Balkans Told to Stop Forcible Evicting Roma

The Council of Europe's Human Rights Commissioner Nils Muiznieks has three Balkan governments for evicting Roma families from camps while not offering them any alternative accommodation.

He has criticized seven of the 47 members of the organization for forcible evictions of Roma and Egyptian communities over the last few years, urging them to respect their commitments to human rights.

Muiznieks sent letters to three Balkan countries, Albania, Bulgaria and Serbia, along with France, Hungary, Italy and Sweden.

The letter sent to Albania's Minister for Urban Development, Eglantina Gjermeni, complains about the eviction of about 48 Roma families from a site near the lake in Tirana city park on October 2015.

BIRN learned at that time that the Tirana authorities knew most of the Roma families had nowhere else to go but still transported them to other municipalities, claiming that they had residence registration in other towns, which should take care of them.

Some of the evicted families lingered homelessly around their former camp for weeks. BIRN witnessed another occasion when police stopped them from erecting new shacks.

"I have received and been concerned at reports of forced evictions of Roma and Egyptians in Albania, especially after the enactment in 2014 of the Law on Legalisation, Urbanisation and Integration of Illegal Constructions," the letter published in the CoE Website reads.

"I urge you to take all necessary measures to put an end to the evictions of Roma and Egyptians without provision of adequate alternative accommodation," it adds.

The letter to Gjermeni went apparently unanswered.

The letter sent to Serbia went to Zorana Mihajlovic, the Deputy Prime Minister. While praising Serbia's new legislation...