Skopje, 9 August: Canadian national of descent from Aegean Macedonia, Gjorgji Plukovski, was not granted entrance in Greece on 4 August and was given a written explanation, which read that he represented a threat to public security and health in Greece as well as the country's relations with other EU member-countries.

"The border officials were polite and said that the entrance ban was not their fault but came from Athens," Plukovski said at Tuesday's [9 August] press conference organized by the Nezaborav Association of Children Refugees from Aegean Part of Macedonia.

According to him, it is unclear why he was regarded as being a threat, when his sole objective was to visit his native village Halara in Kostur region. Furthermore, he stayed in Greece on 6-24 July, but entered from Italy. Plukovski is the secretary of the Association of Children Refugees from Aegean Macedonia in Toronto, where he has lived since 1972.

"It is high time Macedonia undertook measures because this is neither democratic nor European. I do not believe that anyone does this, not to speak another European Union member," Plukovski stated.

Association Nezaborav asked the Macedonian government to protect Macedonians, who are molested and humiliated when attempting to enter Greece. Association chairman Gjorgji Donevski announced that the Athens government has begun to secretly sell the properties or houses of exiled Macedonians.

"We, the rightful owners of those properties and houses, are disturbed by this and ask for assistance from the European Union, the European Human Rights Court in Strasbourg as well as the Macedonian government to stop this procedure," Nezaborav members stressed.

Source: MIA news agency
BBC Monitoring European