GREEK REACTION TO HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ATHENS 000784 SIPDIS SIPDIS EUR/SE, DRL/CDA FOR DELL, EUR/PPD FOR TEAL E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM PGOV KPAO GR HRIGHTS SUBJECT: GREEK REACTION TO HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT ENTIRE TEXT IS UNCLASSIFIED. ¶1. SUMMARY: The release of the 2005 Human Rights Report (HRR) received wide coverage in most major Greek media and a range of reactions from post's human rights contacts. More than fourteen print articles factually conveyed the report's account of human rights abuses occurring in Greece, but saved space to criticize the U.S. as well. A number of stories, especially broadcast news, noted that the report on Turkey was more critical than the report on Greece. Two Slavo-Macedonian minority groups issued press releases criticizing the terminology used to describe them. A Ministry of Foreign Affairs representative called the report "factual and neutral," and one of Greece's most active and prolific human rights NGOs praised the report as "the most comprehensive ever." END SUMMARY. Journalists Grill Poloffs -------------- ¶2. Shortly after the report was released in Washington on March 8, poloffs held an on-the-record press briefing attended by nine journalists from major Greek dailies. The journalists bluntly questioned the report's criticism of government policies and actions towards Roma, TIP victims, asylum seekers, immigrants and Jews, giving poloffs the opportunity to discuss key issues in detail, as well as explain how the report is researched and drafted. One reporter challenged the section of the report that highlighted desperate housing conditions and inadequate schooling for Roma -- an issue, she said, that the U.S. "obviously doesn't understand." She went on to explain how we misinterpret Greek idioms for anti-Semitism, illustrating that no harm is meant when "thrifty Greeks" are referred to as "Jews." Several journalists questioned whether we were officially "recognizing minorities" (namely the Slavo-Macedonians) by listing self-identified minorities in the report. Mentioning both Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib, reporters questioned U.S. credibility to draft the HRR. PA guidance left poloffs well positioned to explain how the USG actively addresses human rights issues at Guantanamo and share our mutual concern over, and response to, the prison abuses in Iraq. Press Focuses Turkey Report Being Worse that Greece Report -------------- -------------- ¶3. At least 12 major Greek outlets and numerous regional papers, as well as most evening broadcast news covered the release of the report. Most print articles detailed the human rights abuses from the report's summary, mentioned the self-identified minority groups listed in the report, and quoted poloff statements on Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo. Most print articles had a negative slant; some called the report "unflattering" and the U.S. "presumptuous" to have written it. Apoyevmatini, however, spun the story positively in "Kudos by the U.S. to Greece," citing that the GoG "generally respected the human rights of its citizens" and detailing improvements mentioned in the report. The broadcast news gave short, factual articles of the Greece report, with nearly equal coverage of the report on Turkey. The report on Turkey was described as more severe than the one on Greece, and press highlighted the problems of the Greek minority and Ecumenical Patriarchate. The ANA Daily News Bulletin carried side-by-side stories entitled "Greece Respects Human Rights, US State Dept Says" and "State Dept...Slams Turkey on Patriarchate." MFA and NGO Find the Report "Factual" and "Comprehensive" -------------- -------------- ¶4. Greg Vassiloconstandakis, U.S. desk officer at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told poloff that he and Greek Ambassador to the U.S. Mallias were "happy" with the content and tone of the report. Specifically, he commented that the report was factual and that the inclusion of more statistics and figures made the report "more vivid, for better or worse." He thought the word "minority" was used neutrally and factually and said that the inclusion of improvements in the country's human rights record were "appreciated." There was no public mention of the report by any ministry. Greece's most active and prolific human rights NGO, Greek Helsinki Monitor, praised the new summary format, called the report "the most comprehensive ever," and expressed hope that it would get the attention of the government "for all that it says." Macedonian Minority Criticize Terminology, Praise Content -------------- -------------- ¶5. The Macedonian Human Rights Movement International (MHRMI),based in Toronto, issued a press release March 10 expressing its "profound disapproval" of the State Department's "systematic policy of questioning the legitimacy of the Macedonian minority in Greece" by the report's use of ATHENS 00000784 002 OF 002 the terms 'Slavophones' to describe the people and 'Slavo-Macedonian' or 'Slavic dialect' to refer to their language (rather than as 'Macedonian'). The March 16 press release of the Florina-based Rainbow Party, a minor Macedonian political party in the Greek province of Macedonia, praised specific references to human rights violations against the minority, including European Court of Human Rights judgments against Greece. However the Rainbow Party was disappointed that the terms 'Slavo-Macedonian' and 'Slavophone,' were used, which "fully comply with Greece's official position" and "do not conform to the report's justified and sharply critical attitude towards Greece." Their press release called for the 2006 HRR to refer to the people and their language with their "only acceptable name" (Macedonian) as both the Council of Europe and European Bureau for Lesser Used Languages do, "for the sake of objectivity, human rights, but, most of all, human dignity." ¶6. COMMENT: Media coverage of the Human Rights Report on Greece remains largely an exercise in semantics rather than substance. No media question our information, they simply question our right to judge other countries on human rights. With continued, open discussions of the most persistent human rights problems, we are hopeful more Greek journalists will increase coverage and sensitivity to these issues without our prodding. We see eye to eye with the MFA on most human rights issues, and will continue to push these issues with our interlocutors there. Ries