JUNE 1997 Monitoring

by Christina Rougheri, Greek Helsinki Monitor and Minority Rights Group - Gr.

ABSTRACT

Skepticism and suspicion about the Macedonian minority. The negative reaction towards the unacceptable decrees for the legalization of the illegal immigrants was a welcome surprise. An extended discussion about the conscientious objectors and about religious liberties. Descriptions presenting a chaotic state in Albania; pessimism about the normal conduct of the elections. With respect to the incidents of violence in areas along the Greek-Albanian border an anti-Berisha climate and an intensified Albanophobia developed. In spite of the fact that the elections took place relatively calmly, the groundless scare-mongering and Albanophobia continued. In an interview the Bulgarian President Stoyanov expressed his support for the bilateral relations and the common European position of the two countries but, also, he described the tragic situation created by the presence of criminality in his country. An article also about the historical origins of the Bulgarians. A presentation of the internal problems of Macedonia with reference to the alleged role of the Turks. Moreover, an interview by President Gligorov, in which he proposed a conciliatory solution to the name issue, he challenged whichever "irredentist" interpretations of his politics and spoke moderately about minority issues: this did not discourage reactions inspired by an intense nationalism. Very few articles about Romania relating to the country’s economy. Anti-Milosevism and comparisons between Serbia and Croatia. References and criticisms about the lack of liberty and the violation of human rights. Several anti-Turkish comments. A confirmation of the well-known tendencies. Emphasis was placed on the problems of democratization, its internal problems, on the presentation of a "barbarian" Turkey in contrast to a "highly civilized" Greece. Implications about "Turkish incitement" wherever that is possible. To put it bluntly: "Behind everything in the Balkans can be found the Turks".

Internal Minorities

A number of articles which appeared this month concerning the minorities in Greece (the minority of Thrace in particular) proved how much the media, when supposed to inform the Greek public, conform with the positions expressed by every Greek government on these matters. All forms of action taken by the Turkish minority are affronted with a large dose of suspicion and skepticism. In fact no Greek newspaper accepts the term "Turkish" (minority), and when it is used by members of the minority, it is always written in brackets and it is followed by several comments, ranging from neutral to openly negative ones. Manifestations organized at the initiative of the minority were characterized as being anti-Hellenic and were imputed to the "spies" of Ankara and Turkophiles who work in favor of Turkey’s interests. This month in particular we observed an increase in the number of articles which were dedicated to the minority. "While the spies of Ankara run around Greek Thrace freely and continuously come out with newspapers - even anti-Hellenic ones - the Turks of Constantinople hide and hamper the circulation (now four paged) of the Greek newspapers ‘Apogevmatini’ and ‘Echo’, which used to be very popular in the past." (A.T. 4/6). "The situation in Thrace is beyond control. All the interest of government officials wears out in words while the Turks work intensely for direct developments. The spies, the well known MIT (who are not that secret) do whatever they want; they have gone as far as organizing a fund raising for the …Turkish army. What will be their next initiative? The creation of an open Muslim university which will be controlled by Ankara and will serve the objectives of Turkish expansionism." (E.T. 11/6).

In relation to the initiatives taken by the deputy of Synaspismos (a party of the Left), M. Moustafa, about the abolition of Article 19 of the Greek Identity Code, A.T. (15/6) arguing against the abolition commented: "Don’t forget that besides the Muslim hirelings, some Skopjan hirelings come in the same category as well. Mr. Mustafa better let go of the little tricks." The presence of three Turkish deputies at the trial of what the Greek authorities characterized as urban planning illegalities on the erection of a mosque at Kimmeria was presented negatively by all Greek newspapers. A.T. (5/6) referred to the event as a "provocation" and at the same time condemned their declarations about a Turkish minority in Thrace and about the violation of the minority’s rights by the Greek authorities.

In accordance with the paradigm of all Greek governments (and with the contribution of the media), the exclusion of the minority from activities of the political and social life continued. El. (17/6) referred to the denunciation made by the minority’s representatives in respect to the forthcoming law concerning the project of unification of the municipalities and the communities. "They are outraged at the fact that the minority’s propositions have not been taken into account, since they had no representative at the Municipal Committee which examined the draft of law, and, at the same time, they were not even asked about their opinion." The denouncers esteem that the draft intended "the total exclusion of the minority, since there is no other explanation of the fact that out of the seven municipalities included in the draft, only in two of them the mayor can be elected from the minority." El. was the only newspaper which presented this issue. At times, the other newspapers included the objections of all of the organizations which reacted against the new law, except (and this is indicative) of the minority’s representatives.

