| GREECE Hellenic Republic Elliniki Dhimokratia Joined United Nations: 25 October 1945 Human Rights as assured by their constitution Click here Updated 04/22/10 |
| CAPITAL |
| POPULATION |
| CHIEF OF STATE |
| SELECTION PROCESS |
Athens
10,737,428 (July 2009 est.)
Karolos Papoulias
President since 12 March 2005
President since 12 March 2005
President elected by parliament for a five-year term (eligible for
a second term); according to the Greek Constitution, presidents
may only serve two terms; election last held 3 February 2010
Next scheduled election: February 2015
a second term); according to the Greek Constitution, presidents
may only serve two terms; election last held 3 February 2010
Next scheduled election: February 2015
HEAD OF GOVERNMENT
SELECTION PROCESS
Yeoryios (George) Papandreou
Prime Minister since 5 March 2009
Prime Minister since 5 March 2009
Following legislative elections, president appoints leader of the
party securing plurality of vote in election to become prime
minister and form a government Elections last held 04 October
2009 (NOTE: not required until 2011)
Next election to be held: 2010
party securing plurality of vote in election to become prime
minister and form a government Elections last held 04 October
2009 (NOTE: not required until 2011)
Next election to be held: 2010
| DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS |
| ETHNIC GROUPS |
Population: Greek 93%, other (foreign citizens) 7% (2001 census)
note: percents represent citizenship, since Greece does not collect data on ethnicity
note: percents represent citizenship, since Greece does not collect data on ethnicity
| RELIGIONS |
Greek Orthodox 98%, Muslim 1.3%, other 0.7%
| GOVERNMENT STRUCTURE |
Parliamentary republic comprised of 51 prefectures (nomoi, singular - nomos) and 1 autonomous region. Legal system
is based on codified Roman law; judiciary divided into civil, criminal, and administrative courts; accepts compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction, with reservations
Executive: President elected by parliament for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 3 February 2010
(next to be held by February 2015);
Legislative: Unicameral Parliament or Vouli ton Ellinon (300 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to
serve four-year terms)
elections: elections last held 04 October 2009 (not required until 2011) (next to be held by 2013)
Judicial: Supreme Judicial Court; Special Supreme Tribunal; all judges appointed for life by the president after
consultation with a judicial council
is based on codified Roman law; judiciary divided into civil, criminal, and administrative courts; accepts compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction, with reservations
Executive: President elected by parliament for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 3 February 2010
(next to be held by February 2015);
Legislative: Unicameral Parliament or Vouli ton Ellinon (300 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to
serve four-year terms)
elections: elections last held 04 October 2009 (not required until 2011) (next to be held by 2013)
Judicial: Supreme Judicial Court; Special Supreme Tribunal; all judges appointed for life by the president after
consultation with a judicial council
| LANGUAGES |
Greek 99% (official), English, French
| BRIEF HISTORY |
| ECONOMIC OVERVIEW |
Greece has a capitalist economy with the public sector accounting for about 40% of GDP and with per capita GDP
about two-thirds that of the leading euro-zone economies. Tourism provides 15% of GDP. Immigrants make up nearly
one-fifth of the work force, mainly in agricultural and unskilled jobs. Greece is a major beneficiary of EU aid, equal to
about 3.3% of annual GDP. The Greek economy grew by nearly 4.0% per year between 2003 and 2007, due partly to
infrastructural spending related to the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, and in part to an increased availability of credit,
which has sustained record levels of consumer spending. But growth dropped to 2.9% in 2008. The economy went into
recession in 2009 and contracted by 2.5%, as a result of the world financial crisis, tightening credit conditions, and
Athens' failure to address a growing budget deficit, triggered by falling state revenues, and increased government
expenditures. Greece violated the EU's Growth and Stability Pact budget deficit criterion of no more than 3% of GDP
from 2001 to 2006, but finally met that criterion in 2007-08, before exceeding it again in 2009, with the deficit reaching
12.7% of GDP. Public debt, inflation, and unemployment are above the euro-zone average while per capita income is
the lowest of the pre-2005 EU countries; debt and unemployment rose in 2009, while inflation subsided. Eroding public
finances, a credibility gap stemming from inaccurate and misreported statistics, and consistent underperformance on
following through with reforms prompted major credit rating agencies in late 2009 to downgrade Greece's international
debt rating, which has led to increased financial instability. Under intense pressure by the EU and international market
participants, the government has adopted a medium-term austerity program that includes cutting government spending,
reducing the size of the public sector, decreasing tax evasion, reforming the health care and pension systems, and
improving competitiveness through structural reforms to the labor and product markets. Athens, however, faces
long-term challenges to push through unpopular reforms in the face of often vocal opposition from the country's powerful
labor unions and the general public. Greek labor unions are prepared to strike over new austerity measures and
continued widespread unrest could challenge the government's ability to implement reforms and meet budget targets, and
could also lead to rioting or violence.
