Syndicate: Greece-Macedonia: Condemnation of Greek MFA Statements o

[Melentie Pandilovski <mpandil@soros.org.mk>]

Forwarded by Melentie Pandilovski <mpandil@soros.org.mk>
---------------- Original message follows ----------------
 From: smissini@bogomil.soros.org.mk

Subject:       Greece-Macedonia: Condemnation of Greek MFA Statements 
on Macedonians

GREEK HELSINKI MONITOR 
& MINORITY RIGHTS GROUP-GREECE
P.O.Box 51393, GR-14510 Kifisia, Greece
Tel. 30-1-620.01.20, Fax 30-1-807.57.67, E-mail: office@greekhelsinki.gr
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PRESS RELEASE

23/12/1998

TOPIC: GOVERNMENT, PARTIES & HUMAN RIGHTS ORGANIZATIONS MUST CONDEMN
INTOLERANT STATEMENTS BY FOREIGN MINISTER PANGALOS

The cooperating non-governmental organizations (NGOs) Greek Helsinki
Monitor and Minority Rights Group-Greece condemn the statements made,
yesterday in Skopje, by Minister of Foreign Affairs Theodoros Pangalos, as
intolerant if not racist. They call upon the Greek government, political
parties and other human rights organizations to unequivocally condemn them
because in such cases "silence means complicity."

Mr. Pangalos referred to all persons claiming there is a minority in the
Greek region of Western Macedonia as "pervert intellectuals and pervert
journalists." He argued that the minority is "artificial, a product of
Titoism and Stalinism." He repeatedly used pejorative if not slandering
language for the minority party "Rainbow". He characterized it "a coalition
of Slavomacedonians, Stalinists and homosexuals that got 1,700 votes in the
last elections." He added, later on, that Rainbow "took part in the
elections forming alliances with the Organization for the Reconstruction of
the Communist Party of Greece (OAKKE) which is Stalinist, and the Movement
for the Liberation of Homosexuals managing to obtain throughout Greece only
1,840 votes."

Given that Rainbow never took part in an election in coalition with an
organization representing homosexuals, the above statement by Mr. Pangalos
brings to memory similar attacks made by intolerant and nationalist circles
towards human rights activists, independently of the clarifications the
Minister resorted to later on. Besides, it must be reminded that Rainbow
obtained in the 1994 European elections, in which it stood alone, 7,300
votes; and in the parliamentary elections of 1996, in coalition with OAKKE,
3,500 votes. Therefore, the figures presented by the Minister, who insisted
they were official, were false. But, even if only 1,700 persons claimed the
right to a minority identity, the argument that they constitute a very
small number in order to be recognized as a minority weakens decisively the
demands of the Greeks of Turkey who, with the tolerance of successive Greek
governments, have been reduced to 2,500 persons. 

We consider these statements unacceptable and condemnable for any Greek
politician. More so when the Minister of Foreign Affairs makes them in an
official visit to the capital of another country aiming at fellow nationals
of the population of that country. How would Greeks feel if, for example, a
Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs blasts off with a similar attack
against the Greek minority in Turkey during an official visit in Greece?

_______________________________________

Greek Helsinki Monitor &
Minority Rights Group - Greece
P.O. Box 51393
GR-14510 Kifisia
Greece
Tel. +30-1-620.01.20
Fax +30-1-807.57.67
e-mail: office@greekhelsinki.gr
http://www.greekhelsinki.gr
________________________________________


Suad Missini
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Porta Bunjakovec A2 / 2-4
91000 Skopje 
Macedonia