"More delicate moments, not to call them difficult or unpleasant" have happened where "certain minorities suffered" - this is how Romanian Culture minister Daniel Breaz has described the Romani Holocaust at a ceremony last weekend to commemorate the genocide of the Romani people during WWII.
Daniel BreazFoto: Facebook
- The statements were blasted by activists and observers. In an interview with Radio France International, activist Ciprian Necula pointed out that the minister's speech, which falls in line with the rhetoric of the Romanian Government when it comes to the Romani people, is a way to avoid calling things as they are. He said officials like Breaz - who has also been recently named interim Education minister - should clearly state that Romania was among the countries which deported Jews and Romani people to death during the WWII.
The European Parliament has set August 2 as the European day of commemoration of the Romani Holocaust, in which about a quarter of the Romani people were exterminated in Nazi-occupied Europe.