Source: CIA World Factbook (select Greece)
about two-thirds that of the leading euro-zone economies. Tourism provides 15% of GDP. Immigrants make up nearly
one-fifth of the work force, mainly in agricultural and unskilled jobs. Greece is a major beneficiary of EU aid, equal to
about 3.3% of annual GDP. The Greek economy grew by nearly 4.0% per year between 2003 and 2007, due partly to
infrastructural spending related to the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, and in part to an increased availability of credit,
which has sustained record levels of consumer spending. But growth dropped to 2.9% in 2008. The economy went into
recession in 2009 and contracted by 2.5%, as a result of the world financial crisis, tightening credit conditions, and
Athens' failure to address a growing budget deficit, triggered by falling state revenues, and increased government
expenditures. Greece violated the EU's Growth and Stability Pact budget deficit criterion of no more than 3% of GDP
from 2001 to 2006, but finally met that criterion in 2007-08, before exceeding it again in 2009, with the deficit reaching
12.7% of GDP. Public debt, inflation, and unemployment are above the euro-zone average while per capita income is
the lowest of the pre-2005 EU countries; debt and unemployment rose in 2009, while inflation subsided. Eroding public
finances, a credibility gap stemming from inaccurate and misreported statistics, and consistent underperformance on
following through with reforms prompted major credit rating agencies in late 2009 to downgrade Greece's international
debt rating, which has led to increased financial instability. Under intense pressure by the EU and international market
participants, the government has adopted a medium-term austerity program that includes cutting government spending,
reducing the size of the public sector, decreasing tax evasion, reforming the health care and pension systems, and
improving competitiveness through structural reforms to the labor and product markets. Athens, however, faces
long-term challenges to push through unpopular reforms in the face of often vocal opposition from the country's powerful
labor unions and the general public. Greek labor unions are prepared to strike over new austerity measures and
continued widespread unrest could challenge the government's ability to implement reforms and meet budget targets, and
could also lead to rioting or violence.
Source: CIA World Factbook (select Greece)
| POLITICAL CLIMATE |
The 1975 constitution, which describes Greece as a "presidential parliamentary republic", includes extensive specific
guarantees of civil liberties and vests the powers of the head of state in a president elected by parliament. The Greek
governmental structure is similar to that found in many Western democracies, and has been described as a compromise
between the French and German models. The prime minister and cabinet play the central role in the political process,
while the president performs some executive and legislative functions in addition to ceremonial duties. Voting in Greece is
compulsory but is not enforced.
Greek parliamentary politics hinge upon the principle of the "dedilomeni", the "declared confidence" of Parliament to the
Prime Minister and his/her administration. This means that the President of the Republic is bound to appoint as Prime
Minister a person who will be approved by a majority of the Parliament's members (i.e. 151 votes). With the current
electoral system, it is the leader of the party gaining a plurality of the votes in the Parliamentary elections who gets
appointed Prime Minister. An administration may, at any time, seek a "vote of confidence"; conversely, a number of
Members of Parliament may ask that a "vote of reproach" be taken. Both are rare occurrences with usually predictable
outcomes as voting outside the party line happens very seldom.
On 4 April, 2009 legislative elections were held in Greece with Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) party winning
a majority, routing the conservative New Democracy (ND) Party. Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis tendered his
resignation and President Karolos Papoulias commissioned PASOK party leader George Papandreou to forma
government as Prime Minister elect on 5 November 2009.
