Indicator history

The US State Department 2010 Human Rights Report Romania clearly indicates three organizations as being "extremist organizations": New Right Organization, Professor George Manu Foundation and Party for the Nation. The report describes their activity as sponsoring events, including religious services, symposia, and marches, commemorating leaders of the pre-World War II era Legionnaire Movement, which "attracted small numbers of persons."

The report also states that: "During the year, the extremist press continued to publish anti-semitic articles. The New Right movement and similar organizations and associations continued to promote the ideas of the Iron Guard (an extreme nationalist, Anti-Semitic, pro-Nazi group that existed in the Country in the inter-War period) in the media and on the Internet. Organizations with extreme right-wing views also published inflamatory books from the inter-war period. " [1]

In 2006, the NGO Romani CRISS filed a petition against the website www.nouadreapta.ro for discriminatory articles against the Roma, with the National Council for Combating Discrimination (NCCD). The NCCD found discrimination and sanctioned the authors of the articles, but also the Organization New Right for posting the articles on its website. The NCCD found that through the articles in question "the persons belonging to the Roma minority are generically catalogued as violent, aggressive, illiterate, delinquents, etc., identifying the Roma community in its entirety with mafia clans, with prostitution, usurer activities, drug trafficking and other illicit and anti-social deeds, inciting to racial hatred". [2]

Romani CRISS also filed a complaint with the Prosecutor’s Office against the organization New Right and its President, also claiming breaches of the Government Emergency Ordinance No. 31/2002 on the ban of organizations with a fascist, racist or xenophobic character and the promotion of the cult of persons guilty of crimes against peace and humanity. The Prosecutor’s Office (attached to the Bucharest Tribunal) decided not to begin a criminal investigation. According to Romani CRISS, the Prosecutor motivated that: “the functioning of numerous organizations legally established, such as: The Legionary Movement, New Right, etc… and the existence of some publications which belong to these, constitutes a reality which cannot be ignored….”. Romani CRISS contested the decision and kept loosing and contesting until it exhausted all internal remedies, after which, in 2008, it brought the case before the European Court of Human Rights. Among its requests before the ECtHR, the NGO asked for “reparatory measures with a general character of a nature to lead to avoiding breaches of this type, including through a specialized compulsory training for all magistrates.” [3]

Sources:

1. US State Department, 2010 Human Rights Report Romania, Section 6, available at http://romania.usembassy.gov/2010_rhr_en.html (accessed on 14.02.2012)

2. National Council for Combating Discrimination, Report on the implementation of the race directive in Romania, p. 42, available at: http://www.cncd.org.ro/publicatii/Rapoarte-5/ (accessed on: 15.03.2012)

3. Romani CRISS, Newsletter January-April 2008, p. 4, available at: http://romanicriss.org/RCRISS%20newsletter%20ian-april08.pdf (accessed on: 15.03.2012)

The US State Department 2010 Romanian Country Report on Human Rights Practices clearly indicates three organizations as being "extremist organizations": New Right Organization, Professor George Manu Foundation and Party for the Nation. The report describes their activity as sponsoring events, including religious services, symposia, and marches, commemorating leaders of the pre-World War II era Legionnaire Movement, which "attracted small numbers of persons."

The report also states that: "During the year, the extremist press continued to publish anti-semitic articles. The New Right movement and similar organizations and associations continued to promote the ideas of the Iron Guard (an extreme nationalist, Anti-Semitic, pro-Nazi group that existed in the Country in the inter-War period) in the media and on the Internet. Organizations with extreme right-wing views also published inflammatory books from the inter-war period. " [1]

In 2011, the same report describes the situation along the same lines: “Extremist organizations occasionally held high-profile public events with anti-Semitic themes and continued to sponsor events, including religious services, symposia, and marches, commemorating leaders of the pre-World War II fascist Legionnaire Movement. Such events took place during the year in Bucharest and Piatra Neamt, where posters with former Legionnaire leader Corneliu Zelea Codreanu appeared in the streets. (….) During the year the extremist press continued to publish anti-Semitic articles. The New Right movement and similar organizations and associations continued to promote the ideas of the Iron Guard (an extreme nationalist, anti-Semitic, pro-Nazi group that existed in the country during the interwar period) in the media and on the Internet. Organizations with extreme right-wing views also republished inflammatory books from the interwar period.”[2]

NGO efforts to counter this type of initiatives had been rather ineffective, in part because the public authorities do not seem to share the same concerns. In 2006, the NGO Romani CRISS filed a petition against the website www.nouadreapta.ro for discriminatory articles against the Roma, with the National Council for Combating Discrimination (NCCD). The NCCD found discrimination and sanctioned the authors of the articles, but also the Organization New Right for posting the articles on its website. The NCCD found that through the articles in question "the persons belonging to the Roma minority are generically catalogued as violent, aggressive, illiterate, delinquents, etc., identifying the Roma community in its entirety with mafia clans, with prostitution, usurer activities, drug trafficking and other illicit and anti-social deeds, inciting to racial hatred". [3] This NCCD decision had limited impact on the offenders and the general public,  and authorities with a relevant madate did not undertake further visible and effective initiatives to raise awareness on the unlawfullness of such speech.  Moreover, the Prosecutor’s Office (attached to the Bucharest Tribunal) decided not to begin a criminal investigation against New Right and its President for breaches of the Government Emergency Ordinance No. 31/2002 on the ban of organizations with a fascist, racist or xenophobic character and the promotion of the cult of persons guilty of crimes against peace and humanity. The complaint introduced also by Romani CRISS was rejected on the reasoning that “the functioning of numerous organizations legally established, such as: The Legionary Movement, New Right, etc… and the existence of some publications which belong to these, constitutes a reality which cannot be ignored….”. Romani CRISS contested the decision and kept loosing and contesting until it exhausted all internal remedies, after which, in 2008, it brought the case before the European Court of Human Rights. Among its requests before the ECtHR, the NGO asked for “reparatory measures with a general character of a nature to lead to avoiding breaches of this type, including through a specialized compulsory training for all magistrates.” [4]

