January

3/1/97 Eleftherotypia, page 44

On Christmas Eve, cadets of the Police Academy distributed gifts to the high school students of the village of Sofades [close to the town of Karditsa] which has many Roma residents, in order to express their solidarity with the plight of the Roma. The Director of the Police Academy told them: "Do not forget that you, the Roma, are citizens of the same country as we are - Greece."

17/1/97 Eleftheros Typos, page 13

The Panagitsa Educational and Cultural Association of the Roma [in Kato Ahaia, near Patras], in its reply to an article in the same newspaper (22/12/96), declares that it too is an official and legal association, exactly like the Panhellenic Educational and Cultural Association of the Roma [in Aghia Varvara, near Athens], so that there should not be any misunderstandings as to the legal status of the Panagitsa Association.

24/1/97 Ethnos, page 5

The Ministry of Finance, in cooperation with the office of the Prime Minister, has started the procedure of registration of the Roma population, so that the latter could receive pieces of land, which will be divided in suitable private sites with the necessary facilities (streets, electricity, water, telephone connections) considering the perspective of creation of places of residence for the Roma.

29/1/97 Ta Nea, pages 22-23 [Georgia Kontrarou, Dionysis Nassopoulos]

According to a scientific study made under the supervision of Professor Spinelli, Roma criminality has been reduced as far as the serious crimes are concerned. The study also says that the way the police treat the Roma (who are full-fledged Greek citizens) is a cruel violation of their fundamental civil rights. Many Roma spoke about various cases of brutal behavior on the part of the police (e.g. the invasion of the MAT special forces in the areas of N. Liosia and Aspropyrgos), as well as about the violation of domestic privacy without the presence of a district attorney.

29/1/97 Ta Nea, [Article by the Professor of Criminology at the Department of Psychology in Pantion University, Mrs. V. Artinopoulou, under the title "Hidden Racism"]

She mentions that the Roma are generally in an unfavorable position. She gives emphasis to the fact that the lack of basic education, the illegal employment of the children and the unequal conditions are just an aspect of the racist reality.

February

11/2/97 Exoussia, page 24 [Sahinis], Iraklion

Amnesty International sues the Mayor of the city of Nea Alikarnassos, in Crete, Mr. G. Paterakis, because of the bad conditions under which the Roma live.

21/2/97 "...." , page 23 [D. Makris]

The Roma of the village of Zephyri have sent a letter to the Greek Orthodox Church asking the latter for help. The President of the local association of the Roma - Proodos (Progress) - is referring to the importance of the role of the Church in the fight against the racist attitude towards the Roma. The Bishop of the district of Attiki, Panteleymon, declares that he is aware of the whole situation and that he cooperates with the Ministry of National Education in order to make a special program for the Roma of the area.

22/2/97 Eleftherotypia, page 47 [Stratis Balaskas]

Yiannis Parianos, in Mytilini, cannot go to school because of the lack of the necessary documents. The child itself declares his strong will to be educated.

22/2/97 Apogevmatini, page 22 [Mytilini]

Yiannis Parianos is not registered in any citizens’ list of the municipality and, therefore, he cannot be accepted by any school. He sells tissues for a living.

22/2/97 Ethnos, page 2 [N. Tsagris, Mytilini]

"Little John was never born..."

Yiannis Parianos, 10, cannot go to school because of the lack of any certificates which are required.

27/2/97 Eleftherotypia, page 18, the Hios island [Stratis Balaskas, Theodoris Pyliotis]

10 Roma families have been moved from the Lefkonia in the area of Kofinas thanks to the initiative of the Mayor of the city of Hios and the Bishop of the Hios island, Dionysios, who have given them permission to stay in a new place, which is 500m away from the "slaughter houses" of the city. The Police Director denounced the actions of the competent Deputy Mayor and the President of the Board, basing his claims on the potential danger of contamination of the citizens.

