Greece Denies Entry to Macedonian Writer
August 31 , 2000
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SOURCE: Greek Helsinki Monitor (GHM), Athens
(GHM/IFEX) - GHM has been informed that, on 30 May 2000, writer Vasko Karadza, citizen and resident of Skopje, Macedonia, was denied entrance into Greece at the Greek-Macedonian border because he was "registered in an inadmissible list" (sic). This occurred even though he held a legal visa issued by the Greek Consulate in Skopje on 29 May. Karadza had previously visited Greece in 1998, when he was invited by a state National Book Centre to participate in the Balkan Writers Laboratory.
Karadza is an author who has published books in Macedonia and Greece. He was born in Greece, and left the country during the civil war, when he was stripped of his citizenship. In 1982, when the Greek state gave a blank amnesty to all civil war refugees abroad, it exempted those who "were not of Greek origin" (i.e. those who identified as Macedonians). The latter have frequently been arbitrarily "blacklisted" as "undesirable" and denied entry into Greece. Many Macedonians, whether born in Greece or not, who are active in Macedonian human rights or cultural organizations abroad, are being denied entry into the country.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Send appeals to the foreign minister:
- denouncing the harassment of the writer and the practice of "blacklisting" undesirable writers and activists
- recalling that Greece, as a signatory of the OSCE documents and the Stability Pact, is committed to facilitate rather than hinder the freedom of movement across its borders
APPEALS TO:
George Papandreou
Foreign Minister
Athens, Greece
Fax: +30 1 36 81 433
Please copy appeals to the source if possible.
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