In June 2012, the Simon Wiesenthal Center Report on European extremist movements mentioned Noua Dreapta [New Right] as “a nonelectoral extremist movement modeled on Romania’s fascist Iron Guard. Strongly anti-Semitic, in ideology, it’s noted for violent demonstrations aimed at ethnic Hungarians, homosexuals, Gypsies”. [5] Recently, the New Right decided to form a political branch and register the Nationalist Party. According to its website, it has not yet been registered, while the representatives of New Right claim intentional delays. [6]

In January 2013 a group called the Autonomous Nationalists from Timişoara, apparently linked with similar movements in Europe (primarily Germany) but also with a very nationally inspired character from the inter-war period, [7] published on their blog that: “We offer a reward of 300 lei [around 65-70 euro] to every Gipsy woman from the area of Banat, who can prove that she voluntarily submitted to a sterilization surgery in 2013. If they cannot educate their offspring to no longer be a burden on the Romanian society, we offer to them GUARANTEED 300 lei for the voluntary sterilization surgery done in 2013.” The “Elie Wiesel” National Institute for the Study of Holocaust in Romania, the Roma Center for Social Intervention and Studies – Romani CRISS and the Center for Monitoring and Combating AntiSemitism in Romania – MCA Romania issued a press statement vehemently condemning the manifestations of this group, considering such manifestations fall under the criminal legislation and asking authorities to take legal measures for such posts to no longer be possible. Romani CRISS and MCA Romania said they would file a complaint with the Prosecutor’s Office. The statement also detailed the objectives of the group such as: “urgently solving the gypsy problem; conserving the racial genotype, the genetic patrimony inherited from our ancestors, as an integral part of our identity; dismantling the guilt cult connected to the so-called ‘holocaust’ which would have taken place in Trasnistria; putting a stop to teaching in public schools on the 'holocaust' until the objective clarification of that period; total opposition towards multiculturalism and mixing.”[8] After the statement of the NGOs and the Wiesel institute, the police, under the coordination of the Timişoara Prosecutor’s Office, according to the media, was conducting searches and questioning in the case. The blog was deleted as soon as the condemning statement appeared. [9]

1. US Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and labor, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, Romania, 2010, Section 6, available at: http://romania.usembassy.gov/2010_rhr_en.html (Date of access: 14.02.2012)

2. US Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, Romania, 2011,, available at: http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrightsreport/index.htm#wrapper (Date of access: 28.08.2012)

3. National Council for Combating Discrimination, Report on the implementation of the race directive in Romania, p. 42, available at:http://www.cncd.org.ro/publicatii/Rapoarte-5/ (Date of access: 15.03.2012)

4. Romani CRISS, Newsletter January-April 2008, p. 4, available at: http://romanicriss.org/RCRISS%20newsletter%20ian-april08.pdf (Date of access: 15.03.2012)

5. Dr. Harold Brackman, European Extremist Movements: Who’s Who and What’s What, a Simon Wiesenthal Center Report, June 2012, p. 14, available at: http://www.wiesenthal.com/atf/cf/%7B54d385e6-f1b9-4e9f-8e94-890c3e6dd277%7D/FINAL_REPORT_619_12.PDF (Date of access: 29.08.2012)

6. Nationalist Party, Tudor Ionescu: “Vom da de pamant cu toate acele partie antinationale si anticrestine cae au adus Romania in colaps [We shall throw to the ground all those anti-national and anti-Christian parties which have brought Romania into collapse]”, available at: http://partidulnationalist.ro/?p=50 (accessed at: 29.08.2012)

7. William Totok, “Cine sunt naţionaliştii autonomi din Timşoara?” [“Who are the autonomous nationalists from Timişoara?”], in RFI Romania, 14.01.2013, available at: http://www.rfi.ro/articol/stiri/politica/cine-sunt-nationalistii-autonomi-timisoara (accessed at: 27.01.2013)

8. The “Elie Wiesel” National Institute for the Study of Holocaust in Romania, the Roma Center for Social Intervention and Studies – Romani CRISS and the Center for Monitoring and Combating AntiSemitism in Romania – MCA Romania, Press statement. The sterilization of Roma women – a serious assault on the fundamental values of democracy, 10.01.2013, available at: http://www.romanicriss.org/PDF/Comunicat%20de%20presa%20sterilizarea%20femeilor%20rome.pdf (Accessed at: 27.01.2013)

9. Liliana Iedu, “Percheziţii în cazul naţionaliştilor ce au anunţat recompensă pentru femeile rome ce se sterilizează” (“Searches in the case of the nationalists who have announced a reward for the Roma women who get sterilized”), in Mediafax, 14.01.2013, available at: http://www.mediafax.ro/social/perchezitii-in-cazul-nationalistilor-ce-au-anuntat-recompensa-pentru-femeile-rome-ce-se-sterilizeaza-10460811 (Accessed at: 27.01.2013)