March

3/3/97 Eleftherotypia, page 9 [S. Balaskas]

The paper reports on the transfer of 10 Roma families to the area of Kofinas and the reaction of the police director, Mr. Yannis Moschovos.

3/3/97 Apogevmatini, page 23 [Mytilini]

Thanks to the prefecture of the Lesvos island, a school with two schoolrooms has been established for the children of the Roma.

15/3/97 Adesmeftos Typos, page 26 [Yannis Kourtakis]

The Albanian Mafia, in cooperation with the Roma of Ano Liossia, sell drugs without being bothered by anyone. The reporter himself, Mr. Kourtakis, bought "marihuana" while a photo-reporter was taking pictures of the fact. The residents emphasize that there is a huge drug-related problem in their area.

15/3/97 Adesmeftos Typos, page 59 [Margaritidou]

The Deputy Minister of Health, Mr. Th. Kotsonis, confronted almost 200 land owners in the village of Evosmos, because they had alienated 3,000 Roma. He declared that the administration had already decided to create suitable pieces of land for the housing of the Roma. The Mayor of Evosmos, Mr. Alexandridis, emphasized the importance of the application of the above measures.

17/3/97 Adesmeftos Typos, page 60

After the initiative of the Municipality of the village of Evosmos, a court decision ordered the expulsion of 300 Roma families from the area. It is worthwhile mentioning that, before the recent elections, the current administration had promised to give them 1,000 sites for housing.

19/3/97 Eleftherotypia, page 20 [Hatziefthimiou]

There was a match between two local teams of the village of Yannouli, which led to the victory of the one which had Roma on it. After the victory, riots took place, since the losers did not accept their defeat. The non-Roma residents of the village expressed the view that it is difficult for the two different groups to live together, and they (in cooperation with the police authorities) accused the Roma of acts of terrorism.

19/3/97 Eleftheros Typos, page 14, Larissa

A match was the "reason" for the riots between the residents of the community of Yannouli of Larissa and the Roma of the area. The team of the Roma won the game. A few hours later two agricultural trucks destroyed the ground of the stadium. The residents of the village declared that they cannot live anymore with the Roma because the latter are terrorists.

19/3/97 Exoussia, page 26 [Yourmetakis, Larissa]

A "war" took place after the victory of the Roma sports team of the village of Yannouli over the Dimitra team. The residents accuse the Roma of terrorism, thefts and possession of guns, while the police authorities do not intervene. The Roma blocked the street which connects Larissa and Kozani for ten minutes, in order to express their protest against the racist behavior of the residents.

29/3/97 Eleftherotypia [Antonis Galanopoulos]

The phrase "Hi! Would you like some weed to smoke?" is very common in the Roma populated area. There is a police car, on a 24-hour patrol, near the area. "The attacks against policemen are not rare." A policeman says, "Most of the Roma have guns and do not hesitate to use them." The policemen warns the reporters not to visit the place. The residents say, "we cannot leave for holidays." Nobody wants them, not even the rest of the Roma. The Mayor of Ano Liosia, Mr. Papadimas, regards the Roma area as a "free market for drugs."

30/3/97 Apogevmatini [Nikos Merganis Vivian Lianou] Title: "The camping of Drugs"

600 persons are the victims of gangs which rule the area of Ano Liosia. "Albanians and Romanians are responsible for everything which is happening over there." "The place where the Roma live has been turned into an area of crime and drugs. Everybody sells drugs, even 8-year-old children." The Minister of Public Order and the Department of Drugs Persecution consider this place to be "inaccessible to the police." The President of the Municipality Board said that "if somebody circulates in this area during the night, s/he will be robbed or forced to buy drugs." A 17-year-old witness said: "I’m afraid to go to this place." The OASSA Bus Company refuses to send buses over there, because some Roma destroy them. "15,000 residents of Ano Liosia talk about the camping of crime."

31/3/97 Ta Nea [Georgia Kontrarou]