GHM REPORT TO ERRC No 62:
30/7/1999
REPORT ON THE COVERAGE OF THE ROMA IN THE
GREEK PRESS
JUNE 1999
(Comments in italics are made by the
GHM)
Contents:
The Roma Housing Issue
Roma Settlement of Alikarnasos
1998 Human Rights Violations of Roma Rights
Policy on Roma Acquisition of Driver’s Licenses
Violations of the Rights of the Stateless, Roma among Others
Roma in Kosovo
General News
* page numbers of the articles in the Avgi
newspaper are not provided, since there is no such reference in the web edition of the
paper
1. The Roma Housing Issue
7/6/1999: Eleftherotypia,
pages 84-85
A Bet for the Social Care State:
Necessity to Create a Central Coordinating Organ for Roma Housing
The Greek Constitution states that
“the acquisition of a home for those who are deprived of it or those who are
insufficiently accommodated is the object of a special care on the part of the State”
(Article 21, par. 14 of the Greek Constitution). Traditionally, the Roma population has
been excluded from this rule for various reasons. For the first time in 1996 there was an
attempt to create a “national policy for the Greek Roma.” It was to replace the
traditional relations between the Roma and the politicians with an institutionalized state
policy. The issue of Roma accommodation is not confined only to the housing aspect but
involves socioeconomic factors as well. The planning of a housing policy for the Roma
should give a serious role to the local governments (namely the municipalities, as well as
the prefectures). This also presupposes the creation of a central coordinating organ (a
committee or a special service). This organ should deal with the social integration of the
Roma as well. The participation of the Panhellenic Roma Federation in such a body is
considered obligatory. The right policy towards the Roma should follow some basic
principles: 1. Respect for the cultural identity of the Roma; 2. Recognition of their
right to move around or to settle down; 3. Participation of the Roma in the planning and
the decision making on issues of their concern; 4. Finding a temporary solution to help
alleviating their present living standards. Until now the Roma issues have been addressed
either with sporadic financial support for some special cases, or with the planning of a
long-term policy. The first Panhellenic project examining the lodging needs of the Roma
population had to deal with a very complicated situation concerning the present status of
the Roma, their needs and the needs of the non-Roma population. When it comes to the legal
aspect, the law transfers the responsibility for a lot of matters concerning the settled
Roma population to the local governments and the districts. The only law immediately
concerning the nomad Roma goes back to 1983 and is a literal repetition of an English law
of the 1960s. There are however other laws on the urban development and the social
integration of the population that can be used as the basis for dealing with the lodging
issue of the Roma.
17/6/1999: Eleftherotypia, page 7
The recent failure of the ruling party in
the elections for the European Parliament put the government on the alert. The Special
Advisor to the Prime Minister called the Panhellenic Roma Federation and a number of NGOs
to a meeting where they discussed a draft law for the creation of settlements for the Roma
nomads throughout Greece.
18/6/1999: Avgi
We Are Waiting for the Propositions
The meeting concerning the problems of the
Roma nomads held by the Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs, Mr. Floridis (who did not
attend the meeting personally) concluded with the decision for the creation of a committee
which would work on the relevant issues and propose solutions within 15 days. It is the
first time that the Ministry of Internal Affairs and representatives of the Central
Committee of the local governments participated in such a meeting. Among the other
participants were lots of NGOs and representatives of the Progressive Left Coalition.
The first article from Eleftherotypia
uses a somewhat theoretical approach, which sets the basis for an institutionalized policy
towards Roma nomads. Three points can be made. First, the Roma nomads themselves are tired
waiting for the results from the prolonged and expensive research studies. These studies
usually do not enhance our knowledge with something new or important, or, even when they
do, they stay on paper, instead of being used to ameliorate the living conditions of the
Roma. Second, if the participation of the Panhellenic Roma Federation in the decision
making on the nomads is to have any meaning apart from the typical legitimization of
already planned policies, then it should expand and include representatives from the nomad
Roma population. This is a necessary condition, because almost half of the Roma population
is nomad, while only one out of the eleven members of the Federation Board is of nomad
origin. Third, the article avoids making any reference to the NGOs, which are active in
dealing with Roma issues and have a constant presence at the settlements. These NGOs have
an important role to play in reassuring the respect for the human rights of the nomads and
in adding their voice to that of the Roma nomads, who unfortunately are still unorganized
and thus in a rather weak position to negotiate their rights.
Having said that, it should be mentioned
that the meeting concerning the problems of the Roma nomads -in which the Roma Office of
the GHM also participated- is a very positive step in the right direction. Hopefully, it
will set the spirit for a quick and effective dealing with the Roma issues. If the
Committee that came out of the meeting is really given the means to design or to help
design a policy towards the Roma nomads, that would prove that the political will to solve
their various problems is really present.
2. Roma Settlement of Alikarnasos
10/6/1999: Avgi
With the Roma of Alikarnasos
Hundreds of Roma from the Alikarnasos
settlement of Heraklion in Crete were gathered last Sunday to thank the president of the
Progressive Left Coalition (PLC), Mr. Constantopoulos, and the MP, Mr. Danelis, for
supporting them in their effort to save their settlement. The Municipality of Alikarnasos
has issued eviction orders against Roma that have been living for 15 years in the
outskirts of the town of Alikarnasos, between the airport and the industrial area. The
Roma do not mind resettling in another district. The Municipality, however, wants to evict
them from the area within its limits and nobody else is eager to accept them. The solution
of the problem through resettling the Roma in the nearby military barracks of Karteros,
which was supported by the Prefecture of Crete, was finally rejected. The surrounding
district is going to host an industrial and commercial center in the former barracks. The
PLC MP, Mr. Danelis, brought the case to the Parliament but all he managed to get was the
understanding of the government. The Roma have formed a cultural association, named Elpida
(Hope), which is very active in trying to improve the quality of their living conditions.
