Helsinki Group's Press Release: discrimination of Albanians in Greece
Date: Sun, 13 Jul 97 10:17:55 -0500
From: MINELRES moderator <[email protected]>
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Subject: Helsinki Group's Press Release: discrimination of Albanians in Greece
From: MINELRES moderator \ Internet: ([email protected])
Ooriginal sender: Panayote Elias Dimitras \ Internet:
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Press Release: Helsinki Groups Appeal to Simitis and Nano on the
Legalization
GREEK HELSINKI MONITOR
(Greek National Committee of the International Helsinki Federation)
& MINORITY RIGHTS GROUP - GREECE
(Greek Affiliate of Minority Rights Group International)
P.O. Box 51393, GR-14510 Kifisia, Greece
Tel. 30-1-620.01.20; Fax: 30-1-807.57.67; E-mail: [email protected]
_____________________________________________________________________
PRESS RELEASE
9/7/1997
TOPIC: MOBILIZATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL HELSINKI FEDERATION FOR HUMAN
RIGHTS ON THE EXCLUSION OF ALBANIAN AND OTHER BALKAN IMMIGRANTS. LETTER TO
COSTAS SIMITIS. APPEAL TO THE NEW NANO GOVERNMENT.
Our organizations Greek Helsinki Monitor and Minority Rights Group - Greece
proceeded in an international mobilization against the racist exclusion of
Albanians and other Balkan immigrants from the legalization procedure. Today
we make public yesterday's letter sent to Prime Minster Costas Simitis by
the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights; and the day before
yesterday's statement by the Albanian Helsinki Committee with an appeal to
the new Albanian government to pressure its Greek counterpart.
INTERNATIONAL HELSINKI FEDERATION FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
_____________________________________________________________________
Mr. Costas Simitis
Prime Minister of Greece
Via Facsimile: +30-1-671 61 83
8 July 1997
Mr. Prime Minister,
The IHF, and in particular its national members the Albanian Helsinki
Committee and Greek Helsinki Monitor, is deeply concerned about the
discrimination the new Presidential Decrees on the legalization of
immigrants in Greece are introducing; namely, that they provide a framework
for legalization for all illegal immigrants with the exceptions of those
coming from countries neighboring Greece. This measure as your government
spokesman stated excludes the majority of the immigrants present in Greece
which come from Albania.
The IHF had sent a mission to look into the problems of these Albanians in
February 1997; at the time, our delegates had appreciated the assurances of
your Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs George Papandreou and your Ministry
of Labor that Albanians will be soon legalized; and it had offered its help
to facilitate that procedure. Also, our Greek affiliate, along with so many
other NGOs, has for months worked with your agencies to make these Decrees
as good as possible, In fact, had it not been for this inadmissible
discrimination, the Decrees themselves appear to be among the most liberal
ones.
We are deeply concerned by the sudden renegation of your commitment, which
does not augur well with the "modernist" profile you want your government to
have. Such discrimination will be, as far as we know, a unique and quite
notorious exception in democratic countries; especially as your government
intends to ask the Albanian and other immigrants to register nevertheless:
so that they be better located for their eventual expulsion if you do not
legalize them?
We ask you to change this policy and proceed with the legalization as
planned and announced, the only way to allow all these immigrants to have
equal rights but also a decent job in Greece. Keeping more than half of them
illegal can only guarantee the exploitation of all legal and illegal
immigrants and lead to massive human rights violations as in the case of
every country which has that large a number of illegal immigrants.
Sincerely,
Dr. Aaron Rhodes
Executive Director
ALBANIAN HELSINKI COMMITTEE
____________________________________________________________________
PRESS RELEASE
7/7/1997
TOPIC: SHADOW OF DOUBTS OVER THE STATUTE
OF THE ALBANIAN IMMIGRANTS IN GREECE
Some disturbing news are coming from Greece, indicating that a shadow of
doubts is falling on the position of the Albanian immigrants there.
Initially, some months earlier, it was made known that, by a presidential
decree, the Albanian immigrants will be legalized. Following some sources,
their overall number is reaching about 250 - 300 thousands and thus, they
constitute the highest figure of those clandestine workers, who are
expecting a legal framework, which will give them a sense of security.
The latest data reaching us show that the Greek authorities are now likely
to withdraw from their previous promises and are trying to adopt some kind
of solution, which would damage heavily, first of all, the Albanians
immigrants. The idea, circulating the most and ascribed to some segments of
the Simitis Government, consist in legalizing the immigrants coming from
countries "non neighboring" to Greece. It follows that this threatens mostly
the Albanians immigrants.
Our colleagues of the Greek Helsinki Monitor, which is also an affiliate of
the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights, have reacted
promptly denouncing this discriminatory move. They have past on their
concern to our Committee pointing out that, if a legal cover is achieved,
these steps would open the way to mass expulsion to the Albanian immigrants
from Greece.
The AHC firmly believes that is rightly interpreting the interest and the
asking the Albanian Government to undertake urgent steps close to the Greek
Government, to deal with the question of the future of the Albanian
immigrants in Greece as one of the priorities in the relations between the
two countries. Not with standing the understandable difficulties of the
transition phase following the end of the elections, the problem cannot wait
any longer, all necessary steps should be taken without any delay in order
to avoid that the confusion related to the transition leaves aside this
question of a vital importance for the Albanian immigrants in Greece.
--
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