Former President angers Roma community with "unforgivable" comment

Niculai Radita, one of the leaders of the Roma community in Moldova and head of the National Roma Center, told Stirea Zilei that former President (2001-2009) and current Party of Communists (PC) head Vladimir Voronin cannot be forgiven for his comments about the Roma even if Mr. Voronin said that he only uttered a proverb. „This is no proverb – it's about Vladimir Voronin's attitude toward the Roma ethnicity. In normal countries, documents don't get proverbs written on them. This is mockery,” Mr. Radita added.

Mr. Voronin wrote on a document about fees for artists who played for the Party of Communists during the electoral campaign that „with money, even gypsies sing and dance!” The document was desecretized by the current Government, and Mr. Voronin said he was only using a proverb and that he is a friend of the Roma. Leaders of the Roma community have said, however, that Mr. Voronin has never answered to appeals for support.

According to the 2004 census, about 12,000 Roma live in Moldova.