Council says Romanian PM’s autism comment doesn’t constitute discrimination

The governing board of the National Council for Combating Discrimination (CNCD) decided on Monday, February 26, that prime minister Viorica Dancila made no discrimination when saying that those who “misinform the EU” are “autistic”. With a vote of 7-1, CNCD decided that Dancila expressed herself "within the limits of freedom of expression which doesn't constitute discrimination." The only vote against this decision belonged to CNCD president Asztalos Csaba, who wrote on his Facebook page that he is “not proud of the decision". He also said on Monday evening that he had a separate opinion given that Viorica Dancila is a public official and such statements made by public officials are negative signals in the society. “I considered that the prime minister’s statement exceeded the limits of freedom of expression given her quality of high official, but also that this expression was used in a pejorative manner and that it affects the human dignity of people affected by autism and the families of these people who are confronted with stigmatization of children. There is a hate speech in society, and this labeling, coming from a high official, is a negative signal,” the CNCD president said, according to local News.ro. He believes a minimum sanction, namely a warning, would have been a better decision in this case. Earlier this month, prime minister Dancila said in a TV show that those “who misinform the EU despite the fact that they know the truth” are “autistic”. The statement was immediately criticized by several local NGOs, and the PM apologized the next day. Irina Marica, irina.marica@romania-insider.com