PRESS RELEASE: Leaving Garmen families homeless is a racist campaign that breaches three international treaties ratified by Bulgaria

Taking into consideration the available media information about Roma families who used to live in four illegal buildings in the village of Garmen, Bulgaria that were demolished on 29 June 2015; taking into account that these families are now homeless with no provisions for alternative housing; and taking into account the public statement of the mayor of Garmen that the municipality cannot offer any available alternative housing, the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee (BHC) makes the following statement:

The demolition of the four buildings was executed under public pressure as a means for collective punishment for alleged illegal acts perpetrated by individuals living in Garmen. This was done without taking into account the individual situation of the people who lived in the buildings who in no way participated in the alleged incidents. This campaign grew with public racist anti-Roma rhetoric that was fuelled, among others, by media and political parties currently in parliament.

BHC publicly warned about the risks from the current situation on 27 May 2015 in a broadcast on Bulgaria On Air television. BHC has also warned in the past that demolishing the only homes of poor families who have lived in them for long periods of time and who were not provided with alternative housing – regardless of the formal illegal status of their current homes – amounts to a violation of the right to respect for private and family life and the right to housing. Despite this, the demolitions were executed.

Forced evictions of people from their only homes has been recognized as violation of international law in cases similar to the one in Garmen now. Three different international bodies have issued judgements against Bulgaria. These are the European Court of Human Rights in Yordanova and Others v. Bulgaria (application no. 25446/06), the UN Human Rights Committee in Naidenova et al. vs. Bulgaria (CCPR/C/106/D/2073/2011), and the European Committee of Social Rights in European Roma Rights Centre v. Bulgaria (complaint no. 31/2005). These three international bodies established violations of three international treaties ratified by Bulgaria.

It should be also noted that in the current case the measures against the illegal houses were selectively applied towards Roma inhabitants despite the fact that illegal building is not limited to Roma families. This is blatant case of racial discrimination perpetrated by the authorities irrespective of the ban on unequal treatment in the Constitution and international law. With these actions both the government and the municipality created premises for recurring breach of international law in other regions of Bulgaria, extending of the social problem and aggravating of the ethnic conflict. This also harms the international reputation of the country given that these actions will not remain unrecognized by the international community.

BHC calls for the immediate cease of the forced evictions of poor people from their only homes, as well as of any other populist actions of the authorities; taking emergency measures for providing homes to those who are already homeless, including the elderly, people with disabilities and children; taking specific measures to prevent the premises that led to the current situation in the village of Garmen.

BHC is considering the possibility of taking legal action in the current case on account of breach of international law.

Krassimir Kanev
Chairperson