October 1997 Monitoring.

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

ABSTRACT

Comparisons between the status of minorities in Greece and Turkey. The indignity provoked by the Rainbow trial. Presence of ironic and negative comments. Disapproval of the pending legalization of immigrants in Greece. Albanians - the usual suspects. Immigrants and crime - the stereotypical combination. Dissenting voices. Optimism about Greek-Albanian relations and recognition that the respective expectations are different. Exceptions which prove the rule. Reference to the bilateral relations between Bulgaria and Macedonia. More realistic attitudes related to the Macedonian question. The name remains a touchy subject. Rumania’s economic problems are discussed once again. Confidence in Milosevic’s unlimited authority questioned by the results from the Serbian elections. Fears of further destabilization in the area. Turkey: as threatening and uncivilized as ever.

Internal Minorities

Looking for confrontation when mentioning the corresponding minorities in Greece and Turkey is a recurrent tactic employed by the Greek press. This is due to the need to show Greece as a democratic country and to demonstrate its "Europeanness" in contrast with the barbaric and oppressive behavior of Turkey. Thus the reader gets the impression that Greece is a paradise for minorities, a country which does not have any problems as regards its human rights record . The cultivation and strengthening of this image seems to work as an alibi for the press’s involvement in governmental decisions and actions. Thus it seems that the Greek media support the idea that ‘the one-eyed is better than the blind,’ something which is rather distressing and does not give much hope for the future. This tendency is shown even better in the following example."This is the great difference between Greece and Turkey (…) the historical School of Halkis in Constantinople has been closed down and the Turks don’t even allow - as in other schools and foundations - its renovation. In contrast, the Prefecture of Xanthi has given Drs. 200 mill for the construction and maintenance of the first Muslim minority school. Naturally the president of the Muslim school, Ogloy Setket Hamdi, made an announcement in which he thanked the Greek state, the prefecture of Xanthi and other involved parties. We happened to find out that the announcement and the thanks expressed had provoked the disapproval of the Turkish Consulate. Why was the Turkish Consulate upset, when they, along with the Turkish MIT create an anti-Greek climate? Didn’t the Prefecture of Xanthi give Drs. 200 mill? When has the Turkish state given even one drachma for the oppressed Greek minority in Istanbul?" (AT 3/10).

This is seen as just one of the many scenarios in which the Turks plan to take over Thrace, so Ethos (19/10) says: "The Turks have designs on Thrace." Moreover, "The Turks want it [Thrace] to be an autonomous state called The Federation of Muslim Thrace."

As regards the Macedonian minority, the pending trial of the Macedonian minority party Rainbow can be mentioned. Even though the subject is played down as a rule, the comments which accompany the little publicity it receives are particularly negative. The Macedonian minority in Greece is not officially recognized. Whenever this minority takes initiatives for its recognition and these initiatives are based on international justice, this is judged to be anti-Greek and provocative. The Greeks are obsessed with the idea that they are being persecuted by foreign centers which aim at Greece’s national and religious disintegration. These fears are strengthened by the press, thus disorientating the public, while also provoking in them feelings based on xenophobic complexes and not on civilized principles. "It is around Florina and Aridaia that the Rainbow young and brave men live. It is these oppressed and wounded "Macedonians" who want independence and closer relations with Mama Skopje." (AT 10/10).

On the eve of the trial, 11 Greek and seven international NGOs issued a common statement which gave details about the case and condemned the trial itself. The initiative went almost unnoticed by the same media which frequently devote entire pages when these NGOs condemn similar violations of human rights in neighboring countries, especially in Turkey. On the other hand, the coverage of the trial by the largest circulation Greek papers as well as their positions related to the breaking into Rainbow’s headquarters in September 1995, were as usual characterized by the intense rhetoric of hate and the use of hordes of negative stereotypes. All this contributed to the aggravation of the already loaded atmosphere. The defendants were called "Skopje-lovers," while being accused of "propagandist use of the trial" where they had distributed leaflets "with propagandist material," as well as of "provocative appearance at the justice hall which resulted in some small incidents" (EL 15/10). These allegations were groundless, according to the reports of the international monitors. Another editor praised the harassment which a reporter from the Macedonian television got by a lawyer. The latter called the journalist "insolent" without any reason, because his behavior was impeccable. This harassment was witnessed by the police and the court security guards, however, without any intervention on their part. The defendants were again called "separatist Skopje-lovers," even though Rainbow had never claimed autonomy. Moreover, it was falsely said that the Rainbow members were also accused of "abuse, threat damage of foreign property" because "they had hung up in their office in the center of town signs in Bulgarian (14/9/95)" (ET 15/10). The one and only dissenting voice in the overwhelming outcry against Rainbow was the Ios rubric in EL.(18/10). The latter stressed that the persecution of the members of this political party was in complete opposition to the provisions of the Framework Convention on Minority Rights.

