[ALBSA-Info] USA eyes human rights in Greece

[Gazhebo at aol.com]

USA eyes human rights in Greece
State Department's global report sees progress in the country last year but also notes breaches

By Miron Varouhakis: Kathimerini

Greece's human rights record last year received higher marks than previously, although there were still some areas where the state authorities failed to prevent violations of human rights, the US State Department highlights in a report.

"The government generally respected the human rights of its citizens; however, there were problems in some areas," the State Department says in the section on Greece in its "Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2000."

Released Monday by the Department, the global report includes a 36-page report on Greece, highlighting marked improvements in the area of human rights, but also asserting continuing problems with the rights of minorities, police abuse and crimes involving terrorist acts.

"Isolated incidents of terrorism continued during the year," the report notes. "A British military attache was shot and killed in June by the terrorist group November 17. The group has claimed responsibility for 22 killings during the past 25 years, but no one has ever been arrested and charged in these cases."

The State Department goes on to say that "numerous anarchist and terrorist groups attacked a wide spectrum of targets, mostly commercial property, during the year. The firebombing of vehicles, drive-by shootings of buildings, and bombings at commercial establishments were widespread."

At the same time, the report hails the creation of a Bureau of Internal Affairs by the Public Order Ministry in 1999, which "took several disciplinary measures, including dismissal and suspension, against officers involved in corruption. The corruption mostly involved trafficking, bribes for illegal construction, and drugs."

The report also takes note of the poor living conditions in prisons across the country due to substantial overcrowding and outdated facilities. "As of July, the Ministry of Justice reported that the total prison population was 8,131 (of whom 2,775 were foreigners), while the total capacity of the prison system was 4,825." The report, though, added that the ministry has continued its program to improve prison conditions and expand capacity.

Cases of arbitrary arrest and detention were also reported, in spite of the fact that the constitution prohibits them. The State Department stresses that "throughout the year, the police conducted large-scale sweeps and temporarily detained large numbers of foreigners under often squalid conditions while determining their residence status. Some of the foreigners are detained on an indefinite basis with no judicial review, which according to Human Rights Watch, constitutes arbitrary detention."

In reference to press freedom and freedom of speech, the State Department underlines that the Greek Constitution provides a strong framework for the protection of such civil rights. Cases of defamation, though, have been taken to court. "According to Human Rights Watch, a renowned violinist and a composer were given prison sentences in March for defamation based on statements made during newspaper interviews," the report notes. "In November 1999, according to HRW, two journalists [working] for Eleftherotypia were indicted for defamation for alleging that the Lesvos police were associated with smugglers."

According to the State Department, in Greece, a country where Greek Orthodoxy is recognized as the "prevailing" religion with approximately 94-97 percent of the country's 10.6 million citizens adhering at least nominally to the Greek Orthodox faith, constitutional protection of other religious groups is often less than adequate. Most of the cases involve "administrative obstacles or legal restrictions on religious practice," the report states. "Several religious denominations reported difficulties in dealing with the authorities on a variety of administrative matters," it stressed.

In reference to the Muslim community, estimated by the Greek State to number around 98,000, mostly in western Thrace and small communities in Rhodes, Kos and Athens, the report notes controversies between the state and Muslims continue over the selection of muftis and the management of the wafks.

The report hails the decision of the Greek Parliament in June to approve a bill allowing construction of the first Islamic cultural center and mosque in the Athens area.

According to the report, aside from the Muslim community, in Greece there are approximately 30,000 Protestants, 50,000 Jehovah's Witnesses; 50,000 Catholics; and 5,000 Jews.

The State Department stresses that "although Jehovah's Witnesses are recognized as a 'known' religion, they continued to face some harassment in the form of arbitrary identity checks (although reduced from 1998), difficulties in burying their dead, and local officials' resistance to their construction of churches (which in most cases was resolved quickly and favorably."

Last year's decision by the government to remove the notation of religious affiliation from national identity cards, which sparked a heated debate with the Greek Orthodox Church and street rallies, was also highlighted in the report.

"For example, the issue led Archbishop Christodoulos to organize religious protest rallies in Thessaloniki and Athens in June. Archbishop Christodoulos vociferously criticized the government and has started collecting a petition..."

Mixed reports of progress and shortcomings are also filed for the presence and treatment of racial and ethnic minorities in Greece, with a noted rise in xenophobia at a time when the country has become a hub of legal and illegal immigrants from the Balkans, Middle East and Asia.

"An increase in xenophobia paralleled an increase in the number of non-Greeks in the country," the report states. "Anti-foreigner sentiment is directed mainly at Albanians (who make up over three-fifths of the alien population)."

The State Department notes that "the government formally recognizes only the 'Muslim minority' specified in the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne, although it stated publicly in August 1999 that members of that minority could identify themselves individually as belonging to different ethnic groups. However, the government failed to acknowledge formally the existence of non-Muslim ethnic groups, principally Slavophones, under the term 'minority.'"

The report acknowledges the state's effort to further its policies on the education of minorities.

"In 1999 the government approved 19 Turkish textbooks for use in the secular Turkish-language schools," while "there were no complaints during the year from Muslim leaders about bureaucratic barriers preventing Turkish teachers from working in Thrace," the report stresses. "Unlike in the past, there were no reports of assertions by Muslim leaders that the government routinely withheld permission from Muslims seeking to change their legal residence, which determines where they vote, from rural to urban communities within Western Thrace or from elsewhere in Greece to Thrace."

In reference to the Roma population, estimated at 150,000 to 200,000 and residing primarily in the Athens area, the State Department reports that they "continued to face discrimination from some local authorities and society at large."

"At a September 1999 Implementation Review Meeting in Vienna of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the Greek delegation recognized that the situation of Roma in Greece was 'unsatisfactory and unacceptable' and committed the government to remedy the situation," the report states.

According to the report, the Roma experience police abuse more frequently than other groups, often face discrimination in employment and housing, while Romani representatives report some local authorities have refused to register Roma as residents in their municipalities.

In the meantime, according to the State Department, the Greek Interior Ministry recently completed a survey on the housing needs of the Roma, while the Defense Ministry allocated land in 1999 and houses in December 2000 for Roma near Thessaloniki. Furthermore, the Health Ministry continued to work on projects to address Roma problems.