Romania watchdog slams president for "gypsy" slur

BUCHAREST, May 23 (Reuters) Romanian President Traian Basescu was criticised today by the country's anti-discrimination watchdog for referring to a television journalist as a ''stinking gypsy''.

The comments, made by Basescu during in a private conversation with his wife, which were then broadcast on television, were derogatory and amounted to ''discrimination''.

''We issue a warning to the president. We urge him to actively promote equality and human rights,'' said the watchdog's president Ferenc Asztalos. ''Using such wording has hurt the dignity of the Roma (Gypsy) community,'' he said.

Several human rights organisations and the Romanian press club also criticised Basescu, generally viewed as a popular reformist.

The remarks provoked outrage in Romania, home to one of the largest Roma communities in Europe, with unofficial estimates saying they represent five to 10 per cent of the 22 million population.

The president has apologised for the slur, made after an Antena 1 journalist approached him in a supermarket while he was shopping with his wife.

The reporter recorded a conversation with the president using her mobile phone, but in an altercation Basescu grabbed the device from her. The phone, which was later returned to the journalist, continued to record and picked up Basescu's comment.

Gypsies -- or Roma as they prefer to be known -- have a long history of being persecuted. During World War Two they were targeted by the Nazis. Although estimates vary it is thought several hundred thousand were murdered, many of them in concentration camps alongside millions of Jewish victims.

The slur was made on Saturday when the country voted in a national referendum to impeach the president. Three quarters of voters rejected parliament's proposal to dismiss him on grounds he had exceeded his authority.

The vast majority of Roma live in abject poverty and on the margins of society. Rights organisations say the state does not do enough to prevent discrimination.

REUTERS SLD BST2134