The speech given by the President of the Greek state, K. Stephanopoulos, during his visit to Mount Athos, was covered without any comments by all mass media. In his speech, Stephanopoulos stated that "there is no danger from the north any more" and that "those states have been through great troubles. They are now countries which Greece helps and hopes that they will get on their feet again." Apart from the danger from the east (which he takes for granted) Greece’s President pointed to the "secretive threat of the West". In this relation he speaks of "papists and Protestants who, instead of gratitude for what Hellenism and Orthodoxy have given them, pay back in a different way." (EL 15/10).

The plan for the legalization of the illegal immigrants is disapproved of by many editors and readers : "Our country is in great danger. If the government keeps its present policy, in a few years we, the Greeks, will have become a minority in our own country, a minority which is dwindling. The government is going to legalize all the illegal immigrants who have come to Greece. These are some million, or even a million and a half people. They are mostly from underdeveloped countries and they want to take our land. Moreover, many of them are Muslims. The government is also going to abolish Article 19 of the Greek Citizenship Code. This will result in 400-500,000 Turks coming into Thrace! This will eventually mean the end of Thrace! Apart from them, there will be many thousands of Skopjans, Bulgarians and Tsamides!" [letter by K. Makri (AP 2/10].

The rallies of the inhabitants of Oropos against the Greek police in the area (AP 2/10) brought about the election of an unofficial committee representing the people who live in the area : "They will not use Albanians, but Rumanians, Russians and other illegal immigrants for temporary jobs, and they will not give them rooms to rent. They will inform the police where immigrants are hiding (mostly in the woods) and will ask the Ministry of Public Order to increase the police force there." The above mentioned election is exactly parallel to the notorious Debre law which provoked a storm of reaction in France, and here is mentioned without any comment from the newspaper.

The Greek press creates a climate of ‘Albanophobia’ on the basis of information from the police bulletins about different incidents in which Albanian immigrants are involved. AP. (10/10), referring to the murder of an elderly couple in Paiania notes: "The inhabitants of Paiania had another rally, during which they were shouting that the perpetrators of the crime are Albanians, because the stamp of violence points to this." Ethnos (10/10) has a similar coverage: "According to all the signs, the culprits of the violent crime are probably Albanians." The above hasty conclusions were retracted a day later by Ethnos (11/10) when the paper wrote about a similar case in Evia "which at first was thought to have been perpetrated by Albanians."

All this brings into the limelight the question of imported crime in Greece. Here Albanians have the key roles: "At least 25 more women - apart from those who were raped by four Albanian criminals the day before yesterday - have been raped by foreigners since the beginning of the year. (…) However, as data from the Ministry of Public Order show, most crimes are committed by natives. These data show that in 1996, out of all 183 rapes, 20 were committed by foreigners. In 1995, out of 234 rapes, 25 were committed by foreigners and in 1994 the figures are respectively - 258 for all rapes and 38 committed by foreigners. Still, this, does not rule out the fact that the hundred thousands of foreigners who came to Greece after the collapse of the regimes in our neighboring countries, play a decisive role in the rising of criminality here…" (ET. 9/10).

The ground for this hyperbolic attitude of the Greek mass media, particularly in relation to crime, is found in the official bulletins of the Ministry of Public Order. "The comforting thing is that according to the figures which were published yesterday, Greece, in comparison with other countries in the European Union, has a very low crime rate. What is more, the information from the EU says that our country does not suffer from organized crime." (K 11/10) It is characteristic that in a similar quote of the facts, ET (11/10) mentions only the criminality of foreigners, a fact which allows the reader to draw a false picture of reality and to strengthen the already existent stereotypes.

