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Rajan Zed Lauds Vatican for Voicing Against Roma Crackdown in France

Hindu Statesman Rajan Zed applauds the Vatican and other Catholic leaders for reportedly speaking against the Roma (Gypsy) crackdown in France.

"It is a step in the right direction", Hindu statesman Rajan Zed said in a statement in Nevada (USA) today and added that other religious elite of Europe should also come out openly against the reported maltreatment of Roma communities in France, which smelled of xenophobia, racism, and intolerance.

Zed, who is President of the Universal Society of Hinduism, had stressed in the past that the conditions of Roma in Europe had most of the signs of "apartheid" and it was happening right under the Pope's nose and Zed had repeatedly appealed him to openly embrace the Roma cause and come up with a White Paper on their plight.

"Religions tell us to help the helpless and to have love and compassion for them. It is a sin to silently watch about 15 million Roma suffer day after day for the last 1200 years and not do anything about it. It is our moral obligation to make efforts to stop frequent human rights violations suffered by the Roma," Rajan Zed argued.

Zed pointed out that besides France, there were also reports of Roma deportations (or plans to deport) from Denmark, Germany, Sweden, Belgium, United Kingdom, etc.; despite their being Europeans also. It was even more disgusting to know that tens of thousands of European Roma were still reported stateless, thus denying them even basic human rights.

Europe's most persecuted and discriminated community, the Roma reportedly regularly encounter social exclusion, racism, substandard education, hostility, joblessness, rampant illness, inadequate housing, lower life expectancy, unrest, living on desperate margins, stereotypes, mistrust, rights violations, discrimination, marginalization, appalling living conditions, prejudice, human rights abuse, etc., Rajan Zed said.