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| Title | Chronology for Roma in Hungary |
| Publisher | Minorities at Risk Project |
| Country | Hungary |
| Publication Date | 2004 |
| Cite as | Minorities at Risk Project, Chronology for Roma in Hungary, 2004, available at: http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/469f3895c.html [accessed 17 February 2012] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Chronology for Roma in Hungary
| Date(s) | Item |
|---|---|
| Hungary's legislature enacts a new transitional constitution and multiparty democratic system. | |
| The Hungarian Republic is proclaimed. | |
| The Freedom Party, a right-wing party which classifies citizens of Hungary on racial grounds, described Gypsies in its party newspaper as one of the menacing races "which can only be assimilated with difficulty or not at all." The newspaper goes on to suggest that Gypsies, among others, should be deprived of influence over the "Hungarian way of life." Note: Racist remarks against Gypsies, among others, by the press and political parties are common throughout the period covered by this chronology and will not be further noted unless otherwise noteworthy. | |
| Legislators vote to give national minorities, including Gypsies, one seat each in the national assembly. | |
| Hungary's first free elections are held. Gypsies, due to political infighting, do not form any large broad based parties but, rather, form about 10 separate parties. Although 2 Gypsy members of the Phralipe party win seats, most Gypsies seem to support the Free Democrats. | |
| The Justice Party of Hungarian Gypsies demands that a minister of Gypsies be appointed. | |
| Various Gypsy human rights organizations are assembled under the umbrella of the National Council of Gypsy Organizations. | |
| 150 skinheads launch a pogrom on a Roma section of the town of Eger. Police do not respond for 4 hours, do not notify their superiors, and fail to summon reinforcements for 3 days. | |
| 119 delegates from 14 organizations adopt the founding declaration of the Hungarian Roma Parliament. | |
| In a raid apparently prompted by a local officials request for a show of force to discipline "trouble makers," police anti-terror units sweep through several towns. During the course of this raid several Roma are seriously beaten. | |
| At a 2-day conference of Hungarian Gypsies, Gypsy leaders complain that the Gypsies are seen by many Hungarians as targets for venting their political and economic frustrations. Note: This complaint is made often throughout the period covered by this chronology and will not be further noted unless otherwise noteworthy. | |
| 150 skinheads attack the Roma in the town of Eger in a pogrom-like assault. | |
| The delegates from Hungary's Roma Parliament address a petition to the Geneva conference of the CSCE countries to set up an international fact-finding committee the survey the status of the Gypsies in Europe. | |
| The Roma Forum, a body of 22 Gypsy organizations in Hungary, holds its first national congress. | |
| Police report 37 skinhead attacks on Roma. The Martin Luther King Association reports about 100. Both of these estimates are probably low because, due to their lack of trust in the police, an estimated four out of five incidents are not reported. | |
| 48 skinheads are accused of going on a rampage described as a "beating tour" in Budapest. The are accused of savagely beating both Gypsies and other minorities. Nine are eventually sent to reform school and the other 39 are given probation or suspended sentences. | |
| A draft of the Minority Bill defines the Roma as an ethnic but not national minority. | |
| A Gypsy man believed to be beaten by skinheads dies when police and paramedics take hours to respond to the incident. Fears of another such attack lead to an atmosphere of panic. As a result, 12 Roma who believe such an attack is beginning attack a policeman and two civil guards. In response, the police engage in a commando raid of the area ordering all Roma out of their homes and searching the premises. Despite orders, several Roma are assaulted by police officers. There is no subsequent investigation of the legality of the raid or of the alleged use of excessive force. | |
| The commemoration of the 1848 Hungarian revolution is disrupted by skinheads who assault the representative of a Roma organization. | |
| The Ghandi foundation announces it hopes to open Hungary's first Gypsy secondary school. The government eventually agrees to help fund the school. | |
| At a conference in Budapest, 22 Gypsy organizations from 10 countries agree to set up a European Roma parliament. | |
| The houses of 2 Gypsies are set fire in the eastern village of Keteyhiza near the Hungarian border. | |
| Police records show 51 assaults by young neo-Nazis this year on Gypsies and foreigners. Also, at least four right-wing youth groups have been legally registered. | |
| The number of Roma organizations registered with the office of National Ethnic Minorities exceeds 100. This includes several newspapers. | |
| Clashes occur between about eight skinheads and two Gypsy men. The skinheads later say they mistook the Gypsies for Jews. | |
| The Supreme Court decides that the section of the law that deals with racially motivated crimes does not apply to skinhead attacks on foreigners, Gypsies or other members of ethnic minorities. Instead, those few skinhead attacks that reach courts are treated as simple hooliganism. | |
| Since the beginning of 1991, 117 skinheads have been tried for 11 cases mainly involving physical abuse to non-white foreigners and Gypsies. | |
| A Gypsy youth is severely beaten by skinheads resulting in a coma. | |
| Parliament passes the National Minorities Bill giving cultural and political protection to the country's minorities. For the first time Gypsies are officially recognized as a national minority. This law allows them to elect local minority governments with limited autonomous powers. | |
| More than 1,000 Gypsies and sympathizers demonstrate against racism and fascism in the northern town of Eger. | |
| Nine Gypsies are injured in clashes with police in the village of Orkeny. Police say that they reacted to an attack by 150 Gypsies against detectives investigating a robbery in the village. | |
| The Ghandi secondary school for Gypsies opens. | |
| 116 of the 206 registered Gypsy organizations in Hungary join to form the Roma Roundtable. | |
| Police launch proceedings against 12 "young people" alleged to have thrown a fire-bomb into the house of a Gypsy family in the northwestern town of Gyoengyoes. | |
| According to the National Ethnic and Minority Legal Protection Office, 120 atrocities have been committed against Gypsies this year. | |
| 76 out of 1,600 Gypsies in Hatavan sign a petition demanding the abolition of the Gypsy minority self government because they see it as intended to segregate Gypsies. | |
| About 80 drunk Roma and Hungarians clash in the central town of Kalocsa during May Day celebrations. Overnight about 80 Roma demonstrate outside the Kalocsa police station demanding the release of two Roma arrested during the incident. | |
| The Roma minority in Hungary holds elections to its new national autonomous body. The Lungo Drom alliance wins all 53 seats. Lungo Drom leader Florian Farkas receives the most votes and becomes the leader of the new national body representing the Roma minority. | |
| The Gypsy world festival is held in Budapest. | |
| Hungary ratifies the Council of Europe's convention on the protection of ethnic minorities. |
Topics: Roma,
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