State Secretary of the Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government Stevan Gligorin strongly condemned the destruction of the billboard in Novi Sad, which was placed on the occasion of the Roma Holocaust Memorial Day and drawing of predominantly symbols of a neo-Nazi group.
“This act is an insult of Roma victims, the Roma who live in our country today and an act that insults Serbia. Celebrating the ideology in the country and among the people, who, along with Roma and Jews, have always been the target of the Nazis, is an alarm for our society,” said Gligorin, expressing confidence that the competent authorities would react instantly and identify the perpetrator.
He added that it was essential to expose this topic even more, in order to educate the society about one of the greatest crimes in the history of mankind and to prevent any repetition of such and similar atrocities in the future. According to him, only the improvement of the position of the Roma and their equal participation in all segments of social, cultural, political and economic life would lead to achieving the substantial improvements.
“The Government of the Republic of Serbia is committed to creating a social climate in which no one should experience threats due to their race, origin or other personal characteristics. The “Barvalipe” program organized at the National Academy of Public Administration of Serbia is intended for highly educated Roma with the aim of improving their professional competencies to work in administrative bodies. It is seen as another sign of efforts made by the state in its care for the Roma population and building an inclusive society” said Gligorin, adding that the Ministry is currently developing a program aimed at employing 100 Roma in the public administration bodies.