Griechenland News

Greek authorities were harshly criticized by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) for the treatment of the Macedonian minority, Telegraf.mk reports. Deputy Labor Minister Ourania Antonopoulou, while presenting the report on Greece in front of the Committee for Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, pointed out that her country is trying to ensure the rights of minority groups, but said that it is clear that there is no Macedonian minority. "Greece firmly believes that the so-called 'Macedonian' minority has no relation to reality. There is a small group in northern Greece that speaks a Slavic dialect in addition to speaking Greek. The political group which represents this minority group won only 0,1 percent of the votes on the last elections. The use of the term 'Macedonian' has had a counter effect and the rights of over 2,5 million Greek Macedonians have been violated. Still, the group has freedom of expression and members can par...

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European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) at midnight will announce the latest, fifth report on Greece. As MIA reports from Strasbourg, unlike the previous four reports of ECRI on Greece, the latest, never mentioned the Macedonian minority, that Greek government officially does not recognize. Greece recognizes only religious, Muslim minority in Thrace, according to the obligations of the Treaty of Lausanne. . This omission of the Macedonian minority, according to the explanations in Strasbourg, is due to the new methodology in the work of the Commission, which provides it to devote to a few topics. In this case, ECRI deals with the right of the Muslim minority in Thrace, the situation of Roma and immigrants and asylum seekers. Although having said that other problems are not forgotten. In the previous four reports of ECRI was found violations of the rights of the Macedonian minority, so its omission surprises. Given that the next report will be in a f...

Die Gesellschaft für bedrohte Völker (GfbV) hat der Regierung Griechenlands Doppelstandards im Umgang mit Menschenrechten sowie der Ukraine-Krise und Russland vorgeworfen. Die neue griechische Regierung verstehe die Annexion der Krim offenbar nicht als Völkerrechtsbruch, sehe nicht die Verantwortung Russlands für den entsetzlichen Krieg in der Ukraine und nehme es hin, dass die russische Regierung Andersdenkende, Minderheiten und die gesamte Zivilgesellschaft massiv schikaniere, kritisierte Sarah Reinke, GUS-Referentin der GfbV. Griechenland müsse dringend auch im eigenen Land den Minderheitenschutz verbessern. Der Staat belege innerhalb der EU mit Abstand den letzten Platz in Sachen Minderheitenschutz. Die Existenz der slawischen Mazedonier im Norden Griechenlands werde seit Jahren negiert . Die türkische Minderheit dürfte sich nicht über ihre ethnische oder nationale Zugehörigkeit definieren, sondern gelte als rein muslimische Minderheit. Ein erster Schritt zu einer glaub...

It is time to say that we, the Macedonian community should not vote, as no Greek party even mentions minorities in its program. This has been an appeal of the organizations representing the Macedonian and Turkish minority in Greece to their fellow citizens, calling them not to vote in the upcoming early parliamentary elections, which will be held on January 25th, reads daily Dnevnik. According to the representative of the United Macedonian Diaspora for Greece, Evgenia Naculidu, none of the parties to be on the ballot has committed that, if it takes power or is included in the government coalition, it will continue with activities in favor of minorities. Not a single program has mentioned ratification of the Framework Convention of the Council of Europe for the Protection of National Minorities, which Greece has signed back in 1997, neither signing nor ratification of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages has been mentioned. Still, these two are the basis of th...

Greek authorities got scared of the progress made in the cases of return of properties to Macedonians, which were taken away from them after the 1949 Civil War, says Trendafilka Sandeva for daily Dnevnik, the lawyer hired to handle the real estate cases of the exiled Macedonians from Greece. "The Greek authorities dislike the seriousness of my work approach and were filled with disbelief that we would get this far," the lawyer adds, who was denied access to Greece.  The explanation given by Greek customs services was the same that was provided to all the journalists and other Macedonians who are denied access into Greece - that the country's national register says that "they are a danger for the public order and safety, the public health and the international relations". "I was never part of the Macedonian associations in Greece, nor have I participated in their events in the region of Florina and its surroundings. But my engagement represe...

The headmistress of the school where I taught openly told me that my views create problems, and colleagues warned me that I better go to Macedonia or in one of the European countries, explains S.K. from Drama who is awaiting asylum for almost 4.5 months at the reception center for asylum seekers in Skopje’s village of Vizbegovo, reads daily Dnevnik. The last six years I was under pressure that was no longer possible to endure. I left Greece for good and I am decisively determined to find my joy in Macedonia. Greek torture was no longer bearable, begins his story the 46-year-old S.K., Macedonian by origin, who has been living at the reception center for asylum seekers in Skopje’s village of Vizbegovo for four and a half months. He made the decision on June 15. Then he came to the country and applied for asylum the next day, stating that "He was persecuted in Greece and suffered severe political pressure because he was Macedonian." We are not allowed to reveal th...

