GREEK HELSINKI MONITOR
(Greek National Committee of the International Helsinki Federation)

& MINORITY RIGHTS GROUP - GREECE
(Greek Affiliate of Minority Rights Group International)

P.O. Box 51393, GR-14510 Kifisia, Greece Tel. 30-1-620.01.20; Fax: 30-1-807.57.67; E-mail: office@greekhelsinki.gr

PRESS RELEASE

9/7/1997

Our organizations Greek Helsinki Monitor and Minority Rights Group - Greece proceeded in an international mobilization against the racist exclusion of Albanians and other Balkan immigrants from the legalization procedure. Today we make public yesterday’s letter sent to Prime Minster Costas Simitis by the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights; and the day before yesterday’s statement by the Albanian Helsinki Committee with an appeal to the new Albanian government to pressure its Greek counterpart.

INTERNATIONAL HELSINKI FEDERATION FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

Mr. Costas Simitis
Prime Minister of Greece
Via Facsimile: +30-1-671 61 83

8 July 1997

Mr. Prime Minister,

The IHF, and in particular its national members the Albanian Helsinki Committee and Greek Helsinki Monitor, is deeply concerned about the discrimination the new Presidential Decrees on the legalization of immigrants in Greece are introducing; namely, that they provide a framework for legalization for all illegal immigrants with the exceptions of those coming from countries neighboring Greece. This measure as your government spokesman stated excludes the majority of the immigrants present in Greece which come from Albania.

The IHF had sent a mission to look into the problems of these Albanians in February 1997; at the time, our delegates had appreciated the assurances of your Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs George Papandreou and your Ministry of Labor that Albanians will be soon legalized; and it had offered its help to facilitate that procedure. Also, our Greek affiliate, along with so many other NGOs, has for months worked with your agencies to make these Decrees as good as possible, In fact, had it not been for this inadmissible discrimination, the Decrees themselves appear to be among the most liberal ones.

We are deeply concerned by the sudden renegation of your commitment, which does not augur well with the “modernist” profile you want your government to have. Such discrimination will be, as far as we know, a unique and quite notorious exception in democratic countries; especially as your government intends to ask the Albanian and other immigrants to register nevertheless: so that they be better located for their eventual expulsion if you do not legalize them?

We ask you to change this policy and proceed with the legalization as planned and announced, the only way to allow all these immigrants to have equal rights but also a decent job in Greece. Keeping more than half of them illegal can only guarantee the exploitation of all legal and illegal immigrants and lead to massive human rights violations as in the case of every country which has that large a number of illegal immigrants.

Sincerely,

Dr. Aaron Rhodes
Executive Director

ALBANIAN HELSINKI COMMITTEE

PRESS RELEASE

7/7/1997

Some disturbing news are coming from Greece, indicating that a shadow of doubts is falling on the position of the Albanian immigrants there. Initially, some months earlier, it was made known that, by a presidential decree, the Albanian immigrants will be legalized. Following some sources, their overall number is reaching about 250 - 300 thousands and thus, they constitute the highest figure of those clandestine workers, who are expecting a legal framework, which will give them a sense of security.

The latest data reaching us show that the Greek authorities are now likely to withdraw from their previous promises and are trying to adopt some kind of solution, which would damage heavily, first of all, the Albanians immigrants. The idea, circulating the most and ascribed to some segments of the Simitis Government, consist in legalizing the immigrants coming from countries “non neighboring” to Greece. It follows that this threatens mostly the Albanians immigrants.

Our colleagues of the Greek Helsinki Monitor, which is also an affiliate of the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights, have reacted promptly denouncing this discriminatory move. They have past on their concern to our Committee pointing out that, if a legal cover is achieved, these steps would open the way to mass expulsion to the Albanian immigrants from Greece.