Finally, Bulgarian citizens have heard something from Interior Minister Roumen Petkov in relation to the August 13-14 Roma riots in Sofia. Petkov promised that anyone who violated public order would feel the hand of the law. There is no doubt that an interior minister should ensure that the law is enforced to its full extent and against all perpetrators, regardless of their religious or ethnic origin.
However, this statement shows that there have been cases when the law has not been applied in its full extent. In fact, this is the main reason many people in Bulgaria today are complaining about the lack of police actions when it comes to alleged Roma perpetrators.
One has to acknowledge that it is not easy for the police in these situations. As one officer put it the day after the riots: “If we had applied the law in its full extent and had intervened to disburse the crowd that night we would have made the situation worse.”
Whether Petkov’s statement will mean exactly this no one knows. We can only hope that if such an incident occurs in the future, some officious police officer, who wants to apply the full “hand of the law”, does not reach for his holster.
The police officer complained that every time the police arrests a Roma suspect, a number of human rights organisations appear on the doorstep. The police officers find it easier to simply look the other way. Of course, this fact highlights that today Bulgaria has developed an environment where police actions have become more and more transparent, but when there is police inactivity, one starts to wonder if there is something wrong. On the other hand, the Roma have many reasons to complain about the police and the way they are treated by the majority of Bulgarians. Although there are no more 50 skinheads in Sofia, the cases of Roma being harassed are not as rare as one would want to believe.
So here comes the million dollar question. What can be done to improve the Roma situation? Remember, we are in the decade of Roma inclusion and just two months ago George Soros and his Open Society held their conference, in Sofia, on the issue. The riots in Sofia proved that much still remains to be done. Of course this is a wonderful opportunity for people to enter the spotlight of TV cameras. Now, after the riots have ended, everybody has a solution, as if it were not possible two weeks ago when the streets of Krasna Polyana were not crowded with armed Roma. The mayor of Sofia, Boiko Borissov, has suggested asking for EU funding for Roma housing and inviting Roma to patrol with the officers of municipality’s policeforce in the Roma neighbourhoods. It sounds good on paper and no doubt the media will be looking for results.
Another of Borissov’s ideas, however, is a little worrying. According to him, the Roma living in Krasna Polyana could be moved to other areas in Sofia. Moving people around the city would most likely result in the same situation as the one on August 13. This approach has proven ineffective in other places. And furthermore, no one has asked the Roma if they want to move in the first place. The issue with the Roma in Bulgaria will not be solved either by Borissov or by someone else. It is a matter of reaching national consent that indeed there is a problem with the poor conditions the Roma live in and also requires the Roma themselves to show a desire to change their lifestyle. Unfortunately neither side has shown any of this and riots such as the one in Krasna Polyana are unlikely to be avoided in the future. Money for the Roma can always be found from the numerous charity donations and other organisations around the world. But, until Bulgarians stop comparing themselves with the Roma and the Roma stop finding excuses in the way they are treated by Bulgarians, the legend of the famous Bulgarians’ ethnic tolerance will suffer a lot of compromises.
