26 Φεβ 2009

H ετήσια έκθεση του STATE DEPARTMENT, η Θεσσαλονίκη και η Μακεδονία

Επειδή βλέπουμε στο διαδίκτυο, κάθε άσχετο, που δεν διάβασε, όχι μόνο τη φετινή, αλλά και καμία άλλη έκθεση του S.D., να δούμε ψύχραιμα, τη φετινή:
Η αλήθεια είναι ότι είναι η καλύτερη έκθεση όλων των εποχών, για την Ελλάδα. Κάνει απλά μια καταγραφή των γεγονότων, χωρίς τις ενοχλητικές αναφορές άλλων ετών. Είναι ιδιαίτερα προσεκτική, σε βαθμό, που τρίβαμε τα μάτια μας αναλύοντάς την! Π.χ. αναφέρεται στους οπαδούς του Ουράνιου Τόξου, ως "A small number of Slavic speakers insisted on self‑identifying as "Macedonian," που για τους γνώστες, είναι ....εξαιρετικά, ασυνήθιστα, φιλελληνική τοποθέτηση.
Απομονώσαμε τα κυριότερα σημεία, που αφορούν κυρίως τη Θεσσαλονίκη.
Έτσι....
Η έκθεση έχει ημερομηνία 25-2-2009 και αφορά φυσικά το 2008. Βρίσκεται εδώ:
Τα ενδιαφέροντα σημεία αποκαλύπτουν ότι ο πρόξενος της Θεσσαλονίκης, Hoyt Yee, έγραφε πολύ!
Αναμενόμενη βεβαίως είναι και η ιδιαίτερη ενασχόληση, με Εβραϊκές υποθέσεις. Μην ξεχνάτε ότι η εξωτερική πολιτική των ΗΠΑ είναι αποκλειστικά Εβραϊκή υπόθεση και κατά συνέπεια οι "Αμερικάνοι" βλέπουν τον κόσμο, με Εβραϊκά μάτια. Δεν περιμένουμε να έχουν ίδια αντίληψη με τους υπόλοιπους ανθρώπους, για τον πόλεμο στη Γάζα!
2008 Human Rights Report: Greece
In September an Athens appeals court sentenced the publisher and a former columnist of the weekly newspaper Eleftheros Kosmos for anti‑Semitism in a 2006 column. The columnist had criticized Thessaloniki's small Jewish community, decimated during the Holocaust, writing "thank God, less than 1,500 are left." Each defendant was given a five‑month suspended sentence.

Discussions continued between the Jewish community of Thessaloniki and the government to find acceptable restitution for the community's cemetery, expropriated after its destruction during the Holocaust. Aristotle University, a public institution, was built on top of the expropriated cemetery soon after the end of World War II. International NGOs expressed concern that subway construction in the vicinity of the cemetery could disturb human remains. During the year the government worked with the local Jewish community to address these concerns.

In 2005 the former general director/acting consul at the Greek Consulate in Kyiv, the consulate's messenger, three foreign employees, and a policeman in Thessaloniki were criminally charged for allegedly cooperating in issuing approximately 2,500 illegal tourist visas to Ukrainian citizens for $200,000. The case was tried in Thessaloniki in April 2007. The diplomat was sentenced to 21 years in prison. A consular employee received a sentence of 19 years, and a female Russian accomplice based in Greece received nine years. The diplomat's partner and a policeman were also tried but acquitted on all counts. The convicted parties appealed the decision but remained in prison at year's end. The date of the appeals trial had not yet been determined at year's end.

While the law provides free and compulsory education for a minimum of nine years, noncompliance was a significant problem in the Romani community. Research conducted by the Aghlaia Kyriakou state hospital showed that 63 percent of Romani children did not attend school. The Pedagogical University of Thessaloniki reported that less than 10 percent of Romani children in northern Greece finished the nine years of compulsory education and only 3 percent graduated from high school. The GHM reported in April that 90 percent of Romani children were illiterate.

According to the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and local NGOs, the majority of street children (often indigenous Roma or Albanian Roma) were exploited by family members, who forced them to work in the streets, begging or selling small items. The government took insufficient steps to prevent this form of child exploitation. While no nationwide statistics were available at year's end, in December, the NGO ARSIS estimated that Thessaloniki, the country's second‑largest city, had over 300 street children.

In April 2007 Greek diplomats assigned to Ukraine were tried in Thessaloniki for issuing visas, with little documentary evidence and no personal interviews, to women subsequently identified as trafficking victims. One diplomat received a 21‑year sentence, and a consular employee received a 19‑year sentence. A female accomplice, a Russian citizen living in Greece, received a nine-year sentence. The diplomat's spouse and a policeman were acquitted. The convicted parties appealed the decision, but at year's end they remained in jail waiting for their appeals to be heard.

Some members of the Pomak community claimed they were pressured by members of the Turkish‑speaking community to deny the existence of a Pomak identity as separate from a Turkish identity. Media in Thessaloniki reported in October that two editors of Millet, a local paper published in Turkish, were given 12‑month suspended sentences for inciting hatred against the Pomak community.

The government did not recognize the existence of a Slavic dialect, called "Macedonian" by its speakers, spoken in the northwestern area of the country. A small number of Slavic speakers insisted on self‑identifying as "Macedonian," a designation that generated strong opposition from other Greeks. These Slavic speakers claimed that the government pursued a policy designed to discourage the use of their language. Government officials and the courts denied requests by Slavic groups to identify themselves using the term "Macedonian," stating that approximately 2.2 million ethnic (and linguistically) Greek citizens also use the term "Macedonian" to identify themselves.

In March the secretary of the Foreigner Immigrants Union of Larisa alleged that he was beaten by Thessaloniki police officers when he visited the station to report a problem. He claimed that he was beaten on his fingers with an iron bar more than 80 times and that he was punched and kicked several times. The victim alerted the Albanian consular authorities to the incident and filed criminal charges, which were pending in court at year's end.

In November an estimated 8,000 inmates nationwide staged an 18‑day hunger strike protesting overcrowding in prisons. The protest spurred riots and arson attacks by anarchist groups in Athens and Thessaloniki in support of the inmates who were on hunger strikes. Prisoners ended the strike after the Ministry of Justice announced an early release of up to 5,500 prisoners and new measures for improving prison conditions, including integrating cumulative disciplinary penalties for prisoners and reducing the maximum pretrial detention period from 18 months to 12 months. The early releases began in December.

In July two police officers were given prison sentences of two and 18 months, respectively, for offering protection to an illegal electronic gambling shop in Thessaloniki.

In November eight Thessaloniki police officers were convicted in connection with the beating of a Cypriot student in 2006. The officers were convicted of causing bodily harm and were given sentences ranging from 15-39 months, with the option to avoid jail time by paying five euros (approximately $8) for each day of the sentence. The former police precinct director in place at the time of the beating was convicted for neglecting his supervisory duty and given a suspended 15‑month sentence. The policemen appealed their convictions, which were pending at year's end. Press and local NGOs criticized the punishments as lenient.
 
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