The attitude of the Greek press can be seen in its coverage of the yearly reports by Amnesty International (AI) and the International Helsinki Federation (IHF). Almost all of them presented references to the conclusions made by the organizations about the whole world and particularly about Turkey, but not about Greece. Only three newspapers went on presenting the situation in Greece as described by the AI report, selecting some of the issues discussed by the international organization and making them public [Ex., El., A.T., (19/6)]. Ex. covered the largest part of the report, with an emphasis on conscientious objectors. No reference was made to the Kalomiris affair (Kalomiris is accused, according to the judgment of the Greek authorities, for establishing and illegally operating a Buddhist house of worship) and to the trials of Tsaknias, the Macedonian minority priest. El. covered the report at length, except for the Tsaknias’ trial, thus indirectly avoiding to take a stand on the sensitive issue of a Macedonian minority in Greece. The presentation of the report made by A.T. (19/6) was characteristic of the well-known position which combats and challenges any international report that is negative on Greece, and more so, contrasts Turkey to Greece. " Greece - ‘a black sheep’; Turkey - just ‘a lamb’! The organization discovered …tortures in our country and turned its back to the shames of Ankara." The fact that the report includes Greece was considered "strange", while the organization’s judgment as to what is "violation of human rights" was discussed with a great deal of irony. In this case again the whole report was covered with the exception of the Tsaknias’ trial.

The IHF report was presented in a similar way. On the 20/6 three newspapers presented the conclusions about the violations that are observed internationally and particularly in Turkey. "Tortures are systematic in Turkey" (A.T. 20/6), "An inhuman country" [of course, this refers to Turkey] (Ap. 20/6). On the next day, 21/6, only two newspapers presented the conclusions concerning Greece. Ex. again emphasized the issue of violations of religious freedom. Apart from that it generally referred to "the diminished possibilities for minorities like the Gypsies, the Turks and the ‘Macedonians’ to express themselves." El. undertook a more detailed presentation of the report, focalizing its interest mostly on the minority issues and secondarily on the religious ones.

We had also two articles concerning the publication of the "first" Pomak spelling book, a product of a private initiative and not of the Greek government. In fact it has been written by ordinary school teachers who used the Greek, instead of the Cyrillic alphabet for this Bulgarian dialect. The event was welcomed by the Greek press and by political leaders. Among the latter was a Conservative party MP, V. Tsouderou, who has made particularly negative declarations about the minority in Thrace in the past. (A.T. 16/2) The motives behind the approbation of this initiative are not due to a sincere interest for the Pomaks, but rather to the attempt to cut them off from the Turkish minority. In fact El. (13/6) vaunted "the courage of the two young Pomaks who, ignoring the tremendous pressures made by chauvinistic circles of the minority in Thrace who are led by Ankara, completed their mission with great difficulty."

Expressing a similar attitude, a letter from the Association of the Imvrians, the Constantinopolitans, the Tenedians, and the Eastern Thracians, (E.T. 7/6), criticized the majority of the Greek mass media and the journalists because in their programs on Thrace "they usually interview fanatic Muslim Turkophiles, and the cameras shoot pictures of mosques, minarets and moments from the life of the Muslim minority." The Association argued that "the presentation of scenes from the cultural reality of Greek Thrace, going as far back as the ancient times, does not concern this type of ‘researchers’, since similar subjects do not ‘sell.’"

More stereotypes. "Criminality comes as a result of what? It comes as a result of the caravans of illegal immigrants who have overflowed Northern Greece. Drugs, arms, prostitution, stolen vehicles, thefts, hold-ups - all these are daily activities for the illegal immigrants, who have in fact created bands which collaborate with circuits in Albania and Bulgaria" (Ap. 10/6). Albanians’ contribution to the increase of criminality in Greece appeared very often in the Greek media. "Policemen request the amelioration of police action due to the headlong increase of criminality which in the last years comes from Albania. They also request that the state moves towards the issue of legalization of foreigners at a careful pace, so that, among other things, it does not end up producing a new generation of illegal immigrants or creating immigrant communities" (E.T. 13/6)