Source: Wikipedia: Politics of Greece
guarantees of civil liberties and vests the powers of the head of state in a president elected by parliament. The Greek
governmental structure is similar to that found in many Western democracies, and has been described as a compromise
between the French and German models. The prime minister and cabinet play the central role in the political process,
while the president performs some executive and legislative functions in addition to ceremonial duties. Voting in Greece is
compulsory but is not enforced.
Greek parliamentary politics hinge upon the principle of the "dedilomeni", the "declared confidence" of Parliament to the
Prime Minister and his/her administration. This means that the President of the Republic is bound to appoint as Prime
Minister a person who will be approved by a majority of the Parliament's members (i.e. 151 votes). With the current
electoral system, it is the leader of the party gaining a plurality of the votes in the Parliamentary elections who gets
appointed Prime Minister. An administration may, at any time, seek a "vote of confidence"; conversely, a number of
Members of Parliament may ask that a "vote of reproach" be taken. Both are rare occurrences with usually predictable
outcomes as voting outside the party line happens very seldom.
On 4 April, 2009 legislative elections were held in Greece with Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) party winning
a majority, routing the conservative New Democracy (ND) Party. Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis tendered his
resignation and President Karolos Papoulias commissioned PASOK party leader George Papandreou to forma
government as Prime Minister elect on 5 November 2009.
Source: Wikipedia: Politics of Greece
| INTERNATIONAL DISPUTES |
Greece and Turkey continue discussions to resolve their complex maritime, air, territorial, and boundary disputes in the
Aegean Sea; Cyprus question with Turkey; Greece rejects the use of the name Macedonia or Republic of Macedonia;
the mass migration of unemployed Albanians still remains a problem for developed countries, chiefly Greece and Italy
Aegean Sea; Cyprus question with Turkey; Greece rejects the use of the name Macedonia or Republic of Macedonia;
the mass migration of unemployed Albanians still remains a problem for developed countries, chiefly Greece and Italy
| REFUGEES AND INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS (IDP) |
None reported.
| ILLICIT DRUGS |
A gateway to Europe for traffickers smuggling cannabis and heroin from the Middle East and Southwest Asia to the
West and precursor chemicals to the East; some South American cocaine transits or is consumed in Greece; money
laundering related to drug trafficking and organized crime
West and precursor chemicals to the East; some South American cocaine transits or is consumed in Greece; money
laundering related to drug trafficking and organized crime
| HUMAN RIGHTS STATEMENTS, ANALYSIS AND CRITIQUES |
2009 Human Rights Report: Greece
Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
2009 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices
March 11, 2010
Greece is a constitutional republic and multiparty parliamentary democracy with an estimated population of 11 million. In October
the Pan-Hellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) won a 10-seat majority in the unicameral Vouli (parliament) in elections regarded as
free and fair, and Georgios Papandreou became prime minister. Civilian authorities generally maintained effective control of the
security forces.
Human rights abuses reported during the year included:
After the October elections, the new government took steps to address several human rights issues: it temporarily closed the Pagani
immigrant detention center, which had been criticized for squalid conditions; it created an experts' committee to overhaul the
country's asylum law and procedures; and it established local government councils to act as liaison with immigrants and reduce
incidents of police abuse.
Click here to read more »
Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
2009 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices
March 11, 2010
Greece is a constitutional republic and multiparty parliamentary democracy with an estimated population of 11 million. In October
the Pan-Hellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) won a 10-seat majority in the unicameral Vouli (parliament) in elections regarded as
free and fair, and Georgios Papandreou became prime minister. Civilian authorities generally maintained effective control of the
security forces.
Human rights abuses reported during the year included:
- abuse by security forces, particularly of undocumented immigrants and Roma;
- overcrowding and harsh conditions in some prisons;
- detention of undocumented migrants in squalid and overcrowded conditions;
- some legal restrictions on freedom of speech;
- restrictions on religious freedom;
- detention and deportation of unaccompanied or separated immigrant minors, including asylum seekers;
- a lack of adequate reception capacity or legal aid for asylum seekers and refugees;
- domestic violence;
- discrimination against and exploitation of Romani children;
- trafficking in persons;
- limits on the freedom of some ethnic minority groups to self-identify;
- discrimination against, and social exclusion of, ethnic minorities, particularly Roma.
