GHM REPORT TO ERRC NO 51: 28/1/1999

DECEMBER 1998 ACTIVITY REPORT OF THE GHM ROMA OFFICE

December 8: Members of the GHM attended the presentation of The Dictionary of the Romani Language - As Spoken by the Muslim Roma of Greek Thrace (Greek-Romani), sponsored by the entrepreneur Mr. Prodromos Emfietzoglou and compiled by political scientist Mr. Antonis K. Liapis. The lavish presentation took place at the Athens Hilton Hotel and was attended by many representatives of the Greek elite, politicians and the press. At the presentation of the book, Mr. Emphiezoglou showed some slides of basket-weaving, of images of Thrace, and of his various projects in the area, including the creation of a Child Care Center. The dictionary is a small but a rather expensive compilation of the dialect spoken by the Muslim Roma of Thrace. It makes use only of Greek symbols, limiting the use to Greek speakers. It is also rather strange that the writer does not speak the Romani language himself, as members of the Roma community said to the GHM, nor is he a linguist by profession. The Roma who contributed to the writing of the dictionary are not acknowledged.

Members of the Muslim Minority of Thrace question Mr. Emfietzoglou’s motivation. According to them, he is promoting his own private interests in the region by giving preference to the Muslims of Pomak and Roma origin, who do not threaten the image of the national homogeneity of the Greek State, while undermining the existence of Muslims with a Turkish national consciousness. Mr. Emfietzoglou has undertaken various activities in Thrace and has received the criticism of left parties and local people for trying to substitute the elected authorities and to develop his own policies which he likes to present as ‘national.’

December 10: Eight NGOs, among which DROM Network, Greek Helsinki Monitor and Minority Rights Group-Greece, issued a news release on the occasion of the 50^th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In it, the problems of the Galikos River Roma were addressed. After rendering the events of the previous month, when the river was about to overflow and the life of the Roma got in serious danger, the NGOs accuse the Prefecture of Thessaloniki of breaking the law by refusing to protect human life. The NGOs ask for the immediate temporary resettlement of the Roma at a place adjacent to the one previewed for their permanent settlement, namely the former military barracks of Gonou. The Prefect, however, refuses to resolve the problem on the grounds that the population of the neighboring municipalities reacts negatively to the resettlement. He asked from the Roma to be patient. The mine disposal, which is a precondition for the beginning of the infrastructure works in the barracks and for the subsequent acceptance of the Roma, is unjustifiably delayed. All this is regardless of the commitment of the Minister of National Defense who said that it could be done within 24 hours. Therefore even the permanent settlement of the Roma at the barracks is seriously delayed.

The news release was widely covered by both local and national newspapers, which fully adopted its arguments and sympathized with the Roma. We have been informed that the Public Prosecutor is going to order preliminary investigation on the situation described. As a consequence, a little after the news release, the Prefecture of Thessaloniki hastened to promise that the infrastructure works will start in mid-January 1999 and will be finished by mid-May. The GHM and the other NGOs will continue to watch the case closely, since it is not the first time that such promises are given without being kept.