Italian interior minister causes outrage over Roma census announcement

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Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini has reiterated his proposal that the country plans to carry out a census of its Roma population, rejecting critics who accused him of racism.

Salvini's proposal caused outrage among human rights activists and politicians in Italy and abroad.

Salvini, who is head of the far-right League, had commissioned "a dossier on the Roma situation in Italy" to see how many there are in this country. "Unfortunately we will have to keep the Italian Roma because we can’t expel them," Salvini told television station Telelombardia on Monday.

Salvini set off a storm in Europe last week when he refused to let a charity ship carrying more than 600 mainly African migrants dock in Italy.

Spain eventually took in the boat, with Salvini saying Italy would no longer automatically take in boat migrants, who have used Libya as a springboard in recent years to seek a richer, safer life in Europe.

A house is pictured at the "River Village" Roma camp, managed by the Onlus Isola Verde association, June 19, 2018, on the outskirts of Rome. /VCG Photo

Turning his attention to another group that has often been the target of League ire, Salvini said his ministry was looking at “the Roma question” and wanted to see “who, and how many” there were.

Tens of thousands of Roma, also known as “gypsies” and “nomads”, live across Italy, many in squalid shantytowns on the outskirts of major cities and on the fringes of society.

Salvini’s comments drew an immediate barrage of criticism, with the center-left Democratic Party (PD) saying his call revived memories of “ethnic cleansing”.

In a subsequent statement, Salvini said the government had no intention of setting up a separate archive for the Roma or taking finger prints, but wanted to protect Roma children who were barred from going to local schools by their parents.

(With inputs from Reuters)