Quite a few publications expressed the need for the state to provide more policemen and stricter measures for the defense of its citizens. Some of the articles claim that the resorting of citizens to self-defense is not only justified but is absolutely imperative. "Albanians kill us, they rob us, they rape women in the middle of the street, while some ‘liberals’ continue to talk about racism. A prosecutor has brought the charge of intentional manslaughter on a policeman who had done nothing other than defend himself against Albanians who attacked him. The police either cannot act, because they have been infiltrated to a large extent, or are not allowed to do their duty. The Greek citizens feel insecure and unprepared, so they will make sure from now on that they take care of their own defense. Most of them are armed." (AT. 11/10) "The problem of the rise in crime is not noticed only by Minister G. Romaios but is lived by the whole Greek public which reads every day about the slaughter of old people and the rapes of women by gangs of Albanians, about ruthless robberies and thefts." As far as the police’s practice in dealing with the Albanian immigrants is concerned, it is demonstrated by the incident where a Greek citizen was beaten up only "because he looked like an Albanian" (ET. 21/10).

There are opposing voices as well: "Unfortunately identification of violence as ’Albanian’ seems to be the rule in this country. The hosts of immigrants who seek refuge in Greece and usually get stuck in a system of labor abuse, now bear yet another wound. They are branded, because of the deeds of a small number of criminals who arrived in our country after tearing open the jails in Albania" (K 9/10). "We prefer to identify all those Albanians with the rapists of Kria Vrisi and not with the Albanian who refused to accept making an easy million by committing a murder, something which two of our fellow-citizens had offered him" (K 10/10).

The "hard line" statements on illegal immigrants made by former New Democracy leader M. Evert in parliament provoked similar condemnation, even though only in the pro-government press. Thus Ethnos (16/10) wrote the following: "Asking that drastic measures for expulsion of the immigrants be taken, he attributed the rise in crime and the insecurity of the citizens, who are forced to protect their homes with shotguns, to the presence of immigrants." (Ethnos 10/10). Ex (16/10) described this as "the far-right explosions of Evert in parliament," while EL (16/10) condemned the stance of the Greek politician and MP. "As the official statistics show, foreigners take only 3% of the ‘cake’ of crime, in spite of the myths. Moreover, as the study of Mr. B. Karidis from the Dimokriteion of Thrace says this share is even smaller when we consider that immigrants are arrested and harassed for crimes connected with their situation (of illegal immigrants) and with the breaking of the laws pertaining to all foreigners (e.g. working illegally, illegal housing, entry into the country etc.). The stereotype which society has that every Albanian is a murderer, leads, unfortunately, peace-loving citizens to point their guns at the immigrants and to kill the latter. The hunt of the ‘dangerous’ provokes an extremely anti-social behavior. (…) Two Albanians were shot dead because they attempted to steal a bicycle! An Albanian was killed by a rural constable because the former had stolen a water-melon! A farmer shot at groups of immigrants crossing his fields and killed two of them. ‘I was afraid of them’ was his answer as to why he took human lives. Thus we make a step away from human values and a step towards racism." The recent actions in Corfu with groups of people wielding clubs, and in Attica where people are armed to face the ‘enemy’ bring to mind the gangs of the American south. Maybe in the end, racism has got into our souls through the back door?" (B. 19/10).

Albania and the Albanians

The bilateral relations between Greece and Albania have become exceptionally good recently: "It is a public secret that the recent events have promoted the relations between the two countries. Albania expects much from Greece, while our country wants to strengthen her role in Albania and in the Balkans in general." (AP. 12/10) So, the visit by the Greek Prime Minister, K. Simitis, to Tirana was greeted by the whole Greek press. The only exception was ET. (16/10) which commented: "They take us for Albanian tourists! We give billions and get only promises in return." AT. (10/10) was restrained in its article headed "Cautious Optimism," which said that: "Even though the two-day visit is characterized as satisfactory, the Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs feels that the Albanian Prime Minister, F. Nano, did not show the expected warmth towards Greece. This was assumed because of Tirana’s refusal to give permission for the establishment of three new bishops in the Orthodox Church, as well as because of the bureaucratic obstacles which are put to Greek boats entering Dirraxio and of some political moves of Nano himself."

The image of the Albanians is distorted by their presence in Greece and by their armed uprising. This image is negative as a rule: "They have been brought up, in case you didn’t know, with the pseudo propaganda that the borders of Albania end at … Nafplio and one day they will free their country from the Greeks! …So when they kill and steal in cold blood in Greece they feel at least like Americans in civvies in the 30s! They are the bosses! We will soon have long-term problems with them." Ethnos (12/10).

