Poland: Update to POL23427.E of 18 March 1996 on the situation of Roma (January 1998 - present)

A 21 March 1998 Polish Radio 1 emission states:

During a press conference at the Sejm, representatives of the Gypsy minority pointed out cases of discrimination against it in Poland. Discrimination occurs, in their opinion, in employment, in the allocation of social benefits and in the withholding by local authorities of aid for Romanies who suffered as a result of [last year's] floods.

They also presented numerous cases of brutal treatment by the police and their failure to react to Romanies being beaten up by groups of hooligans. Such instances were cited by the representatives of the Romanies' Association from Tarnow, among others.

In the opinion of the chairman of the Sejm commission for national and ethnic minorities, Jacek Kuron, aggression against Romanies has intensified in recent years. They are the only minority in Poland towards whom the attitude of the authorities has not changed for the better. Jacek Kuron believes that the imminent appointment of a prime minister's plenipotentiary and a council for minority affairs will enable the Romanies' problems to be solved, including that of breaking through the educational barrier which prevents Romany children from adapting in society.

A 7 July 1998 Romnews Network article states that the Roma community centre in Lodz was vandalized on 3 July 1998. The article adds:

The perpetrators have not yet been identified; they daubed swastikas on the walls along with slogans like "Send Gypsies to the gas chambers" and "Lynch all gypsies." The so-called "Narodowe Odrozeie Polski"(NOP((Polish National Renewal) has claimed responsibility for the attack. Although this organisation has its headquarters barely two streets away, according to the Lodz police P.R. rep Jadwiga Kosiak, there is no reason to press charges against the extremist NOP.

The attack on the community centre is so far the crescendo in the spiral of violence against Roma in Poland. Three Roma were murdered in and around Lodz last year by as-yet unidentified persons; in other Polish towns there have been similar pogrom-like attacks on Roma. According to the chairman of Lodz Roma Organization, Mr. Wisniewski, "Right-wingers attack Roma and the law shows no interest in following up such racist-motivated crimes. One is increasingly led to believe that the legal system, police and extremist nationalists are somehow working together for a 'Gypsy-free Poland.' Given circumstances like this, many Roma have no choice but to flee to neighbouring states for asylum."

An autumn 1998 Roma Rights article states:

On July 26, 1998 four young Roma - Walenty Kowalski (19), Patryk Kowalskik Arkadiusz Kowalski and Jan Kaminski (35)(were beaten by local policemen. As reported to the ERRC (Euoprean Roma Rights Center) by the Roma Information and Counselling Centre, the incident took place in the town of Ciechocinek, 100km north of Lodz, after a Romani music festival taking place on the evening of July 25. After midnight, a police car stopped by the group of four Roma, who were walking back from the festival to their cars before driving back to their village of Konstantynow, Kodzki, 120 km away. The policemen, wearing black commando suits and with their faces covered, forced the Roma to get into the police car in front of at least thirty other Romani witnesses, and reportedly took them to a forest out of town, where they beat the Roma severely. The police also took away the ID cards of all of the Roma.

After they had been released at five o'clock in the morning, one of the group managed to call his relative, and all were taken to seek medical help in the nearby town of Wloclawek. As a consequence of the policemen kicking him, Jan Kaminski was diagnosed with a broken leg and sent to the Lodz hospital for treatment. Another Roma from the group had a suspected concussion. Walneth Kowalski had a broken nose.

The Roma were later charged with using vulgar words in a public place and with vulgar behaviour in a public place. The case was scheduled to appear in Aleksandrow Kujawski court on December 10, but the hearing was postponed indefinitely. Through the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights in Poland, the Roma found a lawyer who filed a complaint with the prosecutor Serocki. (ERRC, Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights in Poland, Roma Information and Counselling Centre).

Another autumn 1998 Roma Rights article states:

The Advisory and Information Center of Roma in Lodz...reported to the ERRC that on September 8, 1998, at 10pm, a man connected with the skinheads threw a bottle of gas through the window of the house of a Roma family in Bytom, south-west Poland. The thirteen year old daughter of the family, Paloma Cerveniak was sleeping by the window and was badly burnt. She was taken to the local children's hospital in a critical condition. The surgeon on duty Dr. Jeruzka confirmed the urgent need to operate but a lack of finance prevented this. The family obtained money from the Boston-based Dr. Allen Keller, the Batory Foundation in Poland and the pharmaceuticals firm Tricomed in Lodz, and the girl was sent to Warsaw for treatment.

The Advisory and Information Center of Roma in Lodz protested to various international organisations and publicised the case in the press. In the opinion of Mr. Kakol, Head of the Investigation Division of the local police, the attack was not racially motivated. The police arrested the man involved. The mayor of Bytom provided the family with a new flat and they are living there now with their daughter, who has been released from hospital and is well. (Advisory and Information Center of Roma in Lodz, Physicians for Human Rights).

For additional information on the sitaution of Roma in Poland, please consult page three of POL31364.E of 19 March 1999.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

References

Polish Radio 1 [Warsaw, in Polish]. 21 March 1998. "Discrimination Against Romanies Still Rife, Representatives Say." (BBC Summary 25 Mar. 1998/NEXIS)

Roma Rights [Budapest]. Autumn 1998. "Police Beat Four Roma Near Ciechocinek, Poland."

_____. Autumn 1998. "Skinheads Burn Down Family Home in Bytom, Poland."

Romnews Network. 7 July 1998. "Roma Community Centre Vandalised by Right-Wing Extremists." Internet. [Accessed on 29 Mar. 1999].