This line, "I respect the true Romanies, but these are just tinkers" is the modern equivalent of "some of my best friends are Jews but..", or "I'm not racially prejudiced but.."

Simply a cover for the last officially acceptable racism in Europe. A convenient crack for the neonazis to stick their skewdriver into.

dinavan:

"From what I understand, the gypsies of Romania were brought to Europe from Pakistan as slaves. "

That's simply tripe. For a start, Pakistan didn't exist until 1947. The Roma seem to have turned up in Europe in the early mediaval period. They may well have travelled from Northern India, but as far as anyone can tell it was under their own steam.

But it's absolutely true that they have suffered serious discrimination over the years, and that this is not only still going on but intensifying.