ON A FLORINA ROUND TABLE DISCUSSION ON MINORITIES

GREEK HELSINKI MONITOR

(Greek National Committee of the International Helsinki Federation)

& MINORITY RIGHTS GROUP - GREECE

(Greek Affiliate of  Minority Rights Group International)

P.O. Box 51393, GR-14510 Kifisia, Greece

Tel. 30-1-620.01.20; Fax: 30-1-807.57.67; E-mail: helsinki@compulink.gr

 

PRESS RELEASE

 

17/5/1997

 

TOPIC: ON A FLORINA ROUND TABLE DISCUSSION ON MINORITIES

 

This (with the corrections in the end MILS was kind enough to make) is a fair account of a very important round-table discussion that took place on 10/5/1997 near Florina (with the participation of our two organizations). Today's (17/5/1997) Eleftherotypia also has a similar and equally fair report (in Greek).

 

M I L S SUPPLEMENT

`A Small Event But a Giant Step in History'

(`Vecher' - 12th May 1997)

 

A small event but a giant step forwards in history, in terms of implementing the basic human rights of Macedonians in the Aegean area of the Republic of Greece... This has been the basic conclusion  imposed by the public panel on `The Linguistic, Cultural and Ethnic Differences Throughout EU Member-States and Current Greek Reality' held two days ago as part of marking the `European Year of the Battle Against Xenophobia and Racism' by the `Vinozhito' Organisation of Macedonians living in Greece. The event - attended by over 100 Greeks and Macedonians from Thessalonica, Voden, Kostur, etc. - could (and according to many participants should) have been staged in Athens. But its actual venue in the above mentioned part of Greece has been of principal importance. Representatives of the Greek and Swedish Helsinki Committee, the Minority Rights Group, those of the Turkish minority in Thrace and of numerous other NGOs and associations - as well as minor (mainly left) political parties - conveyed a clear message: Macedonians in Greece, regardless of the permanent fear of repercussion, will require the help of all stakeholders to pressure the Greek Government into granting them their basic human rights in the spheres of education, culture and religion.

 

The event has been opened in Macedonian (for the first time ever on such an occasion), and was then continued in Greek as this was the `lingua franca' for most of the participants. `In order to ensure Greece's becoming an even more progressive democracy, it is a necessity to recognize these fundamental human and political rights. VINOZHITO believes that all linguistic, cultural, political and other barriers emerging in some EU member-states and even in Greece may only be overcome through dialogue and opportunities of this kind - as they raise taboo questions. This is a step in the right direction', said `Vinozhito' presidium member Pavle Vaskopoulos. `In Greece there is a group of people called (Slavic) Macedonians, but we are not the ones to function as godfathers at a baptism. These people speak Macedonian and they have asked us to help them implement their rights', stated Nevenka Papanikolataou of the Minority Rights Group of Greece. Upon asking Greece to uphold all treaties and conventions of which it is a signatory and thus recognize the Turkish and the Macedonian minorities, the Chairman of the Greek Helsinki Committee Dimitras Panayotis stressed that matters should not be considered from the perspective most convenient for Greece at the moment, but from a general point of view advocating the global respecting of human rights. Or, in other words, Greece cannot talk of a Greek minority in Albania or Turkey and at the same time ignore the existence of Turks and Macedonians on its own territory. While informing that according to data from 1989, there were 110 000 Turks resident in Greece - in comparison to the current 80 to 90 thousand, Sali Hakim (a representative of the Turks resident in Thrace) states that `we will for our rights as determinedly as the Macedonians.' Anne-Marie Bostroem of the Swedish Helsinki Committee focused on the already compiled programme which is to familiarize the international community with the conditions (particularly with respect to ownership and legal issues) affecting Macedonians in all parts of Macedonia, who have been refugees and victims of the Greek Civil War.

 

The event was closed with the answering of a larger number of questions, of which the majority is to be published in the `Vinozhito' periodical `Nova Zora' and the obligatory

festivity with Macedonians songs and line dances. (end)

 

(from MILS NEWS, 13 May 1997)

 

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M I L S SUPPLEMENT

`Files Going to Europe'

(`Vecher' - 13th May 1997)

 

After an `ice age' of fifty years the issue regarding Macedonians during the Greek Civil War has finally obtained international proportions. The Federation of Helsinki Committee based in Vienna and the Committees of Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, Macedonia and the US `Helsinki Watch' are starting the implementation of the project on addressing legal and ownership issues as well as other human rights (especially citizenship and re- patriation). All activities are directly directed to corresponding authorities within the Council of Europe, and later on most probably to the European Human Rights Tribunal. Another interesting fact is that so far the governments of several EU member-states have expressed their willingness to financially support the project. The necessity to seriously address the problems of Macedonians exiled or escaped from Greece by European NGO structures has been imposing itself due to similar issues brought forward by the armed conflicts in Croatia and Bosnia and the exodus of refugees these generated. Generally speaking, it is being considered to establish an international institution whose basic task would be to address all those human right issues brought about by war.

