Belgrade: Roma families evicted

The Belgrade Land Development Agency, with the help from police, this morning started demolishing homes in 25 Vojvodjanska St. where 36 Roma temporarily lived. Members of NGOs are therefore staging a protest in front of the City Hall. Belgrade: Roma families evicted The Regional Center for Minorities (RCM) says that it is a precedent to demolish houses in October and that people are left without a roof over their heads in the cold weather. “The state has signed international human rights standards that clearly regulate this issue and it is responsible. The Human and Minority Rights Ministry is responsible for implementation of these documents. Considering that this is happening in the city and that the city was informed and that it made a promise, I believe that they could have prevented this,” stressed Jovana Vukovic of the RCM. Srdjan Sajn of the Roma Party says that demolition of houses without providing alternative accommodation represents violation of human rights. The Human and Minority Rights Ministry has stated that the city promised to provide temporary housing. “We have agreed that it was good as a temporary solution. After that, we were surprised that the plan had changed and that relocation of Roma happened,” said Assistant Human and Minority Rights Minister Petar Antic. The first attempt to relocate Roma and demolish their homes was on September 28, 2010 at the request of the Belgrade Land Development Public Agency. Roma were given permits to temporarily use the homes in 2003 after the families had been relocated from barracks in another neighborhood. After a sharp reaction from the public the Belgrade Land Development Public Agency gave up on eviction of the Roma families. Coalition Against Discrimination and partner organizations demand from the city authorities to without any delay provide alternative housing for 36 Roma whose homes are being demolished. The Belgrade Land Development Public Agency announced today that removal of the expropriated building in 25 Vojvodjanska St., for which the city had paid the envisaged compensation, was a prerequisite for continuation of construction works in the mentioned street. The Belgrade Land Development Public Agency has also announced that there are no legal possibilities for housing of the illegal occupants “and that is why for human, social and economic reasons the procedure to carry out the eviction was not launched from 2003 until today”. “Other persons, unfamiliar to the Agency, to whom temporary housing was not approved in 2003 moved into the building during that period. According to the documents that the illegal occupants have presented before the competent authorities, more than a half of them has place of residence at some other location, while other persons were unable to present personal IDs,” the Belgrade Land Development Public Agency pointed out in the announcement. Roma children (Beta, file)

Belgrade: Roma families evicted

The Regional Center for Minorities (RCM) says that it is a precedent to demolish houses in October and that people are left without a roof over their heads in the cold weather.

“The state has signed international human rights standards that clearly regulate this issue and it is responsible. The Human and Minority Rights Ministry is responsible for implementation of these documents. Considering that this is happening in the city and that the city was informed and that it made a promise, I believe that they could have prevented this,” stressed Jovana Vuković of the RCM.

Srđan Šajn of the Roma Party says that demolition of houses without providing alternative accommodation represents violation of human rights.

The Human and Minority Rights Ministry has stated that the city promised to provide temporary housing.

“We have agreed that it was good as a temporary solution. After that, we were surprised that the plan had changed and that relocation of Roma happened,” said Assistant Human and Minority Rights Minister Petar Antić.

The first attempt to relocate Roma and demolish their homes was on September 28, 2010 at the request of the Belgrade Land Development Public Agency. Roma were given permits to temporarily use the homes in 2003 after the families had been relocated from barracks in another neighborhood. After a sharp reaction from the public the Belgrade Land Development Public Agency gave up on eviction of the Roma families.

Coalition Against Discrimination and partner organizations demand from the city authorities to without any delay provide alternative housing for 36 Roma whose homes are being demolished.

The Belgrade Land Development Public Agency announced today that removal of the expropriated building in 25 Vojvođanska St., for which the city had paid the envisaged compensation, was a prerequisite for continuation of construction works in the mentioned street.

The Belgrade Land Development Public Agency has also announced that there are no legal possibilities for housing of the illegal occupants “and that is why for human, social and economic reasons the procedure to carry out the eviction was not launched from 2003 until today”.

“Other persons, unfamiliar to the Agency, to whom temporary housing was not approved in 2003 moved into the building during that period. According to the documents that the illegal occupants have presented before the competent authorities, more than a half of them has place of residence at some other location, while other persons were unable to present personal IDs,” the Belgrade Land Development Public Agency pointed out in the announcement.