A pleasant surprise was the coverage given by the media to the government’s announcement of the Presidential decrees about the legalization of 450,000 (according to governmental estimates) illegal immigrants. It became evident that the government had withdrawn from its original declarations, since immigrants coming from the "neighboring countries" were excluded from the process of legalization. This affects particularly the Albanians who constitute the majority. The newspapers (even those which usually express ‘Albanophobe" tendencies) which did not degrade the issue (on 28/6) claimed that the decrees "perpetuate the problem of illegal immigration" (A.T.). Other papers also presented the announcement made by the Synaspismos party which called the decrees "racist." Almost all of the press underlined that the backing out - which the government "at first tried to ‘hide’ and then to undermine" (E.T.) - is due to "a veto [of the Minister of Interior Al. Papadopoulos]. The same minister appears to have been the one who declared at the Ministers’ reunion that ‘with these adjustments instead of an Albanian minority in Albania we will create an Albanian minority in Thrace.’" This is why the newspaper commented in the following way: "the hundreds of thousands of economic immigrants coming from the neighboring countries could be an ‘advantage’ at the table of intergovernmental negotiations concerning the Greek government’s policies on the Balkans" (Eth.). Nevertheless, on the next day (29/6) E.T. "returned" to the usual scare-mongering and in a leading article agreed with the exception, which it considered "a measure of rudimentary social defense. In fact we argue that the government ought to generalize this measure in order that it deters the dissolution of the problematic labor market from massive illegal immigration. (…) The tolerance or the encouragement to a peaceful invasion by hundreds of wretched foreigners in our country gives rise to social tensions that facilitate the development of racist phenomena."

This month most of the articles which were dedicated to the Roma dealt with their involvement in an affair of selling of babies (the issue even became a first page subject, N. (6/6), reproducing in most newspapers the well-known negative stereotypes). Another subject which was also discussed had to do with the tent-dwellers of Evosmos [only three newspapers - El., Ex., and A.T. (11 &12/6) - presented this information]. Lastly, we had occasional presentations on the first six days of the Cultural Festival (the largest in numbers minority living in Greece), which did not even have a symbolic coverage either in the press or on TV. Also, no politician was present during the Festival with the exception of a nationalist deputy from the New Democracy party (the Conservative party). We must point out here that press coverage, but also the presence of officials at similar festivals of local and cultural associations of Vlachs, Pontics, and Sarakatsans, is particularly impressive.

With respect to religious freedom, the articles dealing with the conscientious objectors were numerous due to the voting of a bill by the Greek parliament which foresees an alternative service outside the army (augmented by 18 months in relation to the simple service). Several negative responses were observed (coming particularly from the conservative press, which follows the policy of the New Democracy party on this subject). Among the arguments which the conservative press raised was that of the Turkish threat and aggressiveness, while the conscientious objectors were presented as "lodgers of organizations" (representing foreign interests) (E.T. 6/6) and "constitutional hookies" (B. 9/6). "Nevertheless that the European Court condemned Greece on at least two cases concerning Jehovah’s Witnesses who had refused to serve their military service to the fatherland, it does not mean that Greece will give in to these methods. At no circumstance should our country give in to such pressures and blackmailing. Whoever refuses to serve to the fatherland - against all other young Greeks who wear the uniform - has no place in Greek society. And, instead of imprisoning them, we should rather refuse issuing them passports, identity cards and any other official documents! This is enough!" (A.T. 11/6)

El. (25/6) in its presentation of Fred Reed’s book "Salonica Terminus", presented among other things, the opinion of the Greek businessmen of Salonica, I. Boutaris, who recognizes that there is an almost complete absence of monuments dedicated to the catastrophe that the Jewish community of Salonica underwent during the war. He argued: "The greatest shame surely lies in the reasons presented by the academic community in order to justify why a Jewish monument has not been erected in the university area (the same place where the old Jewish cemetery used to be). They said that an erection of a monument there would be an indirect support to …demands for the restoration of the area to the Jews!"

