Turkish prime minister pledges to ‘look after’ Roma people

ISTANBUL – Anadolu Agency / Cihan News Agency

AA Photo

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has pledged to look out for Roma people with an 11 article commitment during a meeting in Istanbul with representatives of the community.

“I will set up a mechanism in the Prime Ministry for if you are exposed to discrimination, and I will appoint a Roma brother as a consultant,” Davutoğlu said April 19, during a meeting at the Prime Ministry’s office at Dolmabahçe Palace in Istanbul’s Beşiktaş district.

“No community should be defamed because of their culture and social belongings,” Davutoğlu said, adding Roma people and all other communities in Turkey were brothers and there would be “no discrimination towards Roma people at all.”

Davutoğlu announced a commitment consisting of 11 articles, which covered issues from employment to education, from the preservation of the Roma culture to urban transformation and from the general health issues of the community to the Roma people living abroad. 

Commenting on the unemployment problem, Davutoğlu said the state had made vacancies for 120,000 people in total and they would spare 5,000 positions for the citizens of the Roma community. 

“We wish to see our Roma brothers at the highest ranks of society. They will be able to announce their identities proudly and be at the top positions of the civil service,” said Davutoğlu. 

Davutoğlu asked for the help of the Roma community representatives and opinion leaders in their fight against drugs, for which the government had recently launched an action plan. 

Roma Confederation head Ahmet Çokyaşar said solid initiatives were mentioned by the government in the struggle with the problems of the Roma community. 

“We believe that a much better Roma people policy will be implemented with the messages delivered by the prime minister,” Çokyaşar said.