PERMANENT MISSION OF GREECE TO THE OSCE

STATEMENT MADE BY THE GREEK DELEGATION IN EXERCISE OF ITS RIGHT OF REPLY

Last year, when I spoke on the subject of Roma and Sinti at the Warsaw Human-Dimension Implementation Review Meeting, I made two main points: (a) that the situation of the Roma in Greece is, in the eyes of the Greek Government, unsatisfactory and indeed unacceptable, and (b) that the Greek Government is determined to do everything in its power to remedy the situation.

I wish to assure this forum, and in particular those with more direct interest in the matter, that the determination of the Government of Greece has not changed. As for the first point mentioned above, namely, the real situation of the Roma in Greece, I wish I were in a position to say that it has changed dramatically for the better. The truth is that, although things have been improving, they have been doing so at a much slower pace than we in the Government would have liked. At the same time, although the pace of change is often frustratingly slow, it would be fair to admit that it is not slower than an objective observer would expect, given the specific circumstances in which it is taking place.

The sluggishness of bureaucracy in its every endeavor is not the least of the impediments encountered by the Government in this case. But I will say more on impediments in a minute.

Mr. Chairman,

Since 1996, the efforts of the Greek Government for the improvement of the living conditions of the Roma have been carried out in the framework of the Program of Social Integration of Greek Gypsies, which includes five main areas of projects, i.e., Housing, Education, Training-Employment, Health, Culture. Without even attempting to go into details, I will outline some salient features of those projects:

In housing, Government efforts concentrate on (a) finding permanent solutions, through the construction of houses, the allocation of land, and the granting of housing loans, and (b) on creating settlements of a transitional nature until permanent solutions are found.

In education, a 3-year project is now in progress, carried out by the Ministry of Education in co-operation with the University of Ioannina, which aims at providing continuous education to teachers of Roma children, publication of teaching materials, strengthening intercultural schools, helping high school students, etc. Also, in order to facilitate pupils who move frequently from one to another, the system of the individual transit-pupil card has been introduced.

In training and employment, specific programs are carried out to fight the exclusion of Romas from the work market.

In health, the programs carried out are adapted to the specific needs of the Roma population, and cover such areas of public health as immunization, distribution of information on health and hygiene, etc.

In culture, a special office has been established at the Ministry of Culture which deals with Gypsy cultural matters, while research projects are undertaken aiming at the study and preservation of Gypsy art, Gypsy ways of life, etc.

In order to better co-ordinate the various agencies involved in the implementation of Government projects, and also in order to inform the public and sensitize public opinion, the Government is now proceeding to the creation of a National Council on Policy for Greek Gypsies, which will include as members, in addition to Government officials, representatives of Roma associations, the inter-municipal ROM Network and NGOs.

Mr. Chairman,

As I said earlier, the Government efforts proceed at a slower pace than we would have liked and encounter various impediments. I have already mentioned bureaucratic sluggishness as one of the latter. Another important, but not unexpected, reason for the slow progress achieved is the fact that the Government programs must, at all stages, be inclusive of those concerned, i.e., the Roma themselves, and not be carried out in their absence. Consensus is therefore vital; and building it -a time consuming exercise under all circumstances- is particularly arduous when dealing with a social group composed of smaller groups, scattered around the country, which do not easily speak in one voice.

Another serious obstacle to the Government efforts is prejudice toward the Gypsies, which, bred over many long years, is still widespread among large segments of the population and is hard to eradicate. Such prejudice, which finds expression in everyday life, takes on more alarming and dangerous character when it is displayed by police officers or by elected officials at the local administration level. We regret –and condemn- the incidents of racist remarks by elected officials and violent acts by police officers mentioned earlier by the representatives of two Greek NGOs.

Mr. Chairman,

The representative of a Greek NGO who spoke earlier mentioned some racist remarks about Greek Romas attributed to the mayor of the town of Zefyri, near Athens. A few minutes ago I spoke to that mayor, Apostolos Zervas. He assured me that he had been misquoted by the media. But he also asked me, in any case, to express here on his behalf his sincere regret for the pain his statement has caused to the people who are dear to him and with whom he has been working for years, being himself, among other things, a member of the Administrative Council of the ROM Network of Greece.

Thank you Mr. Chairman