On (117/6) El. published a particularly ethnocentric article concerning the propagation and the proliferation of the Greek language in the Balkans. This appears certainly surprising coming from a newspaper which usually deals very carefully with similar matters. The article has the title: "Greek: The international [sic] language of the Balkans?" Besides Albania, Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia and "Skopje", the article also refers to Georgia, Armenia, Ukraine, Moldova and Russia. A factitious picture was given as to the number of persons in the different groups living in these countries who speak Greek and have a Greek consciousness. The numbers and the vocabulary that is used reflects the positions and the opinions which from time to time have been expressed by the Greek nationalistic circles. Particularly in respect to Albania it was argued that "the Albanian consciousness in the North is not developed, because from the Tepeleni zone downwards most people speak Greek." It was even held that "there are Albanophones in the South who have a Greek consciousness." It is estimated that "besides the Epirotes of the North there are about 200,000 Vlachophones, concentrated mostly in Northern Albania (the areas of Korce and Vlore) who incline towards Greece and who wish to learn the Greek language." This number is more likely exaggerated, so is the number of the Greeks whom they referred to (200,000). With respect to Bulgaria it was argued that "The Greeks of Bulgaria are either from Eastern Romalia and live along the Black Sea coast - Varna, Pirgo, Mesimbria, Sozopoly etc. - or Sarakatsans. (…) The former speak the Greek language, have a Greek consciousness and their number is as high as 35,000 (…), while the latter are 15,000, speak very well the Greek language but only 10-20% of them know how to write the language." It was also pointed out that "the Bulgarians of Greek origin are many more and that those who have a Greek consciousness and speak Greek well are as many as 50,000." Concerning Serbia, it was stated that "the civil war between the countries of ex-Yugoslavia pushed a lot of Serbs to come to Greece." As for Romania, it was conjectured that "the native inhabitants who have a Greek consciousness and speak Greek are about 15,000." Lastly, as regards "Skopje", the number of the "Vlachophones, most of whom know the Greek language" was estimated around 120,000 people, while that of the Sarakatsanoi - about 700, "since some 4,000 of them were thrown out during the period between 1963-1968, because they were considered a group which cannot be assimilated so they settled in Neo Kordelio in Salonica." It was also estimated that "50,000-60,000 political refugees who are Orthodox also speak the Greek language."

"Chaos is a lenient characterization. Even chaos has certain limits. Here nothing is sustainable. The Albanian officials don’t hide their wish to stop this misfortune, and that another … country attends to their country. They should divide the responsibility between Italy and Greece so that they feel a little bit like a state!" (El. 1/6). In the last months the above picture has prevailed in the majority of the articles concerning the social and political situation in Albania. The description of the situation becomes even more dramatic when it concerns instances of violence on the territory of Greece involving Albanians. "The uncontrollable situation which dominates encourages illegal activities by the Mafiosi and as a consequence the triangle Corfu-Thesprotia-Albania has become the field of criminality" ( Ex. 11/6). "The Albanian Mafiosi brazenness has no limits. Yesterday morning two armed Albanians spread panic while they raided on a hotel in Corfu" (E.T. 13/6). However, El. (23/6) was the only paper to present a different side of the issue. "The conclusion drawn from the information provided by the competent authorities is that the activities attributed to the so called ‘Albanian Mafia’ - dealing with drugs, Kalashnikof machine guns, holdups and kidnappings - unfortunately are activities organized and coordinated by Greeks."

The climate created by all this and the talk about an Albanian Mafia are also related to the eventual effects it may have upon the tourist industry in this area. In fact, some articles openly talked of an involvement of Turks in the whole matter. "The tourists who saw their hotel becoming a target of the Albanians’ machine guns (those Albanians have been possibly solicited by Turks and Italians), and whom our ‘strong’ and ‘effective’ state proves to be unable to protect, will never come back to Corfu. We have become a ‘fenceless grapevine’ so that every bastard comes into and goes out of the country unhindered through ‘the well guarded borders’" (Ap. 14/6).

Most often the Greek press tends to relate the presence of political instability and cases of violence in Albania to the Greek minority there and to the forthcoming elections. Also, in this case, there was much talk about the contribution of the Turkish factor towards the destabilization of the neighboring country. "The course to the elections in Albania is set against a new probation since in the last days the explosion of violence has invoked doubts as to their normal conduct. At the same time Turkey is trying to take advantage of the situation and to put the country under its tutelage by making promises which do not cost anything" (E.T. 13/6). "The impression that the present situation brings the same degree of suffering to all Albanians is incorrect. Together with the overall uncontrollable violence, one also observes the employment of violence especially against the Greek minority. Epirotes from the North find themselves de facto in a weakened position since they do not have the protective ‘umbrella’ of a clan such as the Muslims." (Ex. 20/6)

The press did not hide its pessimism as to the peaceful outcome of the elections. ("Elections in chaos" (N. 28/6), "The polls produce civil war" (A.T. 28/6). "Albania’s problem most likely will not be resolved through the elections" (K. 28/6). "The political climate which has developed just before the elections is a real disgrace to the liberal democratic West. The Albanian ‘model’ today is composed of the Socialist (the ex-Communists) who present themselves as …liberators, of the Right of the impostor Berisha which has strong fascist tendencies and of the armed Mafiosi who control a third of the country" (E.T. 28/6). In N. (27/6) Misha Glenny, expressing his reservations about the practical outcome of the elections, characterized Albania as "A fertile pasture for death." "In the midst of this atmosphere of fright, the idea that Sunday’s elections could be either free or just is absurd." "The possibilities for carrying out the elections in Albania are exceptionally ominous. Only two days before the opening of the polls the atmosphere remains explosive: 60% of the country remains beyond any control; the police are unable to react; the international observers are worried about their security; the operations of intimidation of the Greek minority have gone upright with yesterday’s abduction of the ex-president of ‘Omonia’" (Ap. 27/6).

