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Greece Greece: Child Soldiers Global Report 2001 From the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers There are indications of under-18s in government armed forces as volunteers may serve from the age of 17. There is no armed conflict in the country but Greece remains in a state of general mobilisation. Since 20 July 1976 Greece has been in a continuous state of general mobilisation owing to the Cyprus conflict and tension with neighbouring Turkey. June 12, 2001 Greece: Landmine Monitor Report 2000 Greece signed the Mine Ban Treaty (MBT) on 4 December 1997, but has yet to ratify it. In December 1999, in its report to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the government reiterated its position as outlined in Ottawa when signing the treaty: "[R]atification will take place as soon as conditions relating to the implementation of its relevant provisions are fulfilled." August 1, 2000 Greece: The Turks of Western Thrace This report examines the situation of the ethnic Turkish minority of Thrace, a region of Greece. Itserves as a follow-up to two earlier reports issued by Human Rights Watch, Destroying EthnicIdentity: The Turks of Greece (August 1990) and "Greece: Improvements for Turkish Minority;Problems Remain" (April 1992). Ethnic Turks have resided in Thrace since at least the fourteenthcentury, and they are Greek citizens. In 1923, under the Treaty of Lausanne, the Turkish minorityof Thrace was granted a wide array of rights to ensure protection of their religion, language,culture, and equality before the law.1 In addition, as Greek citizens, ethnic Turks also enjoy theprotection of Greek law, as well as of the European Convention of Human Rights. Despite suchprotections, however, ethnic Turks suffer a host of human rights violations. The Greek state hasfor the most part been unable to accept the fact that one can be a loyal Greek citizen and, at thesame time, an ethnic Turk proud of his or her culture and religion. Turks are viewed by the statewith suspicion, the strength of which largely reflects the state of Turkish-Greek relations. January 1, 1999 Purchase online Greece The Turks of Western Thrace This report examines the situation of the ethnic Turkish minority of Thrace, a region of Greece. ethnic Turks suffer a host of human rights violations. The Greek state has for the most part been unable to accept the fact that one can be a loyal Greek citizen and, at the same time, an ethnic Turk proud of his or her culture and religion. Turks are viewed by the state with suspicion, the strength of which largely reflects the state of Turkish-Greek relations. January 1, 1999 Download PDF, 342 KB, 38 pgs Printer friendly version The Macedonians of Greece Although ethnic Macedonians in northern Greece make up a large minority with their own language and culture, their internationally-recognized human rights and even their existence are vigorously denied by the Greek government. Free expression is restricted; several Macedonians have been prosecuted and convicted for the peaceful expression of their views. Moreover, ethnic Macedonians are discriminated against by the government's failure to permit the teaching of the Macedonian language. And ethnic Macedonians, particularly rights activists, are harassed by the government — followed and threatened by security forces — and subjected to economic and social pressures resulting from this harassment. All of these actions have led to a marked climate of fear in which a large number of ethnic Macedonians are reluctant to assert their Macedonian identity or to express their views openly. Ethnic Macedonian political refugees who fled northern Greece after the Greek Civil War of 1946-49, as well as their descendants who identify themselves as Macedonians, are denied permission to regain their citizenship, to resettle in, or even to visit northern Greece. By contrast, all of these are possible for political refugees who define themselves as Greeks. Greek courts have denied permission to establish a "Center for Macedonian Culture." Ultimately, the government is pursuing every avenue to deny the Macedonians of Greece their ethnic identity. (From our “Denying Ethnic Identity” series) HRW Index No.: ISBN 1-56432-132-0 May 1, 1994 Denying Ethnic Identity The Macedonians of Greece The Greek government views the term "Macedonian" as a geographic term that describes all Greek citizens living in the Macedonian region in northern Greece. The government denies the assertions of the ethnic Macedonians in Greece that they are are a minority group; officials refer to them as "Slavophone Greeks" or "bilinguals." In July 1993, a fact-finding mission made up of representatives of three organizations, the Danish Helsinki Committee, Minority Rights Group-Greece, and Human Rights Watch/Helsinki, went to northern Greece to look into the situation of the Macedonian minority there. The climate of fear was striking; a large number of people asked the mission not to use their names, for fear of losing their civil service jobs or being harassed by police. The mission also journeyed to Bitola in the southern region of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to interview ethnic Macedonian political refugees from Greece who have been denied the right to regain their citizenship or property (taken from them after the Greek Civil War) or to visit relatives and friends in northern Greece. April 1, 1994 Download PDF, 254 KB, 68 pgs Printer friendly version Free Speech on Trial: Government Stifles Dissent on Macedonia Fearing that the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia has designs on its northern region (also named Macedonia), the government of Greece has limited freedom of expression through an intensive campaign that combines propaganda and a series of extraordinary criminal prosecutions for dissenters. This report summarizes the criminal prosecutions and finds disturbing violations of freedom of expression rights granted by international law. July 1, 1993 Greece: Free Speech on Trial Government Stifles Dissent on Macedonia In Greece, some citizens are paying a heavy price for their government's hard line on Macedonia. In particular, freedom of expression has been abrogated through an intensive campaign which combines propaganda and a series of extraordinary criminal prosecutions for dissenters. Indeed, the first thing a visitor sees going through customs at the Athens airport is a series of posters in English proclaiming "Macedonia was, is, and will be Greek." We summarize the criminal prosecutions below. July 1, 1993 Download PDF, 63 KB, 7 pgs Printer friendly version Greece: Improvements for Turkish Minority Problems Remain The Greek government has taken significant steps to improve conditions for the Turkish minority in Western Thrace during the past year. Ethnic Turks can now buy and sell houses and land, repair houses and mosques, obtain car, truck and tractor licenses, and open coffee houses and machine and electrical shops. None of these was possible in past years, as Helsinki Watch reported in Destroying Ethnic Identity: The Turks of Greece in August 1990. But the Turkish community reports that important problems remain, chiefly involving education; expropriation of land; the selection of muftis, the religious leaders of the Moslem minority; and control of the wakfs (charitable foundations). Moreover, the Greek government continued during 1991 to deprive hundreds of ethnic Turks of their Greek citizenship. In addition, police harassment of ethnic Turks continues, although to a lesser degree. Associations and schools still cannot call themselves "Turkish," Turkish language newspapers, books and magazines cannot be brought from Turkey into Western Thrace, and Turkish television is still jammed. Moreover, ethnic Turks are discriminated against in employment and in the provision of services. April 20, 1992 Download PDF, 113 KB, 14 pgs Printer friendly version Destroying Ethnic Identity The Turks of Greece The policy of the Greek government with regard to the Turkish minority seems to be, as described by the Minority Rights Group, a "deliberate policy of discrimination with a long-term aim of assimilation." The findings of the Helsinki Watch mission certainly confirm this analysis. The many abuses of human rights documented in this report reveal a pattern of denying the Turkish minority the rights granted to other Greek citizens; the pattern includes outright deprivation of citizenship; denials of the right to buy land or houses, to set up businesses or to rebuild or repair Turkish schools; restrictions on freedom of expression, movement and religion; and degrading treatment of ethnic Turks by government officials. August 1, 1990 Download PDF, 246 KB, 64 pgs Printer friendly version
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