What the newspapers say: November 2, 2007

All Romanian newspapers on Friday discuss the case of the Romanian aggressor that shocked Rome on Wednesday, as well as the measures taken by the Italian government and the reactions of Romanian officials.

Even politics seem to have stopped for a while, although the official electoral campaign for the European Parliament has just begun.

„Barbarians who tear us from Europe”, is the headline in Evenimentul Zilei. The paper counts no less than 10 horrifying acts that contributed to the poor image Romanians now have in Europe.

„The crimes committed by Romanians led to imposing regulations on expelling citizens who commit crimes in Italy, even if they are EU citizens”, the paper concludes.

„This disaster will make them banish all of us”, a Roma ethnic complains to a Gandul reporter.

A few steps away, the mother of the aggressor says that „the boy was good until now. But his not in his right mind. When he was 15, the Police took him. I don’t know what they did to him, but he hammered a nail into his forehead and hung a towel on it, as he walked the streets. They didn’t even let him join the army”.

A report quoted by the same Gandul

informs that Mailat’s victim died on Thursday night. Meanwhile, Mailat claims he is innocent and that he just stole her purse”.

„Expelling from Italy means three years of restrictions”, Jurnalul National reads: citizens who are expelled for crimes on Italian soil won’t be able to return to Italy for a while.

„Italy hates us”, Cotidianul simply puts it. The paper also quotes Romania Prime Minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu, who thinks that the crime rate among Romanian immigrants in Italy would decrease if they could get a job.

Romanian Interior Minister Cristian David declared for Romania Libera that it may not be possible for Romania to prevent former convicts from leaving the country, given the right to free circulation.

The same paper publishes a wide article about the case, called: „Mailat from Avrig: the man who soiled an entire country”

To complete the picture, Romania and Italy sign the papers to repatriate a group of Romanian children abandoned by their parents in Italy or victims of human trafficking. All of them are forced to beg, steal of practice prostitution, in order to survive, Gandul reads.