With respect to the Greek minority and the elections the Greek press underlined that "the minority is at the mercy of gangs" (Ap. 28/6). "Whatever the outcome of the Albanian elections would be, one thing is certain, namely that the influence of the Greek minority in Albania will continue to deteriorate. Against the background of the Turkophile Berisha supporters, the traditionally bad relations which the Albanian Socialists have with Greece and the hatred against the minority fostered by the lawless of the North, the optimistic prospects are rather meagre" (E.T. 27/6). We observed also a generalized nationalistic explosion of the top-ranking writer Antonis Samarakis: "Where are the 300,000 inhabitants of Northern Epirus? We have lost Northern Epirus and we are [still] sleeping" (Ap. 28/6)

Regardless of the interpretations preceding the elections, a certain part of the press insisted that eventually they were conducted almost without any problems. The comment which follows concerns also the newspapers: "The successive ‘war’ reports spread panic to the fellow-Greeks who struggle to rest in their homes (…) the televised coverage with war scenes and shooting Kalashnikof; the acute reports which had the air of a generalized worry; the well selected words producing intimidation, and the mobilization of cliches that cause panic… the only thing they do not do is inform Albania or Greece" (Eth. 30/6) A characteristic example of this exaggeration was the coverage, few days before the elections, of the kidnapping of a leading member of Omonia, Th. Bezanis. The story carried an air of mystery since there was complete silence about his liberation, which was realized without even acquiescing to the alleged demands made by his abductors, that is, paying a ransom or imposing the withdrawal of his daughter’s candidacy from the elections.

Therefore, on the 29/6 when the newspapers did not present the victory of the socialists they competed as to which one of them would produce the most pessimistic and the most scare-mongering title, especially about the minority. "The polls were painted with blood" (A.T.). "Epirotes from the North: from oppression to terrorism" (Ap.) Two other short articles were suggestive of the prevalent Albanophobia since the identity of the criminals was only speculated on: "The Albanian Mafiosi plunder" or "Terror from Albanian criminals in a hotel in Faliro". "Unpredictable - maybe even dramatic - developments in Albania are pending" and "The Epirotes from the North write a tragic serial with their blood" (E.T.). "The minority: first test for Nano" (Ex.). "The assassination [of the guard of the Greek consulate in Gjirokastra] worsens the already bad climate. Athens takes steps and is ready to act in respect to Albania. Athens on the alert awaiting for the post-electoral developments in Albania." (N.) "The low comedy of the Albanian elections" (El.).

Nevertheless, we also found some comments full of sympathy and solidarity towards the Albanians. "No, Albanians are not only characterized by despair, wretchedness, violence, opportunism and corruption. They are also characterized, like all other people in the world, by patience, trust, innocence, goodness. The mere recognition of the fact that the belonging to a particular race does not provide a social identity could attack and disarm our xenophobia" (K. 6/5). "Yesterday in Keratea a 70-year-old man, a real monster, forced himself upon and raped a 10-year-old girl … However, there was not much talk about it. That is because the girl was an Albanian and her family was working for that 70-year-old monster. What the hell …We are not in a hurry. She is only an Albanian. Look at the Italians who drown them in the Adriatic sea. The Greek only raped her …" (A.T. 4/6)

Bulgaria and the Bulgarians

The interview given by President Stoyanov (B. 29/6) can be singled out. The Bulgarian leader believes that Bulgarians and Greeks are "condemned to live together, not only as neighbors, but also as friends. (…) Bulgaria like Greece belongs geographically, culturally and politically to Europe." He also spoke frankly about criminality and its inhibitory influence on the reforms. "Our attention is not only directed to ‘everyday’ crimes. I would say that our effort concentrates on ‘white collar’ crimes." He analyzed the role played by the so called "groups/holdings" which play the leading part in organized crime, and, as he implied, are even stronger than the state.

