Italy criticized for fingerprinting Gypsies
The European Parliament says the move is racist. The government says it wants to end 'the disgrace of nomad camps.'
ROME — Italy's controversial decision to fingerprint Gypsies as part of what it said was a crackdown on crime received a sharp rebuke Thursday from the European Parliament, which declared the campaign distinctly racist.
The Italian government knew it was courting criticism when it began rounding up and fingerprinting the oft-targeted minority known formally as the Roma. But Thursday's proclamation from Europe's chief elected body was an especially embarrassing blow to the 2-month-old right-wing administration of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.
Italy immediately said it would ignore the European Parliament's resolution.
"Our aim is to put an end to the disgrace of nomad camps," said Interior Minister Roberto Maroni, member of a small xenophobic party that is part of the ruling coalition. He was referring to the ramshackle settlements where thousands of Gypsy families live around major Italian cities.
Maroni and other senior Italian officials said they were attempting to fight the petty crime that is often associated with the Roma population and also improve conditions for young Roma children living in squalor. A package of tough security measures that the new government is pushing could remove children from the camps while expelling their parents from the country.
The measures immediately alarmed many in Europe because they seem to be targeting an ethnic group and the European Parliament on Thursday agreed to consider the policy.
The parliament's resolution, adopted by a 336-220 vote, urges the Italian authorities "to refrain from collecting fingerprints from Roma, including minors, as this would clearly constitute an act of discrimination based on race and ethnic origin."
Italy's political opposition and human rights groups across Europe welcomed the resolution, which, though not binding, highlights what they describe as the frighteningly discriminatory nature of the campaign.
"It's an important decision," said Italian Sen. Emma Bonino, a former European Union official with the opposition Radical Party. "We hope that this vote will help convince some mayors and the interior minister to change their minds."
An estimated 150,000 Roma live in Italy, most having come from Eastern Europe and nearly half of them considered homeless. A smaller number come from the former Yugoslavia. Some have lived in Italy for a generation.
