In a telephone interview on 5 December 1994, a representative of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) in Munich provided the following information. The majority of Moslems in Romania are Turks and Tartars who live in the Dobrudja region near the Black Sea. There is a smaller number of recently arrived Moslems from Turkey and the Middle East who tend to live in the larger cities. There is no state repression of Moslems, but they may be treated differently simply because they are different from the majority population. For additional information on the situation of Moslems and Turks in Romania, please consult Response to Information Request ROM19138.E of 15 December 1994.

In a telephone interview on 7 December 1994, a member of the Romanian Helsinki Committee in Bucharest stated that he had not heard of any particular problem facing Moslems in Romania, and he did not believe they were victims of state repression.

In a telephone interview on 7 December 1994, a professor emeritus of the School of Slavonic and European Studies of the University of London, provided the following information. The source stated that Moslems are not the victims of repression, although they are not popular in a land that is inhabited primarily by Christians. Small, isolated communities such as the Moslem one in Romania are always potentially at risk. An unknown number of Gypsies are also Moslem, although they are probably classified as Gypsies. The majority of the Arab Moslems in Bucharest are Christian Arabs.

For additional information on the situation of Turks and Moslems in Romania, please see the attachments.

This response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

Professor Emeritus, School of Slavonic and European Studies, University of London. 7 December 1994. Telephone interview.

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), Munich. 5 December 1994. Telephone interview with representative.

Romanian Helsinki Committee, Bucharest. 7 December 1994. Telephone interview with representative.

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) Research Institute. 24 June 1994. RFE/RL Research Report [Munich]. Vol. 3, No. 25. Michael Shafir. "Immigrants in Romania," pp. 41, 46.

Romanian Institute of International Studies. February 1993. Romania: National, Ethnic, Linguistic and Religious Minorities, pp. 1-2.