An article in Ap. (22/6) referred to the origins of the Bulgarians. "A Turkophone people, of Touranic descent, originally called Onogouri Bulgarians (First Bulgarians [Protovoulgari]). They are of Asian origin, originating from the lake of Baikal in Mongolia, fellow countrymen of the Huns, the Hungarians, the Turks etc. With the invasion of the Slavini (Slavs), the Bulgarians became Slavs and later on through their contact with Byzantium, they were Christianized. Today’s Bulgarians are exactly the progeny of this admixture. Besides, the word BULGA means mixture in Turkish. Byzantium recognized their state, but they remained a barbaric, uncivilized and dangerous people for the Empire’s borders."

In a long interview President Gligorov (B. 29/6) pointed out that "it is in Greece’s interest that Macedonia exists as an independent state. (…) The Macedonian people which is one of the oldest ones in the Balkans must obtain its own state." The submission of Macedonia to Serbia led to "a process during which the Macedonian ethnic identity was lost and everyone carries its consequences inside him/her." This is why "for us ‘the name’ is our identity." If the name is changed "there will be interference on the part of the Bulgarian and the Serbian propaganda (…) there will be a Balkan conflict as to what will become of Macedonia." He underlined that on their part there is no intention of monopolizing the name and he recognizes that "geographically the largest part of Macedonia belongs to Greece." Finally he suggested that Greece call his country as she wishes but she should not prevent the international use of its name "Republic of Macedonia", a "respectable" solution for both parties to the conflict. Concerning the two people he said that "our people and the Greek people are not separated by anything. In any case we have the same faith, the same religion, the same customs. We also have a similar temperament, because we belong to the wider Mediterranean race. And there is no reason for developing hatred and lack of tolerance amongst the people." Lastly, referring to the minorities, he pointed out that his country will not "encourage the organization of individuals who live in Greece and consider themselves Macedonians." He suggested that the Albanians living in Macedonia are much better off than those living in Albania and that they never had to fight one another.

The interview, as was to be expected, produced the anticipated reactions (30/6). PASOK MP St. Papathemelis declared that "the Skopjan President scoffs at us and pokes fun on us when he says that he permits us to call his country whatever we want" (Ap.). The President of Political Spring Ant. Samaras spoke about "a secret disgraceful agreement between Athens-Skopje" about the name (N.). "If we accept the solution on the name issue, we will be ridiculed internationally" (A.T.). All this culminated in the following comment: "Mr. Gligorov - a dangerous nationalist. Kiro Gligorov’s interview is characterized as astute and low key. It deifies hypocrisy and deceit. (…) An explosive mixture of covert nationalism, savage simplifications, provocative hypocrisy and a ridiculous interpretation of history. The fact that the leader of the neighboring country is perspicacious and well composed - therefore he knows how to lie and to distort history shamelessly - makes him the worst one from the purest VMRO supporters. At least they are not pretending" (El.).

A first page article in Eth. (5/6) covered Macedonia’s internal problems due to the intense climate which prevails in the relations between Macedonians and Albanians, especially in the cities where the latter are the majority. The title on the first page can mislead (intentionally) the Greek reader since there is talk only about hoisting of the "Turkish flags in Skopje" and nothing about the Albanian one, the one which is the major cause for the problem. Only by reading the whole article can one compose a clear picture of the situation.

Romania and the Romanians

During this month the few articles in the Greek press about Romania dealt with the country’s economic problems. "In spite of the fact that the economy is closed in upon the past, hopes are not lost. Romania’s Prime Minister, B. Ciorbea, is determined to realize within 200 days what had not happened during the seven years of the Iliescu government" (K. 15/6). "A demonstration against the government’s decision to cut down on salaries and to reduce employment posts in the country’s hospitals and schools, was undertaken by 3,000 workers who blocked the center of Bucharest." (Ex. 10/6)

"Not long ago the Yugoslav government has started an initiative to invigorate its economy, which seems to be in a ‘coma’ since the war years" (Ex. 5/6). The country’s political and economic problems were the issues of the few articles on Yugoslavia found in the Greek press in June. "Milosevic is fighting against the waves of mobilization by an indignant people that is desperate. The other day the pensioners (this hard core voters of the Socialists) also took to the streets to protest. University professors received in May their March salaries. Doctors have been on strike for almost a month now. Industrial workers are a boiling caldron, while school teachers are dying from hunger" (El. 15/6).

