From: sachz@montebello.ecom.unimelb.EDU.AU (SAS)
Newsgroups: alt.news.macedonia,soc.culture.europe,soc.culture.yugoslavia,bit.listerv.politics,eunet.politics,talk.politics.misc,misc.headlines,soc.rights.human,soc.culture.greek,soc.culture.bulgaria,soc.culture.turkey
Subject: Amnesty International Report on Greece. [Finally!]
Summary: Recognize Macedonia, Now!
Date: 28 Jan 93 14:33:27 GMT
Followup-To: alt.news.macedonia,soc.culture.europe,soc.culture.yugoslavia
Organization: Dept. Engineering Computer Resources, Melbourne Uni.
Originator: sachz@montebello.ecom.unimelb.EDU.AU
Comments: Due to overwhelming popular request we have official notice here.


 
                    ------------------------------------
                            Amnesty International
                    ------------------------------------
 
 
        GREECE: Violations of the right to freedom of expression.
 
 
                                                         November 1992
                                                         AI Index: EUR 25/15/92
                                                         Distr: REL SC/GP/CO
 
International Secretary, 1 Easton Street, London WC1X 8DJ, United Kingdom.
 
 
   Amnesty International is becoming increasingly concerned about a
growing number of prosecutions and convictions of people in Greece
for peacefully exercising their right to freedom of expression.
 
   In two forthcoming trials people face possible prison sentences
of up to several years because they peacefully expressed views in
opposition to those held by the Greek Government. If these
defendants are imprisoned Amnesty International will consider them
to be prisoners of conscience. Over the past twelve months in two
other trials people have been convicted by Greek courts on the basis
of statements they have made publicly. If these convictions are
upheld on appeal these people face terms of imprisonment. Amnesty
International is gravely concerned at these restrictions on the
right to freedom of expression which the Greek Government guaranteed
to uphold when it ratified the European Convention for the
Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (European
Convention) in 1974.
 
   On 10 December Christos Sideropoulos and Anastasios (or Tasos)
Boulis will stand trial for comments they made in an interview with
a Greek magazine "Ena" in March 1992, about their ethnic identity as
Macedonians and the Greek Government's foreign policy. The two men
are charged with spreading false information about the non-Greekness
of Macedonia and the existence of a Macedonian minority on Greek
territory which is not officially recognized and with instigating
conflict among Greek citizens by differentiating between the
speakers of a Slavic language and Greeks. If convicted, they face
possible terms of imprisonment of up to several years and heavy
fines. Their trial which was postponed from 30 October will take
place at the Sixth Criminal Court in Athens.
 
        -------------------------------------------------------
        Christos Sideropoulos: "We've reached a crisis point.
        Unless we are recognized as a Macedonian ethnic
        minority, you'll be seeing us in the next elections;
        the consequences will be brought to parliament. We
        assure you that we are fielding a Macedonian deputy in
        the next election either as an independent candidate
        or as part of a movement, or even in cooperation with
        another party... How long are we going to live in fear
        of danger from the north and east? We've reached a
        point when we see the Turks as our enemies, the
        Bulgarians as our enemies, the Macedonians as enemies,
        the Albanians as enemies... There are a million
        Macedonian-speakers [in Greece]. We are entitled to
        rights to associations, schools, churches,
        traditions... I have a Macedonian ethnic consciousness
        but I am a citizen of Greece with all the rights and
        the obligations of a Greek citizen. With one
        difference; I belong to an ethnic minority which isn't
        recognized by my state..." Tasos Boulis: "We are
        citizens of a state extending from Florina to Crete and
        from Eyros to the island of Corfu. We will protect this
        state if it gives us recognition as a Macedonian ethnic
        minority."
        -------------------------------------------------------
        [1. Excerpts from the interview Christos Sideropoulos
        and Tasos Boulis gave to "Ena" magazine. The two men
        face possible prison sentences for their remarks.]
 