 

With regards to Macedonians from Greece, the first measures in order to familiarize themselves with the cases of confiscated property, revoked citizenship and re- patriation procedures, have been undertaken by the Swedish Helsinki Committee over a year ago. `Almost 95% of all Europeans are not at all aware of the problems confronting Macedonians, and upon learning of them during the conversations we had, we were touched and overwhelmed by how you could survive this for five decades', stated Swedish Helsinki Committee representative Anne-Marie Bostroem. Concordant to the Greek Constitution, ownership right cases may be re-opened at any time. But with regards to Greece and its discriminatory policy towards Macedonian victims of the Civil War - as well as towards those Macedonians still resident in Greece - many violations of the Constitution emerge via separate government decisions. Data obtained by the Swedish Helsinki Committee however indicates that if these ownership cases are re-opened within 50 years all property rights are forfeited. In addition to this, both Albania and Greece have already agreed (some time ago) to return all ownership and other civic rights to those Albanians escaped from Greece! In this sense particular attention is being paid to the so- called `Cyprus case', as it has also made its way to the EU Human Rights Commission and the Human Rights Tribunal. The case is concerned with Greek property on the Turkish side of Cyprus. According to Ms. Bostroem an international law expert - Mr. Per Chelson, an eminent lawyer (and former Cambridge graduate) who has made a name for himself in the US - has already been concerned with the entire matter. As of the 19th March he has begun to delve into the `Cyprus case'. Its solution will most probably serve as a pattern to address Macedonian property issues in Greece as well, in addition to the most recent cases brought about by the latest Balkan conflicts. Specific care has also been dedicated to monitoring the work of the Strasbourg-based EU Human Rights Commission. It has agreed to delve into certain cases, once all other options within the EU member-state(s) and the Council of Europe have been exhausted. These procedures last up to two years and end in the submission of the case at the Human Rights Tribunal. The ruling of the latter may then be implemented as a means of exerting pressure or imposing sanctions. Bearing in mind the policy employed by Greece towards Macedonians, the majority of the latter are not in possession of the required papers to prove their ownership rights. It is for this reason these days that Ms. Bostroem - together with the Macedonian Helsinki Committee and the Organisations of Aegean Macedonians - have commenced the gathering of the most substantial cases and appropriate documents, in order to forward these to Human Rights Commission. It is said that there are genuine `textbook examples' among these cases. The submitting of any new cases is to be handled via the Organisations of Macedonians originating form the Aegean area, whereas later on it has been planned to hire a number of lawyers in both Greece and Macedonia. `Europe is aware of the problems caused by the revoking of ownership rights, which is accounting for its readiness to fund such an international institution', says Ms. Bostroem while adding that `It would seem understandable for people to be skeptical about this project since nobody has ever bothered to help them... and the majority still thinks that this is not about to change. Indeed, even this time there is a possibility of disappointment. But as we hope to achieve something, we cannot sit around with idle hands.' It may be that the European community has not been aware of these issues so far... It remains a fact however, that for the first time ownership documents of exiled or escaped Macedonians from Greece during the Civil War will end up in Europe. The possible implementation of the entire project is nevertheless, another story. (end)

 

(from MILS NEWS, 14 May 1997)

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MILS NEWS

15 May 1997

 

With regards to the M I L S SUPPLEMENT published yesterday, the `Vecher' article `Files Going to Europe' (13th May 1997 edition), we have been contacted by Mr. Panayote Elias Dimitras - Spokesperson of the Greek Helsinki Monitor & Minority Rights Group Greece - with the request to rectify two pieces of faulty/incomplete information: firstly, the Greek Helsinki Monitor is also involved in the project on property restitution of Aegean Macedonians (besides the already mentioned organisations from Sweden, Denmark, Austria, the US and Macedonia) and the correct name of the Minority Rights Group representative is Ms. Nafsika Papanikolatou. We agree with Mr. Dimitras that without such clarification `wrong impressions may create unwarranted effects' and would therefore like to thank him for getting in touch with us on behalf of his NGO.