The Support Team of the Special Representative of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe for Roma issues rejects without reservation comments made earlier this month by Lega Nord MEP Gianluca Buonanno, during the Italian TV show Piazza pulita broadcasted on La7.
MEP Buonanno indulged in hate speech against Roma and their representative during the programme, Ms Dijana Pavlovic, President of the Roma and Sinti Federation and National Project Officer for ROMED and ROMACT Joint Programmes of the European Commission and the Council of Europe.
Statements that he made including “Gypsies are the dregs of the society” hardly contribute to fostering useful dialogue in addressing Roma issues.