An article in EL. (24/6) compared the political situation in Serbia with the one in Croatia. "It appears that these two countries will constitute two pockets of authoritarianism in Eastern Europe and the Balkans, which will be preserved due to peripheral and international geopolitical expedience. In that way the two countries and their leaders who have played major roles in the Yugoslav crisis rest on the margin of developments and in disharmony with the political changes which took place not only in Central Europe, but also in the neighboring Balkan countries. It appears that Serbia and Croatia will constitute discordant regimes in the post Cold-War Europe (…) The authoritarian regimes of Tudjman and Milosevic can at any moment choose to go ahead, in other words, to light up new nationalist antagonisms as an ultimate solution to a new extenuation of their regimes’ life (…) hence constituting a serious threat to the fragile state of things as it has developed in the region after November 1995."

Ap. (19/6) strongly criticized the Greek government on the problems it creates to Greek tourism due to the fee Serbian citizens have to pay and to the manner by which they can obtain a visa if they want to visit Greece. The main argument that the newspapers evoked was that of the Yugoslav tourists turning towards Turkey, because "we make their life impossible in order to provide them with a visa."

A.T. (19/6) in an article on the report by Amnesty International, commented also on the organizations’ conclusion concerning the situation in Yugoslavia. "Tortures and arbitrary police action are still practiced, the main victims being the Albanians of Kosovo. In six months nine Serbs have been killed, five of them policemen, and the authorities responded with massive arbitrary arrests."

Turkey and the Turks

"Who are these barbarians who still dare threaten us, insult us, while we here dance tsiftetelia and karsilamades [Oriental dances]? As you can guess, we are speaking about our bad neighbors - the Turks. (…) No matter how much the Turks are attacked today and what a inferiority complex they have because of their Mongol origin, there is nothing they can do to change things. (…) The Turks anthropologically and linguistically are completely foreign to the European models, that is, to the Greek or the Latin in the Southern and Eastern part of Europe and the Celtic one in the Central and Western part of Europe. (…) How can it be possible today that the Turks claim Greek islands and we hold the position of a defeatist reader of schoolbooks. We should have claimed Constantinople, Troy, Attalia, Smyrna, Trapezounda and all of the ancient Greek region of Pontos. (…) The uncivilized barbaric Turks can not become friends; once again our Western European partners will recur to the defenders of the borderlands (akrites) in order to take out the snake from the hole" (Ap. 1/6)

In the context of similar analyses one can find comparisons between Turkish barbarism and what is considered by some the barbarism of the pro-European Greek spirit. "The Greeks in their history of more than 3,000 years have protected Europe and the whole Western civilization from the hordes of the uncivilized barbarians and the Eastern peoples." (Ap. 8/6). Moreover, in light of the recent declarations made by Oymen during his visit in Athens, a journalist of Ap. (1/6) went into comments and comparisons concerning the way in which either country deals with its minorities. "Who has not heard the provocative statements made by Oymen that Turkey wants ‘the Turkish minority of Thrace’ - as he referred to it - ‘to enjoy the same treatment as that provided to the Greeks of Constantinople’. The savage! The Greek community of Constantinople has been exterminated, driven out, plundered. If we were to do the same thing, no Muslim would have been left in Thrace! But we respect the rights of minorities (…) We do so because we are a civilized people and a European people…"

The Greek press continued to present a Turkey with an antidemocratic profile. A country which ignores International Law and violates the legal rights of its citizens, as well as those of its neighbors, (Greece among them), thus constantly creating problems (often with Europe’s and America’s tolerance). "In Turkey the political regime can be characterized as democratic only in name since it employs extreme forms of oppression against the freedom of speech. Therefore, to think or to express oneself freely there is a daily exploit of survival" (El. 1/6). "When was Turkey reproached with accusations of being a recidivist and an international criminal? Genocide, appropriations and massacres have been considered misdemeanors. Assassinations of Kurds, Armenians and Cypriots have not stained its record, which remains clean." (K. 1/6)

In anticipation of the Greek-Turkish dialogue, the picture of Turkey described above, was presented every day more and more, especially in relation to Turkey’s intense internal social and political problems. A journalist from Ap. (5/6) asked how it can be possible that the Greek side "is trying to have some kind of communication with a government that shambles between the unbridgeable differences of the lovers of a Kemalist state, the military on the one hand and the Islamists on the other." He also argued that "the existence of fertile soil for dialogue is impossible in a country, which only recently refused to renounce the threat of using violence as means for negotiation in a text of the European Union. (…) The Greek government tries to come to an understanding with an international agitator who, resting on her geopolitical position, considers that she will ensure forever international tolerance and support of her violations. And all this only because she appears to be on the one hand the guardian of the Middle East and the Persian Gulf and on the other, warrantor for the transportation of petroleum from the ex-Socialist democracies of the Soviet Union to the Mediterranean." Also, M. Ploritis, who acknowledged being a "‘slayer of the Turks’ (turkofagos)" (B. 22/6), commented respectively: "The languages of the interlocutors coming from the East are full of countless deaths from every period, race and nation…" (B. 15/6).

