About a thousand people attacked settlements of Romani in the Selendi suburb of Manisa on the Aegean coast on Wednesday night (6 January). Tensions had started when a Romani person was told "No tea for gypsies" in a coffee shop on New Year's Eve. The tensions eventually turned into a fight in which houses, tents and vehicles of the Romani were torn down or set on fire; tables and windows were shattered. The attackers shouted slogans like "Selendi belongs to us and it will remain ours" and "We don't want Romani in Selendi".
Families living in the Romani neighbourhood were brought from Selendi to the district of Gördes to spend the rest of the night at the homes of other Romani families. A total of 74 people were taken to Gördes, among them 15 children and 20 women.
The police arrested several people. 69-year-old Romani Necdet Uçkun fell sick when his statement was taken at the police station. He was taken to the Selendi Public Hospital where he died of a heart attack.
"Displaced Romani do not want to return"
Akhisar Contemporary Romani Association President Erdoğan Şener talked to bianet after the racist attacks and said that not a single Romani stayed in the Selendi district any more. According to Şener, 18 Romani families with 76 people altogether are encamping in Gördes since Wednesday night (6 January) as victims of the racist attack.
Şener told bianet that the displaced Romani families refuse to return to the district despite Governor Celattin Güvenç's assurance "to ensure the safety of life". Şener explained, "Selendi is a small and rural town. Even if the safety of life is ensured, social life and work will be problematic. Life will not be easy".
The association president indicated that Manisa MP Hüseyin Tanrıverdi of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and governor Güvenç decided to put up prefabricated houses of the Red Crescent in the city of Salihli. At the same time, Akhisar Mayor Salih Hızlı stated, "If nobody accepts them, we open our doors to the Romani".
Education for the children
Şener underlined that the governor is sensitive about education of the children. As soon as the prefabricated houses will have been established, it will be taken care of the children's education, he said.
"District governor changed his attitude"
As reported by Şener, Demirci District Governor Yalçın Sezgin, representing also Gördes, agreed to provide food for the Romani people after he had initially been critical about their presence in the region.
Şener: Instigation for provocation
Association president Şener is preparing a report about the incident for the Romani Associations Federation, saying that discrimination against Romani people in Selendi had increased pursuant to so-called "Romani Workshops" organized by the government. Pronouncements such as "They should not come to our cafés, we will not serve them tea" were voiced. Even a perception like "The Kurds revolted, the Romani will revolt as well" was created according to Şener.
However, Şener points out, "We did not encounter such things in Akhisar. In my opinion, this was provoked by a small group of people, I think they were instigated. I do not believe that all the people of Selendi think this way".
The poorest of the poor
Şener described the town of Selendi with a population of 6,000 people as a poverty-stricken place with a high unemployment rate. The Romani people usually find temporary work as agricultural workers or make a living out of itinerate trade, scrap metal business or the cleaning of shoes. (TK/VK)
