The Federal Government's Antiziganism Commissioner has denounced far-reaching discrimination against Sinti and Roma in Germany. "We have a racist distinction in the areas of police and justice, education, the housing market and social administration," said Commissioner Mehmet Daimaguler of the German Press Agency. The genocide of the National Socialists against the Sinti and Roma has not been dealt with either. That is why he is planning a truth and reconciliation commission for the coming year.

Daimaguler has held the newly created office since May. He spoke with Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier today before the ceremony marking the tenth anniversary of the Memorial to the Sinti and Roma of Europe who were murdered under National Socialism. It is very important for the Federal President to give a speech, said Daimaguler. "It can't just stay with the symbolic files."

From his point of view, the announced truth commission should dispel the myth that the starting point of the Nazi persecution of the Sinti and Roma was the alleged fight against crime. The reason was racism. "For me, there are no structural differences in the national-socialist madness, in cold-bloodedness and the industrial implementation of the genocide in the murder of Jews and Sinti and Roma by the National Socialists," said Daimaguler.

Daimaguler complains about "socially accepted" racism

During the Nazi era from 1933 to 1945, Sinti and Roma were systematically persecuted and around 500,000 members of the minority from all over Europe were murdered. This is commemorated by the memorial near the Reichstag building in Berlin, which was decided in 1992 and opened on October 24, 2012. According to estimates, around 70,000 to 150,000 Sinti and Roma live in Germany today.

The 54-year-old Daimaguler, son of Turkish immigrants, is a lawyer and was, among other things, a co-plaintiff in the trial against the neo-Nazi terrorist cell "National Socialist Underground" (NSU). He also represented Sinti and Roma in hundreds of cases of everyday discrimination, he told the dpa. His assessment: "Antiziganism is a largely socially accepted phenomenon and is not even recognized as racism."

To this day, a "soundtrack" accompanies everyday life, he said: "Sinti and Roma are allegedly criminal, antisocial, alien." Local politicians claimed that where there are Sinti and Roma, there are also rats. The community is being criminalized. "These racist stereotypes mean that people can never live with the same certainty as others do," said the federal commissioner.

Fight against antigypsyism

He added: "Fortunately, almost everyone is aware of how important the fight against anti-Semitism is. (...) In the fight against anti-Gypsyism, we have to start at a much lower level and sometimes demand very basic human rights." It is about the principle that human dignity is inviolable. "How can we live with the fact that many people in this country are being robbed of their dignity every day?" asked Daimaguler.

He cited the case of an 11-year-old boy who was taken away in handcuffs by police, but also everyday hostility. In Bonn, he himself witnessed how a man told a Rom from Romania: "Get the hell out of our country before I burn you."

In his new post, he will do everything to highlight the community's contribution to society. "There is no area that hasn't been influenced by Sinti and Roma, music, culture, business, Sinti and Roma have done their part everywhere for the prosperity of this country," said Daimaguler. "That's actually the best part of my job - showing that remarkable people do remarkable things. I look forward to that."