Macedonian Musician Denied Entry into Greece
December 10, 2002
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On Thursday, November 28, 2002, Greek border police at the "Evzoni" border crossing prevented Macedonian musician Stevche Stojkovski from entering Greece, even though held a valid visa.
Stojkovski was travelling to Greece to give a performance at the Balkan folklore festival in Komotini. He was accompanied by three musicians from the "Tanec" dance ensemble, who crossed the border without incident.
One of the Greek border guards destroyed Stojkovski's visa and threw his passport on the ground refusing to give any explanation as to why Stojkovski was being prevented from entering Greece.
According to Stojkovski, the reason he was denied entry and received such abusive treatment by Greek border guards was most probably because of concerts he gave in Lerin, in 1993 and Solun, in 1997. Two years ago he was the only one of 30 musicians denied entry into Greece.
As a rule the Greek government severely restricts all cultural exchange between Macedonians living outside Greece, who are free to express their ethnic identity, and those living in Greece, who are subject to severe assimilatory pressures.
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