However, there are some exceptions to the above: "Albania is a country which is close to us, and for many years we didn’t really know what was happening behind its borders. We learnt much in the last few years - some of it from personal observation, and most of it - from the images in the news bulletins and from the thousands of Albanians who have come to Greece. We quickly put them in the categories of ‘illiterate’ and ‘uncouth’ in order to ‘promote’ them eventually into ‘thieves, traitors, robbers, murderers’ - titles which accompany them in our conscience. Next time that we show our guts to the little Albanians when they ‘annoy’ us, while we are out enjoying ourselves, let us think which faces from our mythology we may remind them of." [Based on the publication of the "Mythology" series by Kedros, its’ publishing in Albanian and its introduction as a school book, (K. 4/10)].

Bulgaria and the Bulgarians

The following comments reflect the ‘useful’ to both Greece and Bulgaria equation of the Macedonian language and nationality with the Bulgarian ones, as well as the ‘questionable’ (this time only for Greece) references about Bulgarian minorities. K (12/10). "A few days ago, on 6/10/97, the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences presented the new National Ideals of the country. This document claims that Bulgaria borders with itself, because it is surrounded by sister Bulgarian states in which Bulgarian minorities live (…) However, the basic idea of all this presents a gloomy picture for the future of the Balkans. It is obvious that the sister Bulgarian state is FYROM, while the minorities are found without doubt in the republic of Greece."

Macedonia and the Macedonians

Recently, the Greek press has started presenting more and more critical opinions on the nationalistic position as regards ‘the Macedonian question’, the policy which was followed after the dissolution of former Yugoslavia and the need to recognize the neighboring country whose name, Greeks are not allowed to mention. Now this question is being dealt with more realistically due to the awareness of the mutual interests of the countries and the promotion of Greece as the country which can ensure peace and stability in the Balkans. Of course, now that Greece’s failure in the matter is a fact, it is safe to take positions like these. That does not mean that the use of the terms "Macedonia/Macedonians" is recognized by the Greeks as the name and the national determination of the neighboring state. The attitude towards these names as pseudonyms remains widespread. Moreover, the eagerness to use every opportunity to show the irrefutable connection between Greece and ancient Macedonia is obvious "An exhibit of 74 ancient tablets proves once again, even to the most unbelieving ones, the Hellenism of Macedonia" (AP. 12/10).

In the same line of reasoning, and on the same day, AP. (12/10) refers to: "Vandals of history (…) they wrote unacceptable slogans in Slavic under the columns of the heroes of the battle of Macedonia." The act was attributed to: "Skopjan tourists and their few local supporters who act under the cover of the Rainbow party." The Macedonian minority is not recognized and it seems that it will never be recognized, since the copyright of the self determination as Macedonian belongs to Greece. People’s right to self-determination does not seem to apply to this situation. "From the middle of the last century, the Bulgarians who live in Macedonia used the name Macedonia in the geographical sense, in order to separate themselves from the Bulgarians of the then Kingdom of Bulgaria, which is the present-day Bulgarian state. The Vlachs of Macedonia do the same. They call their language ‘Mekedonion’ in spite of the fact that none of them, feels that he is, by nationality, Macedonian. The Greek Macedonians are Greek by nationality, not Macedonian" (Ethnos 9/10).

Macedonia is promoted as the largest and surest market for Greek goods, particularly for those coming from northern Greece. The interest shown by the Greek press in the progress of the relations between the two countries and the economic development of the neighboring state is a fact. The main issue is related to the mutual interests of the two countries. "People come and go from Skopje. The main role is played by the Greek businessmen and tradesmen who invest billions and increase their profits at breakneck speed. It is urgent that things fully calm down. These businessmen shiver at the mere idea that there could be serious blockades, because their invested capital would be lost and the chance for making profits on the new markets would disappear into other hands." (AT. 6/11).

Rumania and the Rumanians

For the umpteenth time the economic problems of the country come into the limelight: "Thousands of Rumanian workers had a rally in the streets of Bucharest yesterday. They ask the government to fulfill its election promises about welfare measures and reforms." (Ex 15/10).

Serbia and the Serbs

After the elections, the political situation in Serbia was judged as critical. The second round of the electoral confrontation and the following political deadlock were seen as a failure of the once-omnipotent. S. Milosevic to control the power-games. "It is certain that Milosevic - maybe for the first time - faces problems in controlling the political scene in Yugoslavia. The consequences of this loss of control have become evident in practice in the last few years. (ET. 12/10).

There is a number of reasons for the ‘crisis on a political level’ (ET 1/10), some of them come from internal disagreements among the Zajedno leaders. "The dismissal of Belgrade’s mayor, Zoran Tsidzic was an unfair shot at the opposition coalition Zajedno. The President has placed Tsidzic as mayor, after international pressure which came as a result of the triumph of the opposition in the municipal elections." (EL. 1/10).

