(Comments in italics are made by the GHM)

7/10/98: Eleftherotypia, page 45

Kept in Prison Because He Is… Roma

George Loukas, a 19-year-old Roma, was kept in custody for almost a year for raping his 14-year-old Roma girlfriend. His request for release from prison was denied under the reasoning that his race and lack of permanent residence render him dangerous and likely to repeat similar crimes. The Mixed Grand Jury, however, unanimously proclaimed him "not guilty." According to the forensic medical report, there was neither rape, nor traces of violence.

A positive report, critical of the official discriminatory attitude of the Justice system against the Roma.

11/10/98: Eleftherotypia, page 14-15

Emir Kusturica: ‘My Gypsies Are Aristocrats’

In an interview on the occasion of the premiere of his new film "Black Cat, White Cat," director Emir Kusturica speaks a lot about the Roma. He explains that he has decided to make another film about them, because he thinks that they present the only solution to our destroyed civilization. Their homes, although rather kitsch, are very nice. This is kitsch full of emotion, totally different from the usual meaning of the term. His aim is to portray Roma as aristocrats. Usually they are portrayed in a terrible naturalistic and stereotypical way.

A very positive report. It accepts the director’s praising of Roma culture and way of life and gives Roma a necessary and inviolable part in our society.

14/10/98: Eleftherotypia, page 64

What could the Prime Minister possibly mean when he said that since Kusturica is a famous director, he can teach us many things? In fact, the Prime Minister himself has learned a lot from Kusturica: he makes us live in the time of the Gypsies. As a matter of fact, I have also learned something from Kusturica. If I have poliomyelitis and see a Gypsy dressed in a suit, I don’t trust him. He won’t take me to the hospital. He will take me out at the red lights instead.

24/10/98: Eleftherotypia, pages 24-25

The "Romanologist" School Counsellor strikes again

The recently created "Institute for Roma Studies in Greece" is going to organise a meeting, titled "Roma facing the year 2000", with the participation of the Ministry of Education. However, the president of both the Institute and the Meeting, School Counsellor Mr. Matoulas, has stated racist views against the Roma in the past. In 1996, he tried to make a research on the attitudes of schoolchildren towards their Roma schoolmates, which reproduced and promoted negative stereotypes against Roma. In an interview to Eleftherotypia concerning the matter, he supported the separation of Roma and non-Roma pupils, with the reasoning that the first are dirty, and expressed the opinion that racism is the basis for social development. As a consequence, the Ministry of Education withdrew its permission for the research. A year later, Mr. Matoulas repeated the same discriminatory and racist stereotypes against Roma in an article published at the first issue of the magazine of his Institute for Roma Studies in Greece. Surprisingly enough, the Ministry of Education is going to participate in the meeting "Roma facing the year 2000" organised by the same Institute in December.

28/10/98: Kathimerini, page 7

12-year-old Boy Injured by His Roma Friend

At the Roma settlement at the Striftis region of Aspropyrgos, a 25-year-old Roma drove into his 12-year-old friend, because the latter refused to accompany him in robberies and burglaries around the region. The victim, Chr. Camperis, is under medical treatment for a fracture on his left leg, while the offender, N. H. Kyrimopoulos, has disappeared and is wanted by the police.

31/10/98: Eleftherotypia, pages 24-25

Apartheid in the educational system of W. Attica?

Reactions to the article on the Roma Conference organised by School Counsellor Mr. Matoulas, a supporter of racism and discrimination against Roma, with the participation of Ministry of Education (see above). The Board of Teachers’ Union of Greece declared that the matter is being looked into and that decisions about the Union’s participation will be taken in a few days. More explicit, the General Secretary for Youth, a department of the Ministry of Education, announced that the Secretariat withdraws its participation in the organisation of the Conference and will only attend it in order to express its views against racial segregation and in support of multiculturalism. On behalf of the group around Mr. Matoulas there was no reaction except for Professor Mrs. Tzani, who expressed her explicit agreement with Mr. Matoulas’ practices. Mr. Sourlas, president of "Dimitris Glinos", an association of 1,000 teachers in W. Attica, states that Mr. Matoulas’ Institution promotes an Apartheid in the educational system, an isolation of the Roma pupils so as they do not disturb the non-Roma ones. He adds that in his opinion most of the teachers who support Mr. Matoulas, do so expecting something in return, since the latter is a powerful School Counsellor.

31/10/98: Avgi, page 8

Roma conference to be organized by a racist

Greek Helsinki Monitor and the Minority Rights Group - Greece, in a letter to the Minister, accuse the Ministry of Education of participating at a conference with the misleading title "Roma facing the year 2000". The conference is organised by the School Consultant Mr. Matoulas, who is known for his unacceptable and racist attitude against the Roma. In a similar case some years ago, the Ministry of Education withdrew its support on a Research Project concerning the Roma, proposed by Mr. Matoulas, under the grounds that it was totally different from the principles and the intentions of both the multicultural education and the educational system in general. GHM and MRG ask the Ministry to refrain from the conference in order not to negatively expose Greece to the internal and international public opinion.

31/10/98: Avgi, page 8

Street Lights’ Children

The article was provoked by the fact that a young beggar hanged himself. It describes the general problem of the so called ‘red lights’ children’ who beg in the streets. These children -mostly of Roma origin- ‘work’ under immense psychological pressure. They do not get any education and face the indifference of the state. Ms. Myrto Lemou’s Center for Rehabilitation of Children and Families is the only organization in Greece dealing with these children. She accuses Greece of not adhering to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which was ratified by Greece in 1992.