Athens / Greece (RNN Coresspondent) 21.05.1998

A European body for Roma rights on Tuesday slammed Greece for treating its Roma in an inhuman and degrading manner, particularly regarding their education.

Dimitrina Petrova, director of the European Centre for Romany Rights, told at the end of a 10-day mission to Greece that the Roma "are not treated and do not live like humans, they exist outside society, their situation is totally unacceptable."

Non-governmental organisations (NGO) estimate that there are over 300,000 Roma in Greece, many of whom are itinerant.

Education for Greek Roma, of whom 80 percent are illiterate according to local NGOs, is at the root of many of their problems, Petrova noted.

"In this field, Greece is the worst country in east and central Europe," she said.

Petrova described as "stupefying" the poverty in which many Roma exist and the level of police violence to which they are subjected.

"In many regions, it seems routine to badly treat and subject arrested Roma to brutality," Petrova said, adding that these incidents were never taken up by the authorities.

Petrova, who is of Bulgarian descent, attacked local authorities which expelled Roma or drive them into insalubrious areas. They often refuse to register the Roma, depriving them of their civic rights.

Her report, due to be published in three months, will urge the Greek government to improve the status of Romanies in Greece.

The government in 1996 announced an ambitious plan for the social integration of Greek Roma. The plan, which was to implement schooling and health programmes, has remained a dead letter.