Romanian patients suffering from a chronic disease launched a "desperate appeal" to reach Romania’s President. Elsewhere in the news, East-European far-right extremists have begun the Gypsy hunt. Last but not least, the Social-Democratic Party is negotiating the laws for Education, in the absence of the resort minister, with three characters owning dubious studies backgrounds.

Romanian patients suffering from a chronic disease launched a "desperate appeal" to get incumbent President Traian Basescu and the Paliament's attention over the fact that their life is endangered due to the lack of drugs, Romania Libera informs. Patients infected with HIV are preparing for protests: their treatment is likely to last for another three - four days.

According to Cotidianul, there are over 1.000 infected with HIV hospitalised at "Victor Babes" hospital from Bucharest, trying to obtain more medicine from "Matei Bals" Institute, while they are being threatened to remain without treatment soon. This could lead to depressed immunity, resistance to treatment schemes and additional infections. There were 11,430 HIV patients at the end o March in Romania, and 9.372 are under treatment, Romanian press agency NewsIn informs.

The situation is similar across the country for patients suffering from a chronic disease. In an open letter addressed to incumbent President Traian Basescu and to Parliament leaders, the Coalition of Organizations for Patients with Chronic Affections (COPAC) from Romania shows that the life of patients suffering from chronic diseases is made difficult by the lack of drugs in Romanian hospitals, forcing them to stop the treatment.

The letter is requesting the Romanian Executive to help the over 3 million patients in need for treatment, adding that the treatment is lacking completely in several counties because the budget for 2009 is finished. COPAC reps say that there will be protest and the European forums will be shortly notified on the situation.

Cotidianul reads East-European extremists have begun the Gypsy hunt. Far right-wing organisations have attacked Gypsy communities, killing eight Roma in the last 18 months in racist attacks from Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Several NGOs say this is a growing trend in the countries that joined the European Union after a communist experience. A Stratfor think-tank report claims that xenophobia blooms during a crisis, as a second effect of inner social issues and Gypsies, regarded as a social problem, are favourite targets.

The Roma integration is a European problem. The Brussels summit in 2008 asked countries to combine European and national funds to start integrating the ethnic minority and shied the Roma from discrimination and social exclusion. In Romania, the absorption of European funds in this sense is weak.

A case in Tarlungeni locality, Brasov (Central Romania), a mayor surrounded the Gypsy community in the village with a concrete wall, 2 meters high. For the Roma to get to the centre of the village, they need to take a two kilometres detour. The idea was also exercised in 1999 in the Czech city of Nestemice. Italian local leaders have relocated Gypsy camps in Rome: in the camp of Castel Romano, the ethnic minority have to live with only one hour of running water a day. The camp in Via Condoni is surrounded by barbed wire.

The Social-Democratic Party is negotiating the education law with three characters who completed their studies after the Revolution, Evenimentul Zilei reads. PSD leaders and the lib-dems debated yesterday on the educational law packages, in the absence of the minister of Education Ecaterina Andronescu, who said she had not been invited to take part in the discussions neither by PSD, her party, nor by the Romanian PM.

Three PSD leaders debating Education have interesting CVs regarding their studies. According to the publication, Marian Vanghelie needed approximately 19 years to hold the Baccalaureate diploma, having started high school in 1982 and having graduated in 2001. He claims to have studied Law and Finance with two private universities, but despite the fact that he admits quitting Finance, he never named any of the universities he attended.

The second PSD member, Marian Oprisan, writes in his CV that he graduated Political Studies at "a profile university from Iasi" (North-East Romania). But he fails to mention that he was studying at "Petru Andrei" University, an institution involved in a recent Education scandal alongside "Spiru Haret" University. Liviu Dragnea went through two high education institutions, the last one being the Management and Administration Faculty from the Ecology University.