VEGA Demands from Mayor Iseini to Present His Position or Resign
“Vega” Humanitarian Organization from Skopje strongly opposes the idea of the local self-government in Suto Orizari Municipality to change the name of the “July 26” elementary school into “Arben Bajrami” Elementary.
„July 26 is an important date for our city. On the other hand, if the name is to change, and having in mind that the Roma are great majority of the total population in the Municipality, we propose that the school bears the name of Saban Jusuf, the author of the first Romani Language Grammar”, said Alemsa Durmis, VEGA President. VEGA objections regarding Arben Bajrami, the man who, as planned, is to give his name to the Suto Orizari elementary, are based on the fact that his only merit is that he was a member of the National Liberation Army (NLA) and ethnic Albanian. VEGA called on Erduan Iseini, the Mayor of Suto Orizari, and the Ministry of Science and Education to come out in public and present their views on the initiative to change the name of the school. „We are especially angry at Mayor Iseini, who didn’t even answer our repeated requests for information on his planned actions on this problem. If he won’t act, he should resign and leave the office to another person willing to protect the Roma human rights”, said Durmis. She says that they don’t want to be misunderstood and that they remain committed to the co-existence between all citizens of Suto Orizari, but that the change of the name could further diminish the already small number of Roma pupils. ”Already a great number of children have requested to be transferred to the other elementary school in Suto Orizari which, on the other hand, doesn’t have enough space and facilities to accept all the students”, says VEGA. VEGA appealed to all Roma NGOs and political parties to support their initiative, but has met little response. |
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