The complicated nature of the political analysis gets more intense when the question is dealt with in broader terms. "However, especially interesting are the presidential elections in Montenegro. They took place on Sunday and the main rivals were the present President of Montenegro and the Prime Minister. Forecasts show that the Prime Minister is a little ahead in the race. The latter is publicly critical of Milosevic’s policy, which means that if he gets elected, this will mean that the political crisis in Serbia has reached the federal level, because the Prime Minister will not support the Federal Government’s activities aimed at strengthening Milosevic’s power." (E.T. 3/10).

The involvement of foreign interests in the shaping of the political situation of the country has not gone unnoticed. The support which Milosevic used to get is described as the choice of the West , so that the latter serves its own interests in the area. "Whatever the final results from yesterday’s confrontations in Serbia are… one thing is for sure: … Milosevic’s role of ultimate guardian of the balance has been suspended. This has up to now allowed the USA and NATO to play at low cost their interventionist roles in Yugoslavia." (Ex. 6/10) "The gradual and painful dissolution of Yugoslavia had only one aim - to crack down on the nationalism of our brothers and fellows - the Serbs. After so many years we can clearly see now how foreign intervention has acted (and still acts) and where Yugoslavia has been led. After so many ‘rivers of blood,’ they are still not ‘sated.’ After Bosnia, they are setting up other ‘fires in the Balkans.’" (AT. 11/10).

Turkey and the Turks

The leading image of the Turk is as the ‘baddie’ who threatens his neighbors and has schemes against the territorial integrity of Greece. The opposition press, which openly declares itself against the Treaty of Madrid, as well as against the Greek-Turkish dialogue, is the one which mostly promotes and supports the adoption of an uncompromising position based on "national pride" in Greece’s foreign policy. Similar political opinions of intellectuals and ordinary citizens are in agreement with the line taken by the newspapers: "The Prime Minister of the time of the Turkish invasion into Cyprus, Mr. Ecevit, threatens us. Our problem with the Turks is related to the problem of virility. If we show them our masculinity, they will show us their behinds. If we show them our behinds, they will show their masculinity. That was said by Mr. A Ioannides, jurist and special advisor to El. Venizelou. The Turks know the ‘tsarouhi’ and the ‘fustanella,’ they don’t know anything about the pen, the word, and human behavior." [Letter from D. Biko (E.T. 4/10)].

Yiasar Kemal’s criticism and negative statements about Turkish policy and military leadership were promoted by the Greek press in the usual way. Thus the papers tried to strengthen and justify even more the negative picture which had already been consolidated. Characteristic is the headline in Ex. (21/10) "It is awful to be ashamed of your own country."

The picture of the Turks which is shaped, reproduced and strengthened by the Greek publications and electronic media is extremely negative: "Even though Kemal tried to change them, to Europeanize them, the Turks remain deeply Turkish. They support human peculiarities. Not that as individuals they lack any virtues. However, as an organized state, they are presented as despotic, autocratic, ruthless, arrogant and anti-democratic. Due to their inferiority complex they are suspicious of the outside world (especially of the Westerners), occasionally servile, but often insolent and demanding. The West and Turkey are two different worlds. The West knows it, but gives priority to its own interests. So, the problem is ours and we get recommendations to deal with our neighbor on our own, as if this were possible!" (AP. 7/10).

The possibility for economic cooperation between Greece and Turkey is covered in a positive, though somewhat restrained manner by the Greek press. "For some time now, Greek businessmen have shown great interest in entering the Turkish market. They foresee great profits, as they have competitive advantages over, for example, the Italians and the Germans. Thus, the visit of some 100 Turkish businessmen headed by the well-known financier P. Koots in Thessaloniki towards the end of the month attracts special interest. Our businessmen, in their contacts with the Turks, shouldn’t forget the importance of defining political matters against clear economic ones. Regardless of anything, political and business activities are interdependent axes, so our businessmen shouldn’t forget that." (AT. 8/10).

The picture of the Turkish people which is presented by Greek media from time to time can also be positive. "The New Democracy MP who was formally invited to the Global Forum international meeting, which took place in Ikonio, returned from Turkey with an important discovery: that the feelings of the ordinary citizens of the neighboring country towards Greece are diametrically opposed to the policy followed by the Turkish government." (N. 22/10).