Press Release

February 19, 2016
Cardin Welcomes Commemoration of the End of Slavery in Romania

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Special Representative on Anti-Semitism, Racism, and Intolerance for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Parliamentary Assembly, issued the following statement regarding the 160th anniversary of the emancipation of Roma slaves in Romanian.

 

 “On February 20, the Romanian Government will unveil a plaque at the Monastery of Tismana commemorating the end of slavery 160 years ago.  Unlike in the United States, slaves in Romania were not kidnapped and transported across an ocean.  Instead, those enslaved were Roma, a people that had settled in Romania by the 14th century. The enslavement of Roma in Romania has been unacknowledged for too long.  I commend the Government of Romania for taking this important step on a long journey.” 

 

 

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