BRUSSELS, Sept. 30 (UPI) -- The expulsion of thousands of Roma from France signals "dangerous times" in Europe as the economic crisis lingers, the head of a European democracy group said.
"It's the same old story on this continent -- that when we have an economic crisis, minorities are the worst hit. And of course Roma people are suffering the most because the economic crisis also leads to growing intolerance, competition for jobs and welfare," Thorbjorn Jagland, secretary-general of the Council of Europe, the oldest intergovernmental organization promoting human rights and democracy in Europe, told EUobserver.
"These are quite dangerous times," he said.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who ordered 300 Roma camps in France dismantled and illegal Roma immigrants expelled, vowed two weeks ago to keep dismantling illegal immigrant camps and rejected complaints French authorities were racist and deliberately targeting Roma, also known as Gypsies, for deportation.
An Aug. 5 French Interior Ministry file leaked to the French press told regional police chiefs, "Three hundred camps or illegal settlements must be cleared within three months, Roma camps are a priority."
The European Commission first threatened to take France to court on anti-discrimination grounds but backed down Wednesday, instead giving Paris two weeks to comply with EU law on freedom of movement.
Jagland told EUobserver the Roma crisis, like all crises, could lead to "something positive," adding his organization would give legal aid to Roma if they wanted to defend their rights in court.
His council will also hold a pan-European meeting Oct. 20 to consider "measures improving the situation of Roma throughout Europe."
Authorities estimate some 15,000 ethnic Roma, out of an estimated 400,000 itinerants, live in France. Roma trace their origins to medieval India.
