Gypsy civic leaders acknowledge internal divisions and a lack of organization that hinders attempts to mobilize a political force. Governments have sometimes responded to anti-Gypsy violence by cracking down on hate crimes. The Czech Republic, for instance, toughened sentencing for racist crimes following the May baseball-bat murder. Yet in most cases, perpetrators of anti-Gypsy violence have escaped prosecution. T he situation in Romania shows how difficult it is to bury anti-Gypsy attitudes.
Local observers say much of the tension has more to do with misperceptions than reality.
Many Romanians believe that Gypsies are vagrants. Romania has witnessed a fair share of anti-Gypsy attacks over the last five years, including cases where mobs torched entire sections of villages inhabited by Gypsies. Such acts, plus the fact that the country has the largest Gypsy minority in Central Europe, has prompted scrutiny by international human rights organizations. Romania gets a bad rap in the sense that the Gypsy problem is present throughout Central Europe, and Romania gets most of the blame,'' he says. Romanian President Ion Iliescu, in a written response to questions posed by the Monitor, expressed his frustration with international criticism.