Information on whether the village of Valeni Lapusului is located in the area of Iasi, on the 1991 vigilante attack, and whether there were similar vigilante attacks in August 1992 elsewhere in the country [ROM16549.E]

According to a 28 September 1992 article in Libération, no new attacks have been recorded since the attacks of 1991 (28 Sept. 1992). The New York Times states that the village of Valeni la Posului is 250 miles northwest of Bucharest (12 June 1992.). For information on the location of Iasi relative to Bucharest, please refer to the attachment from Rumania's Ethnic Hungarians. For further information on the 1991 attack, please refer to the attached media reports.

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.

References


Libération [Paris]. 28 September 1992. Véronique Soulé. "Bucarest, sale temps pour les gitans."

The New York Times. 12 June 1992. Late Edition Final. Judith Ingram. "Gypsies' Plight: Mobs, Torture and Disputes." (NEXIS)

Attachments

Chicago Tribune. 18 June 1991. North Sports Final Edition. Judith Ingram. "Romanians Ostracize Gypsies: Rise in Inter-ethnic Violence Unchecked by Authorities." (NEXIS)

Inter Press Service. 24 November 1991. "United States: Gypsies in Romania Subject to Persecution." (NEXIS)

Libération [Paris]. 28 September 1992. Véronique Soulé. "Bucarest, sale temps pour les gitans."

Manchester Guardian Weekly. 11 October 1992. Chris Stephen. "Violent Homecoming Awaits Romanian Gypsies." (NEXIS)

Shopflen, George and Hugh Poulton. 1990. Romania's Ethnic Hungarians. London: Minority Rights Group.

The New York Times. 12 June 1992. Final Edition. Judith Ingram. "Gypsies' Plight: Mobs, Torture and Land Disputes." (NEXIS)

US News and World Report [New York]. 26 October 1992. Peter S. Green. "The Nomads of Eastern Europe." (NEXIS)