FIRST ROMANY CONGRESS IN CROATIA BEGINS

ZAGREB, Feb 15 (Hina) - The first congress of the Romany in Croatia began in Zagreb on Saturday, pooling about 200 representatives of Romany organisations from all over the country. #L# At the two-day event the Romany should discuss their problems and elect representatives to state and local bodies of authority. The basic problem of the Romany minority are difficulties in obtaining citizenship, which leads to other problems, such as the impossibility of getting an education or a job, said Alija Mesic, president of the Association of the Romany of Zagreb and Zagreb County, which organised the congress. To resolve the citizenship problem, Romany associations have proposed setting up a task force which would list all the Romany who meet conditions to be granted citizenship but have still not been granted it. The congress should also discuss how to resolve the housing problem of the Romany, renovate and build settlements for them, upgrade education, social and medical care, and stimulate employment. Quoting data of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the associations claim there are about 40,000 Romany in Croatia, but only 6,390 declared themselves as such at the 1991 census. Speaking about the causes of the ghettoisation of the Romany world- wide, Mesic mentioned the lack of knowledge about the long Romany history and "stereotypes deeply ingrained in people's minds". He recalled the Romany began organising at the start of the 20th century. Following a trend of stagnation during WWII, the first Romany congress was held in London in 1971, Mesic said, lamenting the fact that it took 32 years to create conditions for the first Romany congress in Croatia. Attending the event are representatives of the Croatian government's office for minorities, local authorities, parliament, and the ministries of education and sports and labour and welfare. (hina) ha