At any occasion offered by timely events coming from various sources, a picture of a threatening Turkey, which constantly conspires so that it benefits from situations, is presented in the Greek press. "The Turkish Mafia is hiding behind the wave of terrorism in Albania. This is endorsed in recent analyses provided by the Italian counter-espionage, the SISMI, that were filtered through in yesterday’s articles of some Italian newspapers. The Italian 007 consider that the Turkish Mafiosi (who, as it has been established recently, receive Ankara’s complete support), have managed to develop strong bases in Albania in the last two years" (Eth. 6/6). In addition, according to an article by A.T. (3/6) and, also, to PASOK MP St. Papathemelis, Turkey appears to have relations with the well-known ‘17^th of November’ terrorist organization in Greece. "Mr. Papathemelis said that he has substantially important evidence about the international connections of the Greek terrorists. He spoke about the arms that the organization took from Rafina and which were found later in a haven of the Turkish ‘Dev Sol’ organization in Constantinople."

Turkey’s internal problems continued to occupy the Greek press. "By exaggerating and keeping the Islamic threat constantly in the limelight, the Turkish military can continue the policy that it has been employing in the last decades unhampered: violation of human rights, incarcerations, torturing of the Leftists, and, above all - violent ‘ethnic cleansing’ of the Kurdish areas." (N. 6/6) For the Greek press "since the end of the last century" Turkey continues to suffer from "an identity crisis which divides it." In fact this division "makes impossible any attempt at democratization coming from outside, thus leaving the country a captive to her contradictions and to the plans of others" (El. 2/6). "We observe, unfortunately, that Turkey considers that she is undermined by almost all of the countries which have the misfortune of sharing borders with her. This fact alone proves her destabilizing role in the area" (Ap. 7/6). "Presently Turkey is shambling because she is a state lacking democratic foundations; a state carrying immense and insurmountable social and economic problems; a state existing with open scar, that of the Kurdish issue - a scar which contaminates her with the employment of inhuman violence" (statements made by New Democracy party MP P. Pavlopoulos, K. 9/6). At the same time, the Euro-deputy of Political Spring raised a question with the European Committee, arguing that "the citizens of Turkish origin most likely constitute a marginal minority", and that in Turkey there are "innumerable ‘Crypto-Christians’ who hesitate to declare their origin and faith freely, fearing the treatment that the Turkish administration may hold back against them" (El. 28/6).

With respect to the demonstration of Turks from Alikarnasos against the conversion of the mosque into a Christian chantey, P. Boukalas commented: "But it is not possible. We have known things differently, we have learned them from infancy differently. How come the Turks, all the Turks, are the same, without the slightest difference existing between the rulers and the ruled, the religious and the non-religious; all of them are uncivilized, stupid, fanatical Mohamaddans, fundamentalists, slayers of Greeks (ellinofagoi), blood-thirsty Orientals who have just come out of their caves and who have been incapable of developing any art, after so many centuries of history (…) Yes - the barbarians. Yes - the fundamentalists. They consider their cultural heritage, in other words, a constitutive element of their life and an aspect of their history, a building constructed by the hands of ‘faithless’, the hands of ‘time immemorial’ enemies.. (…) Oh, yes, it is evident that their sudden internationalism copies and imitates completely our vigorous internationalism, our cultural religious tolerance, our openness of the spirit. The ones which led us to demonstrate massively and protest strongly against the height of the minaret of Komotini. This taking place at the same time when some wealthy people from Yanena presented pertinently the civilized proposition that the mosque of their city be covered with immense paintings with a ‘national content’ and at a time when the Jewish cemetery of Salonica was despoiled by some super-Greeks, at a time when…" (K. 27/6.)

Guide to Newspaper initials: Ad.T. = Adesmeftos Typos (center-right); Ap. = Apogevmatini (center-right); E.T. = Eleftheros Typos (center-right); El = Eleftherotypia (center-left); Eth. = Ethnos (center-left); Exousia (center-left) = Ex.; N. = Nea (center-left); V. = Vima (center-left, Sunday equivalent to Nea)