Jorgos Papadakis from Rainbow, the party of the Macedonians in Yunanistan has been appointed new director of communications with the European Free Alliance (EFA), a political group which unites more regional, progressive parties and the parties of the minorities in the European Union, reads Telegraf.mk. Papadakis has confirmed that from early January he would work in Brussels and his job would be to communicate with MEPs and the Brussels administration. "This appointment is good for Rainbow as a political Party, and my task will be to provide higher visibility of the smaller groups so to be more represented in the media", explains Papadakis. EFA along with the Greens has 50 MEPs, and according to the Declaration of 2000, it advocates for “Europe of the free citizens based on the principle of subsidiary and solidarity of citizens." Party membership includes parties from Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, France, Italy, Germany, the UK and many other ...

The village mayor of Ovcarani, Gjorgi Javramov, says that Macedonians in Greece are increasingly seeking membership in SYRIZA because they will easier find employment through this party, which is a certain winner of the next elections, Telegraf.mk reports. Javramov, who became head of the village through membership in SYRIZA on the last local elections, said that the situation in Greece is difficult, but it’s even harder if you're a member of a minority that the government does not recognize. “People here are poor and life is hard. They seek salvation by joining some party and SYRIZA is the first choice. The fact that many of them visit Bitola regularly to purchase groceries and to look for work speak volumes about the condition of the people in Ovcharani. They often have problems on the way back with the border police that inquire them why they go to Macedonia,” Javramov says.

Anti-Macedonian crescendo of far-right government of Samaras and the Greek (para) state mechanisms continued to operate at full speed this summer, Rainbow announced today, party of Macedonians in Greece.  . According to them, the latest "victim" of such action was the Macedonian human rights activist and writer George Kanzurov (George Kancuris), born in the village of Setina in Florina, northern Greece. Last week Kanzurov was denied of entry to Greece and visit of the birthplace with the usual disgusting "excuse" that is "a threat to security and internal order of Greece." To many Macedonians, including a journalist, artists, scientists, and ordinary people so far have been denied the entry into Greece, they were forbidden to visit their hometowns or simply were forbidden to go on holiday in Greece. Notorious "black list" with unwanted Macedonians, which was allegedly lifted from the Minister of Education A. Loverdos, not only that...

The party of the Macedonian minority in Greece "Rainbow" started Friday in Athens the trial against several Greek television channels for unequal treatment during the election campaign, Telegraf.mk reports. The case is five years old and dates back to the European Parliament elections in 2009 when several national and local TV stations have not complied with the agreement to advertise the parties equally. Instead in the prime time, the video of "Rainbow" was aired at 4 a.m. when the ratings are minimal. Apart the television "Mega", among the sued channels are the state ERT, "Antenna," "Star" and "Alpha".

US think-tank Stratfor released a map of European languages spoken on the continent, and not surprisingly good portion of northern Yunanistan (Aegean Macedonia) was marked as place where the Macedonian language is spoken. This caused an uproard in Yunanistan and Athens in particular where internet goers flooded Stratfor's Facebook page with offensive comments. In Macedonia, a tiny portion in the Northwest part of the country was marked as place where Albanian is spoken. Athens and then some is marked as area where Albanian is widely spoken.

The network for promoting linguistic diversity in Dublin’s seminar on the plight of the Macedonian people and the Greek attempts to delete the Macedonian language, was represented by the activist for the rights of Macedonians in Greece and official of the United Macedonian Diaspora (UMD), Eugenia Natsoulidou. - The Macedonian language is nearly extinct among the younger generations. The older generations usually speak Macedonian with their families, relatives and friends and they usually avoid talking Macedonian in public, said Natsoulidou at the seminar held ten days ago, as informs the UMD. Naculidu warned that Greece does not allow use of the Macedonian language in official purposes. - The Macedonian language is never used in formal speech, in the shops, or in the state institutions, even when the speaker knows that the person he / she addresses also speaks Macedonian, said Natsoulidou and requires from the Greek government, on behalf of UMD, to take actions for p...

Μελίτη Φλώρινας Ovcharani & Π.Σ.Μαρίνας Νάουσας "ΟΙ ΜΑΚΕΔΟΝΕΣ" 19/7/2013 Μελίτη Φλώρινας Ovcharani & Πολιτιστικός Σύλλογος Μαρίνας Νάουσας(Tsrmarinovo Negush) "ΟΙ ΜΑΚΕΔΟΝΕΣ" 19/7/2013 Παίζει το μουσικό συγκρότημα "Τ' ΑΗΔΟΝΙΑ".

Taken from the Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008, online version.

