NORTHERN NOTES - JUNE 2008

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 THESSALONIKI 000053

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TAGS: ECON EINV PGOV PHUM PREL SNAR SOCI SMIG CH HK
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SUBJECT: NORTHERN NOTES - JUNE 2008

REF: A. THESSALONIKI 048

B. THESSALONIKI 051

C. THESSALONIKI 050

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Following is a summary of last month's major developments in
Northern Greece:


KIDNAPPED NORTHERN GRRECE INDUSTRIALIST RELEASED AFTER 13 DAYS
OF CAPTIVITY


1. (SBU) On June 23, the chairman of the Federation of Northern
Greek Industries and CEO of Alumil S.A. Giorgos Milonas was
released after being held hostage for 13 days (Reftel A). The
industrialist appeared before the national media shortly
afterward, looking remarkably relaxed, stating that he only
shared "three or four small things" with the police and would
not co-operate with them any more. Post's police sources
explained his attitude by saying that he is being extra cautious
after an ordeal that left him feeling vulnerable and exposed.
Business commentators said that Mr. Milonas resigned from the
post of President of Federation of Northern Greek Industries for
the same reason and to lower his profile. Although the ransom
that was finally paid to the abductors by the businessman's
family has not been disclosed, media report that the amount was
10-12m. As they continue to search for the culprits, the
police describe them as a very professional group, and they do
not rule out collaboration between Greek and foreign (Balkan)
criminals. The abduction of Mr. Milonas took place shortly
before midnight, on Monday, June 09, inside the front yard of
the victim's house.

PORT PRIVATIZATION CONTINUES DESPITE BIDDING AND LABOR DISPUTES


2. (U) The announcement of the highest bidder for the port of
Thessaloniki's cargo station is expected around the end of July,
the Authority's Managing Director Yiannis Tsaras reassured Post
recently (Reftel B). However, the three involved companies
-Hutchison Port Holdings, Cosco and Dubai Port World - have all
lodged appeals against each other, thus delaying the examination
of the bids. There were also media reports that the Port
Authority's appeals evaluation committee is experiencing
difficulties in carrying out its responsibilities, thus driving
the competing companies to the courts and an even lengthier
process to resolve their disagreements. With regard to
continuing workers' mobilizations, a split has developed between
administrative personnel and dock workers. The dock workers are
excluded from being contracted out to the new private management
and therefore are generally arguing against further job actions.
The lengthy unrest has caused losses for the port and local
businesses. Local media reported this month that for the first
half of 2008, there was a 47.27% drop in containers handled
-from 97,823 in 2007 to 51,579 in 2008- resulting in serious
dislocations in the local market.

REPRESENTATIVES OF ROMA ASSOCIATIONS ATTACKED IN ALEXANDROUPOLI,
THRACE


3. (SBU) The president of the Association of Rom Women in
Drosero, Xanthi, Mrs. Sabiha Souleiman and the President of
Greek Muslim Women in Avantos, Alexandroupoli, Mrs. Ainour
Haliloglou, told Post that they were physically and verbally
attacked in Alexandroupoli by Muslim males, who objected to
their use of the term "Roma" to describe certain members of the
Muslim minority in Thrace. The attack took place on the
occasion of a children's event that was organized jointly by the
two above organizations. A group of around 200 Muslim males
interrupted the proceedings, shouting "Gypsies out" and attacked
the organizers, injuring them lightly. Later, they smashed the
offices of Mrs. Haliloglou's association in the neighborhood of
Avantos. The attackers' main grievance was that the victims, by
promoting the Roma identity in the region, "divide the minority"
which the attackers say "is only of Turkish origin." The
victims told Post that among the instigators of the incident was
the President of the Association of Greek Muslims, Mr. Mehmetali
Yousoufoglou. They also mentioned that as a result of the
incidents, attendance of children in two of the three
kindergartens that operate in Avantos has dropped by half, while
the third kindergarten has closed. They told Post that they are
receiving regular threats against their lives but vowed to
continue their work. Their houses remain under police
surveillance.

