Greece: State Media Manipulation of Council of Europe
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Date: Wed, 24 Feb 1999 18:48:26 +0200 (EET)
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Subject: Greece: State Media Manipulation of Council of Europe
From: MINELRES moderator <[email protected]>
Original sender: Panayote Elias Dimitras <[email protected]>
Greece: State Media Manipulation of Council of Europe
GREEK HELSINKI MONITOR & MINORITY RIGHTS GROUP-GREECE
P.O.Box 51393, GR-14510 Kifisia, Greece
tel. +30-1-620.01.20, fax +30-1-807.57.67
e-mail: [email protected] web site: http://www.greekhelsinki.gr
PRESS RELEASE
12/2/1999
TOPIC: ATHENS NEWS AGENCY AND GREEK MFA FABRICATED "FAVORABLE" COUNCIL
OF EUROPE REPORT ON MINORITY IN THRACE
The cooperating organizations Greek Helsinki Monitor and Minority
Rights Group - Greece denounce Athens News Agency (ANA) and the Greek
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) for publishing a fabricated story on
a supposed "favorable" Council of Europe report on the minority in
Thrace, on 28/1/1999. They call on the leadership of ANA and MFA to
take swift appropriate action, which will convincingly indicate that
this was an isolated incident of "excessive zeal" of their staff that
does not reflect the official policy of these agencies. Since a
journalist signed the ANA text, the Association of Athens Dailies'
Journalists of (ESIEA) is called upon to also take a stand so that
such "fabrication" of news not be considered as tolerable to the
country's journalist community.
More specifically, on 28/1 ANA carried a story with the title "CoE
report: No worry over condition of Muslim minority in Thrace" saying
that "A Council of Europe report on the Greek Muslim minority was
released yesterday, noting that conditions of the minority in western
Thrace does not justify any worries. The Italian and Moldovan
[deputies] authors of the report, entitled 'The conditions of human
rights in Greece and especially in Thrace,' said the condition of the
minority was anything but desperate, while it does not warrant the
concern of the Council of Europe."
(http://www.hri.org/news/greek/ana/1999/99-01-28.ana.html#23).
An identical text (unsigned and without any reference to a source) was
also published on the same day in the newsletter "Cyber Thesis" of the
Foreign Ministry, distributed in the Internet.
Our organizations asked the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of
Europe for the report, only to receive the answer (the correspondence
is available upon request) that "no report 'on the Greek Muslim
minority' was released recently. (�) The Legal Affairs Committee has
indeed now appointed an Italian and a Moldovan rapporteur to seek
further information, but these rapporteurs have just started [their
work] and not yet produced any paper."
_________________
We have recently made available in English some older statements which
may still be of interest:
19/6/1998
Open Letter to the Parliament and to OLME (on Nationalism and
Xenophobia of the Parliamnet of Youth)
http://www.greekhelsinki.gr/english/pressrelease/19-6-1998.html
28/9/1998
Urgent Turkish Minority Education Issues
http://www.greekhelsinki.gr/english/pressrelease/28-9-1998.html
29/10/1998
Appeal to Mr. Arsenis for Withdrawal from Participation in the
Organizing of a Conference about Roma by an Unacceptable Agency
http://www.greekhelsinki.gr/english/pressrelease/29-10-1998.html
30/10/1998
Appeal to the Greek Government By 70 MPs, Elected or Candidate
Prefectorial, Municipal or Community Officials from the Departments of
Xanthi and Rodopi About Stateless Persons
http://www.greekhelsinki.gr/english/pressrelease/30-10-1998.html
4/11/1998
Mildly Formal to Encouraging Positive Reaction of Greece to the
Numerous Reports to the OSCE about Violations of Human Rights
http://www.greekhelsinki.gr/english/pressrelease/4-11-1998.html
9/11/1998
"Krystallnacht" 60 Years After. Worrisome Greek Xenophobia Encouraged
by the Government
http://www.greekhelsinki.gr/english/pressrelease/9-11-1998.html
21/12/1998
Public Call for the Immediate Amendement of an Unacceptable Circular
on Greek Naturalization
http://www.greekhelsinki.gr/english/pressrelease/21-12-1998.html
_________________
We also draw you attention to:
RAINBOW PARTY PRESS RELEASE IN REGARD TO RECENT STATEMENTS MADE IN THE
MEDIA
(by Pangalos and Georgevski)
January 29, 1999
http://www.florina.org/news.htm
_________________
Greek Helsinki Monitor &
Minority Rights Group - Greece
P.O. Box 51393
GR-14510 Kifisia
Greece
Tel. +30-1-620.01.20
Fax +30-1-807.57.67
e-mail: [email protected]
http://www.greekhelsinki.gr
__________________
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