   Panos Garganas, Costas Pittas, Angelos Kalodoukas, Tasia Kyrkou
and Litsa Yidakou, members of the Organization for Socialist
Revolution (OSE), face possible terms of imprisonment of up to
several years and heavy fines. They are to be tried on 26 January
1993 for their involvement in compiling and distributing a pamphlet
entitled "The Macedonian Question: the Crisis in the Balkans and the
Working Class." The Pamphlet contains essays by members of OSE and
its sympathizers as well as Leon Trotsky and Pantelis Pouliopoulos
(leader of the Greek Communist Party in the 1920s) and expresses
views on Greece's foreign policy, the Macedonian question and ethnic
minorities which are in opposition to those held by the Greek
Government. The four are charged with exposing the friendly
relations of Greece with foreign countries to the risk of
disturbance; spreading false information and rumours that might
cause anxiety and fear to citizens and disturb international
relations of Greece and finally, inciting citizens to rivalry and
division, leading to disturbance of the peace.
 
   On 4 April, members of the Anti-War Anti-Nationalistic movement,
Stratis Bournazos, Christina Tsamoura, Vangelio Sotiropoulou and
Maria Kalogeropoulou were arrested in central Athens, while
distributing a leaflet entitled "Our Neighbours are not our
Enemies. No to Nationalism and War". They were taken to the General
Police Headquarters where they were held for a day and a night until
their release pending trial. On 4 May 1992 they were all convicted
by an Athens court of disseminating false information, attempting to
incite citizens to acts of violence or to dissension and disturbing
friendly relations with another country. They were sentenced to 19
months imprisonment. The leaflet called for peace in the Balkans
and opposed the Greek Government's foreign policy and domestic
policy regarding Greece's ethnic minorities. They are free pending
appeal. As far as Amnesty International is aware, no data has yet
been set for their appeal hearing.
        
        ------------------------------------------------------
        "We, the undersigned, have a view radically opposed to
        that of the government and official political world on
        national issues, the question of former Yugoslav
        Macedonia and the dangers threatening our country...
        We are of the firm belief that a dirty game is being
        played behind our backs, which even if it does not end
        in a war, will have painful consequences on all of our
        lives. Government, the political executive, well-paid
        journalists, generals and bishops are trying to
        persuade us we're in danger. They present a picture of
        a Greece suffocated from all sides which is creating
        insecurity and fear in Greek citizens... Our leaders
        are cultivating nationalist hysteria... and
        ancestor-worship in order to make us forget economic
        misery, unemployment, reduced incomes, a lower quality
        of life... Our rulers are trying to persuade us that
        our needs are identical [to those of the great
        imperialist powers]... They want us to be indignant
        when somebody makes nationalistic statements in Skopje,
        but to applaud when the same or even worse statements
        are heard in Athens or Salonica... the Greek people is
        in danger! Not from the unarmed title state to the
        north of our country nor from hungry Albanian refugees!
        We are in danger from the continuing war in former
        Yugoslavia in which our country may become involved if
        the government and mainly the principle opposition
        party do not abandon their megalomaniac plans... and
        don't stop playing the game of outstripping each other
        in vote-winning patriotism... We declare clearly:
        No to the climate of war with Yugoslav Macedonia. This
        aggression and racist attitude, based on the pretext of
        the name "Macedonia", which they have anyway used for
        the past half century, must stop. These people also
        have the right to national determination and to
        existence as a state in order so that it can survive.
        We should be ashamed to be accepting the continued
        economic blockade of our neighbouring country and all
        the various... proposals for invasion without
        protest... We want to live in peace with all people of
        the Balkans!... There is no shame in a society made up
        of different civilizations and national groups living
        together in harmony. On the contrary, it is an honour.
        It is shameful when minorities are crushed and
        oppressed in the name of unity and purity of the
        nation. There are Turks, Pomaks, Slavomacedonians and
        Gypsies living in Greece! We feel for these minorities
        living in our country exactly as we feel for other
        Greek citizens. We don't want them to disappear...
        On the contrary, we defend their right to take those
        freedoms and opportunities that we all enjoy. We
        support their special linguistic, religious and civil
        rights arising from their different origins..."
        ------------------------------------------------------
        [2. Excerpts from a leaflet entitled "Our Neighbours
        are not our Enemies. No to Nationalism and War."
        Four people who were caught by police distributing the
        leaflet were sentenced to 19 months imprisonment in
        May.]
 
