My statement today shall focus on the rights of Macedonian national minority of Greece. In line with Greek nationalist ideology, successive Greek governments have failed to acknowledge the existence of a distinct Macedonian ethnic identity and Macedonian language. The attitude of Greek authorities to the very concept of minority rights deserves particular attention.
Macedonian Human Rights Movement International (MHRMI) - Press Release Toronto, Canada - United Nations Independent Expert on Minority Issues, Ms. Gay McDougall, was in Florina (Lerin), northern Greece today to investigate minority issues and meet with members of Rainbow (Vinozhito), representing the Macedonian minority in Greece.
Source: MIA The Parliament of Macedonia adopted Wednesday unanimously by acclamation a Resolution on the Refugees from Military Actions in the Republic of Greece during the Civil and Second World War. It envisages the Government to support the legal struggle of the Aegeans with regard to returning the seized ...
July 10, 2008 marked the 10th anniversary of the judgement of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in the case of Sidiropoulos and Others vs. Greece (ECtHR, 57/1997/841/8107) in which the court ruled that Greece's refusal to register the Home of Macedonian Culture constituted a violation of Article 11 of the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR).
Either the Americans provide information to the Greek Foreign and Interior Ministries or - which is more likely - the Greek Secret Service (EIP) is wiretapping the telephones of the Macedonian representatives in Greece. How else can a strictly confidential document issued by the Greek media include even the tiniest ...
Bulgarian Prime Minister, Sergei Stanishev appeared on June 17th as a special guest speaker at The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington DC. The topic of discussion at this forum was Transatlantic Security that Endures: Anchoring Southeast Europe and the Black Sea Region. In response to a ...
According to Athanassios Plevris the Macedonians committed felony when naming "Skopje” as "Macedonia” and the language as "Macedonian”. Death penalties were demanded for the members of the "VINOZHITO” party of the Macedonians in Greece, as well as for the Greek "Helsinki Watch” branch, by Member of Parliament Athanassios Plevris of "The People's Orthodox Rally” ("LA.O.S.”) party.
With its expansion ever since the end of the cold war, the European Union has been increasingly projecting itself as a moral force in global affairs. It has called itself a community of values and has been tirelessly repeating to would-be members that full embrace of democracy and human and minority rights is the only way into the club.
Source: http://assembly.coe.int/Main.asp?link=/Documents/Records/2008/E/0804151500E.htm On Tuesday 15 April 2008 in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Mr Lambert of Belgium put the following question to Mr Thomas Hammarberg, Commissioner for Human Rights: "I would like to raise the issue of the political party OMO "Ilinden" PIRIN in Bulgaria.
Macedonian and Turkish minorities unrecognised and ignored in Greece Florina/Lerin - April 21, 2008 - On Thursday 17 April 2008 an international panel discussion was held in the European Parliament on the Ignored Minorities of Greece: Western Thrace Turks and Macedonians. The conference was very well attended and received much publicity in the press in the days leading up to the event.