SCENESETTER FOR VISIT OF HHS ACF A/S DR. WADE HORN

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ATHENS 002635

SIPDIS

HHS FOR A/S WADE HORN FROM AMBASSADOR CHARLIE RIES
EUR/SE FOR PARENTE/YOUNTCHI
G/TIP FOR DONNELLY

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OTRA PHUM TBIO EI GR HRIGHTS
SUBJECT: SCENESETTER FOR VISIT OF HHS ACF A/S DR. WADE HORN
(ATHENS, OCTOBER 8-12)

REF: A. ATHENS 2406


B. STATE 163054

SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED -- PLEASE TREAT ACCORDINGLY


1. (SBU) Embassy Athens warmly welcomes the October 8-12
visit of Dr. Wade Horn, Assistant Secretary, Administration
for Children and Families, HHS to Greece. Your visit will
provide an excellent opportunity not only to showcase
U.S.-Greece relations, but to reiterate our strong commitment
to advancing our human rights agenda in Greece, notably
regarding trafficking in persons (TIP) and refugee
recognition and resettlement. We have arranged meetings
with high-level policy makers from the Ministries of
Education, Employment, Health, Public Order, the Mayor of
Athens, and the main opposition party, PASOK. We also have
scheduled a roundtable discussion with anti-TIP NGOs, a panel
discussion on "Refugee Status in Receiving Countries", a
press event, and I will host a dinner with key members of the
Greek Government's Interministerial Council on TIP.


2. (U) Looking back, the last three years have been
momentous for Greece. In 2002, Greece arrested the key
leaders of the domestic terrorist group "17 November" which
had terrorized Greece for 25 years, and had made Athens a
"critical threat" post for the USG. In 2003, Greece held the
EU Presidency at the onset of Operation Iraqi Freedom, and
kept the U.S.-EU relationship intact despite deep splits
within Europe on relations with the U.S. In 2004, Greece
hosted the Summer Olympics, a major terrorist target, without
incident. In 2005, Greece joined the UNSC as a non-permanent
member for the first time since 1952, and with the October 3
decision by the EU to begin accession talks with Turkey, a
key Greek strategic objective was met and a new course was
set for Greece-Turkey relations.

TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS (TIP)


3. (SBU) Among other topics, your visit will be a useful way
to share best practices on trafficking in persons programs
and to discuss common challenges from an operational
standpoint. In Greece, the congressionally-mandated TIP
report has been the key tool in getting government attention.
Greece is currently on the Tier 2 Watchlist for the second
consecutive year, a designation for problem countries. While
Greece had made progress in recent years, it can do more in
some major areas, including treating trafficked women as
victims (not criminals),more vigorously prosecuting
traffickers and keeping statistics on TIP-related
convictions. Your visit comes during the middle of the TIP
reporting season. We delivered in August an Action Plan of
items for Greece to implement to better fight TIP, and will
draft an interim assessment on their progress in November.
The four items we are urging Greece to address this year are:

a) to develop an effective screening and referral mechanism
for law enforcement and NGOs to use in identifying victims
and directing victims to appropriate care;

b) to show an increase in the number of women referred to
shelter and after care. To this end, the government should
provide NGOs with more consistent access to detention centers
to screen and assist possible victims;

c) to sign, make public, and implement a draft protocol with
the Albanian government on child repatriation. (Note: This
text has been returned to Albania and, at long last, is in
final stages of completion. End Note.);

d) to actively implement the 2002 anti-trafficking law and
show an increase in convictions and sentences obtained under
the law. Also to gather and publish data on investigations,
prosecution, convictions, and sentences for traffickers.

REFUGEE RECOGNITION AND RESETTLEMENT


4. (U) Refugee issues are another key interest area for the
Embassy, and your Greek interlocutors will benefit from your
experience. Dozens if not hundreds of immigrants and
refugees are smuggled every day on boats to Greek islands,
often intercepted by Coast Guard vessels, or across the Evros
River from Turkey into northeastern Greece. There is
criticism of the inadequate system for screening migrants
when they are picked up en masse, leading some legitimate
asylum-seekers to be detained as migrants. Greece has not
begun to resettle refugees in significant numbers, and in
fact has one of the lowest asylum recognition rates in
Europe, just 0.9% in 2004. While there has been some
improvement so far this year, there remains great room for
progress. Greece was most recently criticized for its low
asylum recognition rate and poor treatment and integration of
refugees by Amnesty International in a October 2005 report,
and also by the UN Committee Against Torture, UNHCR, local
NGOs such as Greek Council for Refugees, Greece's Ombudsman,
and others. Your visit will be an opportunity to share U.S.
methods for refugee resettlement and integration and discuss
the benefits to U.S. society of a policy of inclusion.


5. (U) The following represents some of the most significant
issues in U.S.-Greece relations that may come up during your
visit here.

