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The
Greece-based NGOs present in today’s Session 11 of the OSCE
Implementation Meeting in Warsaw, "Greek Helsinki Monitor,"
"Home of Macedonian Culture," "Rainbow - Organization
of the Macedonian Minority in Greece," and "Minority Rights
Group – Greece" condemn the Greek delegation’s defamatory
attempt to demonize Macedonian minority activists.
Greece
gave a reply to, as they said, "groups identifying themselves as
ethnic Macedonians." It concluded with an explanation of the
reason why Slavko Mangovski, an American citizen, an editor of a
Skopje-based Macedonian weekly, and a well-known activist for the
rights of Macedonian minorities in the region, was refused entry in
Greece in late August 2000. According to the Greek delegation, he was
presumed to "come in order to meet with Macedonian activists,
many of whom promote policies of open secession of a part of Greek
territory," hence he is placed on the list of
"undesirable" persons.
First,
even if that were true, it would violate freedom of movement and
freedom of expression. It would also be a call for all countries in
the region to ban entry of critical journalists on similar,
arbitrarily defined, grounds. We know of many politicians and
journalists from Southern Balkan countries, who have irredentist views
and frequently visit their neighbors, and we hope they will continue
to do so, even if we disagree with such views.
Secondly,
Mr. Mangovski had repeatedly visited Greece in recent years, including
earlier on in 2000. We challenge the Greek authorities to provide even
one piece of evidence that Mr. Mangovski had previously engaged in
separatist activities during his many visits, so as to justify their
decision to put him on the "blacklist," for the first time,
in late August 2000.
Thirdly
and most importantly, it is well known to anyone living in the area
inhabited by the Macedonian minority in Greece, and to Greek
authorities, that no activist from any organization has ever promoted
secessionism. On the contrary, the diplomat who spoke for the Greek
delegation today, was a guest, on behalf of his Ministry, in the
special meeting our NGOs had organized for the OSCE HCNM in October
1999 in Athens. During that meeting, representatives from the
Macedonian and Turkish minorities, responding to an OSCE HCNM
question, categorically condemned not only secession but also autonomy
as possible solutions to the many problems the two minorities face.
These statements were subsequently published widely and have since
been available in the Internet sites of our NGOs, and many other ones.
"Rainbow"’s related statement following that meeting is
appended below (emphasis added).
Consequently,
Greece’s decision to brand any of the Macedonian activists as
"separatists" is an intentional defamatory distortion of
truth and a desperate but futile effort to discredit human rights
defenders, in violation of all international norms. Greece
"arrogantly" refuses to deal with the Macedonians’
demands, that have been acknowledged in a supportive way even in this
year’s ECRI’s "Second Report of Greece." As Greece-based
NGOs, we can only regret that a country that boasts of being "the
cradle of democracy" resorts to such authoritarian methods. Our
NGOs intend to take up this issue to all international institutions,
including the OSCE HCNM, the newly appointed UN Special Representative
on Human Rights Defenders, and the UN CERD, which is reviewing Greece
in its next meeting, in January 2001.
RAINBOW
Stephanou Dragoumi 11, PO BOX. 51, GR-53100 Florina, Greece
Tel
& fax: (+30) 385 - 46548, 45044
E-mail: rainbow@florina.org, http://www.florina.org
_______________________________________________
HISTORIC
MEETING WITH OSCE HCNM
PRESS
RELEASE (Florina - Lerin 11.10.1999)
On
October 8, 1999, in Athens, representatives of RAINBOW met with Max
van der Stoel, OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities, and
his advisor, Mr. John Packer.
In
the two-hour meeting the position of the national minorities in Greece
(Macedonian and Turkish) was reviewed as well as the lack of respect
of the rights of these minorities by the Greek state. The Rainbow
representatives stressed that this behavior by the Greek state is
incomprehensible considering that Rainbow, as an organization of
the Macedonian national minority, in its activities for the
realization of the national rights of the Macedonians in Greece,
always declared (and behaved in the same way) that it respects the
territorial integrity of the Greek state and condemns all kinds of
autonomist and separatist solutions. In the meeting it was
underlined that not only the national rights of the Macedonians are
not respected but also Rainbow's appeals to the Greek political forces
for the start of a dialog on minority questions are ignored. Lack of
respect for the OSCE and UN human rights standards was stressed in the
meeting as well as the need for ratification of the "Framework
Convention for the Protection of the National Minorities" of the
Council of Europe without further limiting clauses that could restrict
the rights of the national minorities in Greece during the
implementation of the Convention.
Also
present in the meeting were representatives of the Turkish national
minority, representatives of Greek NGOs, institutions for human rights
protection as well as representatives of the Liberal Party (Fililefteri)
and the Synaspismos Party.
Rainbow
declares this to be the first meeting between representatives of the
Macedonian national minority and the High Commissioner of OSCE on
Greek territory. We believe that this event will finally open the road
towards a realistic approach of the problems of respect of the rights
of the Macedonians in Greece by the Greek Government.
Political
Secretariat
Anastasiadis
Stavros
Papadimitriou Dimitrios
Sakelarios Nikos
Konstantinou Georgios
Voskopoulos Pavlos
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