TWO CASES OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING SOLVED IN NORTHERN GREECE


4. (U) Eight Bulgarians were freed when their captor, a tobacco
producer, was arrested for human trafficking for the purpose of
labor exploitation. The Greek suspect and his Bulgarian
accomplice promised the Bulgarians 50 per day and then forced
them to work 16 hours per day for 1.60 and at the same time
demanded 600 of each for their living expenses. In another

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case, a 22-year old Albanian was arrested for forcing into
prostitution a 14-year old Albanian girl. Both cases were
announced in Katerini, Pieria. Local press reported this month
that Northern Greece is the main gateway to Europe for victims
of trafficking. The vast majority of them - 90% - originate
from Eastern Europe, while a recent increase has been observed
in the number of victims from Nigeria. These facts were
confirmed by post's contacts in the NGO sector. In
Thessaloniki, media reports that there are around 9,000 victims,
while police have dealt with 41 cases in 2007, out of a national
total of 100.

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS ARRESTED - 15 FROM BURMA


5. (U) Post's police contacts have expressed fears about a wave
of illegal immigrants from Burma that has begun to materialize
this month in northern Greece. In one incident, police located
a truck carrying 45 illegal immigrants, 15 of whom were from
Burma, 23 from Pakistan and 7 from Iraq. They were all planning
to continue on to other European countries.

SUNDAY NEWSPAPER ACCUSES CONSULATE GENERAL OF CONSPIRACY TO
DESTABILIZE NORTHERN GREECE


6. (U) Sensationalist, high-circulation national weekly "To
Proto Thema" accused the Consulate General and the Consul
General personally of activities aimed at undermining the
territorial integrity of Greece, through the encouragement of
minority activists and supporters. The articles included
alleged excerpts of Greek Intelligence Agency (EYP) reports
alerting the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs about Post's
initiatives. The articles included reference to Consul General
Yee's invitation to Macedonian law enforcement officials to
attend a Consulate-organized regional conference on trans-border
cooperation and his request to the Greek delegation that they
avoid discussing the name issue with Macedonian participants
during the seminar. Finally, there was reference to various
meetings carried out by the Consul General and other staff with
minority representatives, questioning their purpose and
concluding that "a Kosovo-like secessionist scheme for Greece"
is already underway. Embassy Athens contacted the newspaper,
denying the allegations. The paper printed two similar articles
in successive issues, ignoring the denial.

NUMBER OF DRUG ADDICTS IN THESSALONIKI IS RISING


7. (U) Local media reported this month that the inability of the
government to meet the financial needs of centers for preventing
and fighting drug addiction is fostering a rise in the numbers
of confirmed drug addicts. Of the 21,000 reported addicts in
Thessaloniki, only 950 can be accommodated in rehabilitation
programs and there is a waiting list of 1500. Representatives
of NGOs that are active in the field have highlighted the issues
they are facing as a result of inadequate state infrastructure,
including work overload, limited resources and have described
the situation as "desperate." Additionally, in 2007, one ton of
heroin is estimated by police to have transited through
Thessaloniki of which only 10% was tracked down and confiscated
by the police.

VIOLENT STUDENT REACTION TO UNIVERSITY REFORMS


8. (U) Aristotle University Rector Anastasios Manthos was
hospitalized after a confrontation with angry students
protesting university reforms on May 29 (Reftel C.) Anarchists
attacked and seriously injured two university guards the
following day. The anarchists stated that they attacked the
guards in opposition to the presence of security personnel on
campus, allegedly in violation of the university "asylum"
policy. Two days later, at the University of Macedonia, the
Dean's Council was held hostage by a group of students for eight
hours. The students were protesting the University's first-ever
four-year planning cycle, which they deemed to be the first step
towards "turning the university into an enterprise." In a
similar incident on June 24, 30 professors were held hostages by
students at Aristotle University for about four hours, in
response to a law providing for the termination of free
distribution of textbooks in universities. Leftist student
group representatives blamed the media for blowing the incidents
out of proportion, while academics have condemned the political
system for failing to actively support public universities and
help break the current cycle of violence and unrest that
threatens them.
YEE