The Honourable George Papandreou
Alternate Foreign Minister
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Athens, Greece
September 24, 1998
Re: Refusal to Allow Entry to Macedonian Media
Dear Mr. Minister:
What an unfortunate turn of events that the Greek Liaison Office in Skopje, Republic of
Macedonia, refused to grant entry visas to a crew from Macedonian Television (MTV). They
had intended to cover the September 15, 1998, trial of four members of the Macedonian
minority party (Rainbow) in Florina.
The defendants in this trial were all acquitted. Certainly this pragmatic verdict has
political overtones but by every account the trial was executed fairly and properly. To
have had Macedonian Television coverage of such a remarkably apolitical trial would
certainly have been a feather in Greece’s cap.
I do appreciate the embarrassment associated with a trial wherein the state charges its
citizens for using their mother tongue. Reporting this might have negatively impacted
Greece’s reputation but since the cat was already out of the bag this could not have
been a serious consideration. Here’s the rub: by refusing the visas Greece establishes
the case for Greek media being denied access from covering issues relevant to Greek
minority interests. That’s not a very good precedent to set just to reduce some
embarrassment.
Greece clearly has a ways to go toward achieving Western norms of human rights and
social tolerance, as, of course, does every other Balkan country. Having said that I would
like to thank those in the Greek government and Greek society who have diligently worked
to de-politicize minority issues. The difference from only a few years ago is staggering.
Thank you for your attention.
Sincerely,
Lubi Uzunovski
Chair