FROM POLITICS.HU

June 10, 2009, 9:15 CET
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Roma sociologist testifies before US Congress on ethnic strife in Hungary
By MTI
A Hungarian Roma sociologist whom the Helsinki Commission of the US Congress heard on Tuesday asked the United States to consistently condemn anti-Roma violence and hate speech, and help investigate racist crimes committed against the Roma in Hungary.

"We ask the United States to help us ... find the perpetrators of grave, racially motivated crimes," Katalin Barsony said.

The Helsinki Commission invited several Central European Roma experts to the hearing which discussed the recent rise in anti-Roma violence.

Attacks against Hungary's largest minority group, the Roma, estimated at 600-800,000, had increased recently. Over the past half a year five Roma people were killed in suspected racially motivated attacks. To date, however, none of the killers have been found