GREECE AND THE GLOBAL WAR ON TERRORISM


6. (SBU) In Prime Minister Karamanlis's May 20 meeting with
the President in Washington, the two leaders affirmed their
strategic partnership, and discussed a variety of issues,
including democratization in the broader Middle East region,
Iraq and Afghanistan. Greece has provided funding to the
NATO training mission in Iraq, leading a multinational
medical unit in Afghanistan, and has offered to host a
ministerial meeting on democratization in the Middle East.

GREECE-TURKEY


7. (SBU) Although there are unresolved issues between Greece
and Turkey, Greek-Turkish rapprochement remains the bedrock
in their relations. As a result, Greece has been one of
Turkey's strongest supporters in the EU because it relates
Turkey's EU accession to its own strategic interests. As is
the case in many EU member states, public opinion in Greece
has not yet embraced Turkey in the EU. The government
expects that a Turkish-EU dialogue on accession will
contribute positively to stability in the region, while Greek
public opinion shows that many Greeks, like their EU
counterparts, have concerns about adding a large Muslim
country to the EU family.

BALKANS


8. (SBU) Southeast Europe is a tough neighborhood, with the
countries of the ex-Yugoslavia struggling to move beyond the
wars that wracked the Balkans in the 90s. As the only
country in the region that is a member of both NATO and the
EU, Greece sees itself as a natural leader to assist the
region's Euro-Atlantic integration. We strongly support this
endeavor and would like to see Greece play an even more
active role, including re-energizing its 550 million-euro
Balkan assistance program.


9. (SBU) One issue that often comes up in bilateral meetings
is the Macedonia name issue. Following the breakup of
Yugoslavia, Greece and Macedonia in 1995 agreed on "Former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" as an interim name until the
two countries could decide on a mutually acceptable solution.
Last year's USG decision to recognize the Republic of
Macedonia by its constitutional name touched off a storm of
controversy in Greece. Many Greeks saw our decision as a
deliberate snub and the explanation that we took this action
to help defeat a referendum in Macedonia that could have
split the country and de-stabilized the Balkans did not
convince many here. In the aftermath, FM Molyviatis has
asked the USG to publicly support the UN negotiations and
accept whatever solution Athens and Skopje agree upon. We
have done so and continue to strongly support the UN-led
negotiations. On the surface, the issue seems to be wholly
semantical, but to both sides it strikes deep chords of
nationalism and historical destiny. Macedonia strives to
join NATO and the EU, and to do so, must come to terms on the
name of the country that will enter. Greece needs an
acceptable compromise from the Macedonians; otherwise, the
decision on Macedonia's NATO/EU entry would be unlikely to
clear Parliament and may end up in a referendum.

DOMESTIC TERRORISM


10. (SBU) While we cooperated closely with Greece and
congratulated their safe and successful Olympic games, we
continue to be concerned about domestic terrorism in Greece.
Greece made big strides by convicting key members of the
infamous 17 November terrorist group, responsible for killing
many Greeks and five Embassy employees over the course of its
bloody, 25-year history. The same is true regarding
prosecution of members of another domestic terrorist group,
Peoples' Revolutionary Struggle (ELA),which, in past years,
had bombed nightclubs frequented by U.S. servicemen.


11. (SBU) We are concerned that the December 2004 brutal
assassination of a Greek police officer guarding the
residence of the British army attache may represent the
emergence of a follow-on terrorist group. We have also been
concerned by the release of two convicted members of 17N and
ELA (on medical grounds),believing this sends the wrong
signal about Greece's commitment to the war on terrorism.
Finally, more needs to be done to crack down on anarchists
who use homemade bombs to attack targets like Citibank ATMs
and political party offices. We have an excellent dialogue
with the GoG on these matters.


PUBLIC OPINION


12. (SBU) A word on Greek public opinion and the media. You
may have heard about strong anti-American feeling in Greece.
It does exist in a general sense, directed at official
American policies, but almost never translates into harsh
treatment of Americans on a personal level. It reflects
grievances over our perceived historical favoritism toward
Turkey, American support for the former Greek military junta,
the situation in Cyprus, our actions in Iraq, and, most
recently, our policy to recognize Macedonia by its
constitutional name, which, as noted earlier, many Greeks saw
as a challenge to their national identity. Polls bear this
out: some 93 percent of Greeks opposed the war in Iraq and a
large majority (80 percent) believe the U.S. plays a negative
role in the global war on terrorism. Some media outlets hype
this sort of feeling, broadcasting violent images from Iraq
and playing up any perceived slight against Greek interests
by the United States.


13. (SBU) At the same time, there are signs of change. Per
capita, Greeks make up the largest percentage of foreign
students in the U.S. of any EU country. Many Greek elites
have a nuanced and balanced view gained from years in the
U.S. or from working closely with Americans in business or
multilateral institutions. Your visit is part of the normal
high-level exchange between our two countries.


14. (U) Again, I look forward to your visit and wish you a
productive and pleasant stay in Athens.
RIES