   In another case, editor Irene Petropoulou was sentenced in
November 1991 to five months imprisonment and a 50,000 drachmes fine
for a comment she printed in the gay and lesbian magazine "Amphi".
She is free pending appeal. The comment was in the classified
section and asked who so many homosexual and heterosexual men were
interested in corresponding with lesbian women. The court ruled that
the comment "offends public feeling of decency and sexual morals and
cannot be considered to be a work of art and science". Irene
Petropoulou has appealed against her conviction. If her appeal is
rejected and she is unable or unwilling to convert her prison
sentence into a fine (of 1,000 drachmes per day for each day of her
prison sentence), she will face a term of imprisonment.
 
        ------------------------------------------------------
        "Note. I don't usually study the small ads, but
        something that caught my eye is the desire of men to
        get to know lesbians through small ads (they also phone
        desperately seeking lesbians... even to serve them free
        of charge). One gay man seems to be looking for a
        friend... by contrast there's a heterosexual man asking
        to break sexual conventions. I have started to ask
        myself: "Are lesbians strange and hard to find 'exotic
        fruits' that have to be sampled or are we unique lovers
        - totally fantastic and liberated in love - and for
        whom there is no place for 'convention' in bed? Thanks
        for the compliment as far as the first interpretation
        is concerned? ! But [I'm not sure about] this desire
        for us (!) to teach heterosexuals how to make great
        love ... I believe that this is what is
        'unconventional'...! Certainly this magazine wants to
        abolish fascism of the senses and wants as free as
        possible to advance sexual 'variety' of any kind, or
        other preferences. For that reason, we publish all the
        small ads which we receive. For the sake of avoiding
        any misunderstanding with our two friends who sent in
        their ads, let me make it clear that this note was
        written not to criticize but to provide an occasion to
        open a dialogue. You, lesbian women, what do you say to
        all of this? What do you think a homosexual or
        heterosexual mans attitude is toward you? What is your
        attitude towards them? As a lesbian it would help me
        tremendously if you wrote to me so that we can put
        together a lovely article with all our letters so they
        themselves can learn what we think of them. They must
        learn sometime. So what do you think??? Send letters to
        the magazine. I am waiting for them and I kiss you and
        how I am laughing. Kassandra."
        ------------------------------------------------------
        [3. The editor of "Amphi" was sentenced to five months
        imprisonment in November 1991 for publishing this note.]
 
   These prosecutions are a violation of Article 10(1) of the
European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and
Fundamental Freedoms, ratified by Greece in 1974, which states:
 
     "Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right
     shall include freedom to hold and to receive and impart
     information and ideas without interference by public authority
     and regardless of frontiers."
 
   This treaty is binding on Greece. It is also clear that
prosecutions of these people does not amount to a legitimate
restriction within the terms of Article 10(2) of the European
Convention.
 
Amnesty International is calling on the Greek authorities to take
immediate steps to quash convictions against Irene Petropoulou and
members of the Anti-War Anti-Nationalistic Movement and to drop all
charges against Christos Sideropoulos, Anastasios Boulis and the
members of OSE. It urges that steps be taken to ensure that no
further restrictions on the exercise of the right to freedom of
expression be imposed.
 
 
Amnesty International, November 1992            AI Index" FUR 25/15/92.
                                                              
 
Xref: sparky alt.news.macedonia:192 soc.culture.greek:12496 soc.culture.europe:11392