Publisher -  Minority Rights Group International Publication Date - 2008 Cite as - Minority Rights Group International, World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples - Greece : Macedonians, 2008, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/49749d1841.html [accessed 11 May 2013] Disclaimer - This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Profile The term 'Macedonia' has become a sensitive issue for Greece due to its ethnic Macedonian population in northern Greece. From 1913, the Greek state has attempted to assimilate the ethnic Macedonian minority of northern Greece. During the Greek civil war there was a mass exodus of the Macedonian-speaking population. In 1944, the People's Republic of Macedonia (later changed to Socialist Republic of Ma...

Religious Freedom Abuses – The Case of the Macedonian Orthodox Christian Minority in Greece Last month, the United Macedonian Diaspora (UMD) published a new report: Greece: Religious Freedom Abuses – The Case of the Macedonian Orthodox Christian Minority. The report outlines the culture of abuse inherent to the Greek legal system concerning the lack of religious freedom, and it outlines the grievances of recent immigrants, the historic Turkish minority in Thrace, and the indigenous Macedonian Orthodox Christian community in northern Greece. The report raises a number of concerns arising out of the lack of any formal or informal separation of church and state in Greece, resulting in the Greek Orthodox Church being de facto an organ of the Greek government. Article 3 of the Greek Constitution defines the Greek Orthodox Church (GOC) as “the prevailing religion.” Thus, only the Greek Orthodox clergy are considered civil servants, and practices such as proselytism and cremation are ...

ΘΕΛΟΥΜΕ ΝΑ ΔΙΔΑΣΚΟΜΑΣΤΕ ΤΗ ΜΗΤΡΙΚΗ ΜΑΣ ΜΑΚΕΔΟΝΙΚΗ ΓΛΩΣΣΑ Γραμμένο σε 01.04.2013 (Επιστολή του Παναγιώτη Αναστασιάδη, Πρόεδρου του Τοπικού Συμβουλίου Μελίτης Δήμου Φλώρινας. Στάλθηκε προς όλους τους αρμόδιους στις 26 Μαρτίου 2013) Овчарани / Μελίτη – Μάρτιος 2013 Όπως γνωρίζετε, διανύουμε μια περίοδο ιδιαίτερα δύσκολη για την Ελλάδα. Αφενός η οικονομική κρίση και αφετέρου τα διαρκώς διογκούμενα κοινωνικά προβλήματα έχουν δημιουργήσει πολλές επιπρόσθετες δυσκολίες στην καθημερινότητα όλων μας. Ειδικά σε περιοχές σαν τη δική μας που ανέκαθεν τύγχανε της, όχι πάντοτε καλοπροαίρετης, «φροντίδας» του κράτους, οι πολίτες είναι αποκομμένοι από τα πάντα. Η ανεργία καλπάζει ενώ ταυτόχρονα η εμφάνιση θλιβερών φαινομένων όπως η Χρυσή Αυγή, κάνει όλους εμάς που είμαστε φορείς μιας ιδιαίτερης γλωσσικής και πολιτιστικής ταυτότητας να νιώθουμε ότι η Ελλάδα επιστρέφει ολοταχώς στο παρελθόν, ένα παρελθόν γεμάτο εξορίες, ρετσινόλαδο, απαγορεύσεις και φόβο. Ευτυχώς για μας όμως, οι και...

Instruction of Macedonian language in all elementary and secondary schools in Meliti (Ovcarani) municipality, all topographic names at the municipality's territory to be bilingual, whereas all official titles at public facilities to be written in Greek and Macedonian languages, asks mayor Panagiotis Anastasiadis in the letter addressed to Florina (Lerin) mayor and the Minister of Education, newspaper of Macedonians in Greece "Nova Zora" says on its website. In the letter, Anastasiadis says Greece is a signatory of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, which stipulates that member-states are obliged to protect lingual diversity and prevent any discrimination. Moreover, he says EU member-states are obliged to protect and urge the use of minority languages when spoken at their territory, even when they are not officially recognized. "Let me also remind you that our country is a signatory, but unfortunately still not ratifying it, of the Council of Euro...

by George Vlahov 04 January 2013                       Non-governmental organisation questions the wisdom of assigning the post to a former Greek foreign minister in the context of Greece's consistent human rights violations During the press conference announcing the appointment of the new European Union human rights envoy, a Macedonian journalist asked the 'responsible' officials about the wisdom of assigning the post to a former Greek foreign minister - Stavros Lambrinidis - in the context of Greece's consistent human rights violations. The country has refused to ratify what are supposed to be foundational EU human rights conventions. His question was simply ignored. The same journalist also posed a question about the operational parameters of the new human rights representative: would the envoy be empowered to evaluate EU countries? The official replied with an ambiguous answer in which he chose not to explain tha...