A very positive report describing the
problem of the Roma of Alikarnassos and standing by them in their efforts to change both
the local racist mentality and the inertia of the State.
3. 1998 Human Rights Violations of Roma
Rights
17/6/1999: Avgi
Violations by Greece
The cases of the young Roma, Mr. Bekos and
Mr. Koutropoulos, beaten up in the police department of Messologi and the case of the
Roma, Mr. Celal, killed by policemen in Partheni (Thessaloniki), are included in the 1998
Human Rights Violations Report of Amnesty International.
18/6/1999, Avgi:
Greece: Violations of the Rights of the
Press, of the Minorities and the Immigrants
The International Helsinki Federation 1998
Human Rights Report refers to the eviction of the 3,500 Roma of Evosmos (Thessaloniki), as
well as to the ill-treatment of Mr. Bekos and Mr. Koutropoulos in the police department of
Mesolongi and the murder of Angelos Celal by policemen in Partheni (Thessaloniki).
Both Amnesty International and the
International Helsinki Federation highlight various violations of the human rights of the
Roma in Greece for 1998. The articles are positive towards the Roma. They adopt the human
rights perspective and call on the State to eliminate the violations mentioned.
4. Policy on Roma Acquisition of
Driver’s Licenses
17/6/1999: Avgi
Solution for the Roma
The deputy Minister of Development, Mr.
Haralambous, asked from the Minister of Transportation, Mr. Mandelis, to find a way for
Roma to acquire driver’s licenses. According to Mr. Haralambous, the real reason that
the Roma do not have licenses and insurance is not their unwillingness but the fact that
they are illiterate and cannot sit for the necessary exams. Thus he proposed the
development of a system of seminars and examinations especially for the Roma, so that they
are not obliged to pay large amounts of money to attorneys and others each time they stand
trial for lack of papers.
Also:
18/6/1999: Vima
Positive articles about a positive
initiative of the State to satisfy a long-standing request of the Roma.
5. Violations of the Rights of the
Stateless, Roma among Others
5/6/1999: Avgi
A Bulgarian Minority in Greece?
The police department of Komotini refuses
to give an identity card (which is its obligation under the relevant UN Convention) to Mr.
Durgut Sezgin, who is a stateless person. Mr. Sezgin claims that he has received threats
not to insist on acquiring an identity card. The police declare that he is a foreigner
(although he was born in Greece) and oblige him to renew his residence permit (as the
husband of a Greek woman) every year. This means that he has to pay a considerable amount
of money and will be kept in suspense and insecurity. What is more, eight months later in
its answer to the Greek Ombudsman, justifying its refusal, the police discovered an
alleged mistake that had supposedly been repeated for many years. They revealed that Mr.
Sezgin has a Bulgarian citizenship, thus asking him to prove that he is not Bulgarian in
order to consider him a stateless person. This action of the police is pointedly racist
and violates a series of laws and rules. Moreover, it is likely to create a Bulgarian
minority in Greece since there are many residents in Greece with the same problem as Mr.
Sezgin.
A lot of Roma in Komotini and other
places in Greece do not declare their Roma identity assimilated into the Turkish minority.
These people are not registered as citizens and must receive, according to the UN
Convention, special identity cards. Mr. Sezgin is one of them. The attitude of the police
towards him is typical for most of the cases. Taking advantage of the highly bureaucratic
procedures, or simply denying a reasonable excuse, the lower administration blatantly
violates the law and refuses to provide people like Mr. Sezgin with the necessary
documents. Thus these people are officially considered non-existent and have no access to
rights and benefits that are given to all other citizens.
6. Roma in Kosovo
23/6/1999: Nea, page 44: The
Victims Became Victimizers in Tortured Kosovo
26/6/1999: Nea, page 72: Albanians
Exterminate Roma
28/6/1999: Nea, page 55: They
Were Excruciating Roma in Prizren
The attacks of Kosovo Albanians
against Roma settlements in Kosovo were adequately covered in the press. The attitude of
the papers was very positive towards the Roma, but this could also be explained in some
cases with the generally pro-Serbian position of most Greek newspapers when it comes to
the war in Kosovo.
7. General News
· 11/6/1999, Eleftherotypia, page
64
Beaten and Accused
A Roma man from Thessaloniki went to the
police department of Dendropotamos to file a complaint against another Roma man who had
beaten him seriously. After being given medical care, the injured man was arrested since
he had a past conviction to imprisonment.
27/6/1999: Avgi
These Are Bad People…
A small child around four was pointing a
toy gun towards a Roma who was selling groceries in the open-air market. When asked why,
the boy explained that Gypsies and Albanians are bad people. This incident is indicative
of the xenophobic attitude in the Greek society. One can talk about a whole industry
dealing with creating the impression that foreigners are to blame for everything that is
not working properly in the Greek society. |
