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| Version 7 | Version 8 |
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| Merkel opens Roma Holocaust memorial in Berlin | Merkel opens Roma Holocaust memorial in Berlin |
| (about 13 hours later) | |
| German Chancellor Angela Merkel has opened a memorial in Berlin to Roma (Gypsy) Nazi Holocaust victims. | German Chancellor Angela Merkel has opened a memorial in Berlin to Roma (Gypsy) Nazi Holocaust victims. |
| The memorial - a circular pool of water with a small plinth in the middle - is in Tiergarten park, near the Reichstag, the German parliament building. | The memorial - a circular pool of water with a small plinth in the middle - is in Tiergarten park, near the Reichstag, the German parliament building. |
| The unveiling comes after years of delays and disputes over the memorial's design and its cost. | The unveiling comes after years of delays and disputes over the memorial's design and its cost. |
| Experts say between 220,000 and 500,000 members of the Roma and related Sinti people were killed during World War II. | Experts say between 220,000 and 500,000 members of the Roma and related Sinti people were killed during World War II. |
| President Joachim Gauck and some 100 elderly survivors joined Mrs Merkel at the opening ceremony. | President Joachim Gauck and some 100 elderly survivors joined Mrs Merkel at the opening ceremony. |
| They observed a two-minute silence around the pool as the triangular plinth was raised from below the surface with a flower on it. | They observed a two-minute silence around the pool as the triangular plinth was raised from below the surface with a flower on it. |
| Speaking just before, Mrs Merkel paid an emotional tribute to the victims. | Speaking just before, Mrs Merkel paid an emotional tribute to the victims. |
| "Every single fate in this genocide is a suffering beyond understanding. Every single fate fills me with sorrow and shame," she said. | "Every single fate in this genocide is a suffering beyond understanding. Every single fate fills me with sorrow and shame," she said. |
| It was important to remember so that such atrocities were not repeated, she added. | It was important to remember so that such atrocities were not repeated, she added. |
| "It is not only the responsibility of educational institutions, as important as they are, but it's our responsibility, it's the responsibility of each and every one of us, because in indifference, in a culture of 'it's not my business'... this is where the seed of contempt for human values starts growing." | "It is not only the responsibility of educational institutions, as important as they are, but it's our responsibility, it's the responsibility of each and every one of us, because in indifference, in a culture of 'it's not my business'... this is where the seed of contempt for human values starts growing." |
| Ongoing discrimination | Ongoing discrimination |
| The memorial has been designed by the Israeli artist Dani Karavan. A fresh flower will be laid on the plinth at the centre of the memorial every day. | The memorial has been designed by the Israeli artist Dani Karavan. A fresh flower will be laid on the plinth at the centre of the memorial every day. |
| Auschwitz by Italian poet Santino Spinelli is engraved around the pool's rim. | Auschwitz by Italian poet Santino Spinelli is engraved around the pool's rim. |
| A chronology of the Nazi extermination campaign stands next to the memorial. | A chronology of the Nazi extermination campaign stands next to the memorial. |
| In 1982, Germany officially recognised the genocide of the Roma and Sinti - a related people who live mostly in German-speaking areas of Central Europe. | In 1982, Germany officially recognised the genocide of the Roma and Sinti - a related people who live mostly in German-speaking areas of Central Europe. |
| The leader of the Central Council of Sinti and Roma in Germany, Romani Rose, was also at the ceremony. | The leader of the Central Council of Sinti and Roma in Germany, Romani Rose, was also at the ceremony. |
| He told Agence France-Presse: "Opening the memorial sends an important message to society that anti-Roma sentiment is as unacceptable as anti-Semitism." | He told Agence France-Presse: "Opening the memorial sends an important message to society that anti-Roma sentiment is as unacceptable as anti-Semitism." |
| However, Roma organisations and human rights groups say they are still discriminated against in many European countries. | However, Roma organisations and human rights groups say they are still discriminated against in many European countries. |
| German newspapers on Wednesday pointed out that Germany turns down asylum applications from Roma from Kosovo, and some accused Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich of unacceptable discrimination when he referred recently to "increasing abuse of asylum from countries in the Balkans". | German newspapers on Wednesday pointed out that Germany turns down asylum applications from Roma from Kosovo, and some accused Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich of unacceptable discrimination when he referred recently to "increasing abuse of asylum from countries in the Balkans". |
| A front-page commentary by Klaus Hillenbrand in Die Tageszeitung said: "It is, of course, nevertheless right for the chancellor and the president to turn the inauguration of the modest memorial into an act of state... Better decades too late than never." | A front-page commentary by Klaus Hillenbrand in Die Tageszeitung said: "It is, of course, nevertheless right for the chancellor and the president to turn the inauguration of the modest memorial into an act of state... Better decades too late than never." |
| However, in Berlin's Der Tagesspiegel, Gerrit Bartels says that, although the memorial "finally recognises the Nazi genocide of Europe's Sinti and Roma... it certainly does not show future generations of Sinti and Roma a way out of the dilemma between exclusion, separation and assimilation". | However, in Berlin's Der Tagesspiegel, Gerrit Bartels says that, although the memorial "finally recognises the Nazi genocide of Europe's Sinti and Roma... it certainly does not show future generations of Sinti and Roma a way out of the dilemma between exclusion, separation and assimilation". |