its engagement in condemning and fighting racism and xenophobia in all Member States, I remain
Yours sincerely,
Massimo Serpieri
From: Artists Initiative [mailto:artists_initiative@ziggo.nl]
Sent: Sunday, January 20, 2013 3:53 PM
To: NEGRO Ilona (JUST)
Cc: JUST D4 UNITE; SERPIERI Massimo Bengt (JUST); SELMAYR Martin (CAB-REDING); LAITENBERGER Johannes (CAB-BARROSO); Paul Rafferty; Ian Hancock; Union Romani; Qristina Cummings; Glenda Bailey-Mershon; Bill Bila; Mr. Valery Novoselsky
Subject: Fw: Letter of protest against racist book
Importance: High
Dear Ms Ilona Negro,
We are looking forward to receiving your response, regarding the Jeszenszky book file.
This year had hardly begun, when another serious incident occured. We refer to the column by Mr Zsolt Bayer, founding-member of the Hungarian Fidesz Party and confident and personal friend of Prime-Minister Viktor Orbán, published on 5 January in the Magyar Hirlap.
World Artists Initiative "Khetanes" welcomes the fact that the Commissioners Viviane Reding and Neelie Kroes both condemned Mr Bayers' statements.
Unfortunately it appears that the expressions of hatred become more and more fierce, also within the European Parliament, where a Jobbik member, Marton Gyongyoso, vice chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, asked for a list of Jews in government and parliament as they "present a national security risk to Hungary".
This incident, last November 2012, was officially condemned by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. After the publication of the column by Mr Zsolt Bayer, however, there was no official condemnation by Fidesz, nor from the Prime Minister.
The principle of equal rights is not less important than the right to free speech, particularly since this "free speech" turns into hate speech" and racist propaganda.
The peace established in Europe thanks to the Euopean Union, also strongly includes the respect of the rights of minorities, e.g. Roma and Jews.
Looking forward to hearing from you and with kind regards,
Els de Groen
Main Board "Khetanes"
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OFFICIAL REACTION FROM THE COMMISSION, DATED 29 NOVEMBER 2012,
RECEIVED IN JANUARY 2013:
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