After the October elections, the new government took steps to address several human rights issues: it temporarily closed the Pagani
immigrant detention center, which had been criticized for squalid conditions; it created an experts' committee to overhaul the
country's asylum law and procedures; and it established local government councils to act as liaison with immigrants and reduce
incidents of police abuse.
Click here to read more »
14 September 2009
COMMITTEE ON THE ELIMINATION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION
Seventy-fifth session 3 - 28 August 2009
CONSIDERATION OF REPORTS SUBMITTED BY STATES PARTIES UNDER ARTICLE 9 OF THE CONVENTION
Concluding observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
GREECE
A. Introduction
2. The Committee welcomes the submission of the State party report, the replies to the list of issues, as well as the supplementary
information provided orally by the delegation. The Committee found it encouraging that the delegation replied frankly and
constructively to the questions and comments raised by Committee members. The Committee welcomes the high quality of the
State party’s report, which is in line with the Committee’s guidelines.
B. Positive aspects
3. The Committee welcomes the adoption of Law 3304/2005 on the “Implementation of the principle of equal treatment regardless
of race or national origin, religion or other beliefs, disability, age or sexual orientation” in 2005.
4. The Committee welcomes the amendment of paragraph 3 of article 79 of the Criminal Code in 2008, which provides that the
commission of an offence motivated by ethnic, racial or religious hatred constitutes an aggravating circumstance.
5. The Committee welcomes the establishment of the Committee for Equal Treatment and the new responsibilities assumed by the
Greek Ombudsman for the promotion of the principle of equal treatment in the public sector.
C. Concerns and recommendations
8. The Committee takes note of the explanation by the State party of the reason why only Greek citizens belonging to the Muslim
minority in Thrace, as determined by the Treaty of Lausanne of 1923, fall within the scope of the term “minority”, and are
recognized as such.
The Committee, referring to its general recommendation No. 8 (1990) concerning the interpretation and application of article 1,
paragraphs 1 and 4 of the Convention, and recalling its general recommendation No. 20 (1996) on article 5 of the Convention, calls
upon the State party to ensure the non-discriminatory implementation of each of the rights and freedoms referred to in article 5 of
the Convention for all groups within the scope of the Convention. The Committee recommends that the State party conduct
research with a view to effectively assessing and evaluating the incidence of racial discrimination in the country, with particular
focus on discrimination based on national or ethnic origin, and take targeted measures to eliminate such discrimination.
Click here to read more »
COMMITTEE ON THE ELIMINATION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION
Seventy-fifth session 3 - 28 August 2009
CONSIDERATION OF REPORTS SUBMITTED BY STATES PARTIES UNDER ARTICLE 9 OF THE CONVENTION
Concluding observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
GREECE
A. Introduction
2. The Committee welcomes the submission of the State party report, the replies to the list of issues, as well as the supplementary
information provided orally by the delegation. The Committee found it encouraging that the delegation replied frankly and
constructively to the questions and comments raised by Committee members. The Committee welcomes the high quality of the
State party’s report, which is in line with the Committee’s guidelines.
B. Positive aspects
3. The Committee welcomes the adoption of Law 3304/2005 on the “Implementation of the principle of equal treatment regardless
of race or national origin, religion or other beliefs, disability, age or sexual orientation” in 2005.
4. The Committee welcomes the amendment of paragraph 3 of article 79 of the Criminal Code in 2008, which provides that the
commission of an offence motivated by ethnic, racial or religious hatred constitutes an aggravating circumstance.
5. The Committee welcomes the establishment of the Committee for Equal Treatment and the new responsibilities assumed by the
Greek Ombudsman for the promotion of the principle of equal treatment in the public sector.
C. Concerns and recommendations
8. The Committee takes note of the explanation by the State party of the reason why only Greek citizens belonging to the Muslim
minority in Thrace, as determined by the Treaty of Lausanne of 1923, fall within the scope of the term “minority”, and are
recognized as such.
The Committee, referring to its general recommendation No. 8 (1990) concerning the interpretation and application of article 1,
paragraphs 1 and 4 of the Convention, and recalling its general recommendation No. 20 (1996) on article 5 of the Convention, calls
upon the State party to ensure the non-discriminatory implementation of each of the rights and freedoms referred to in article 5 of
the Convention for all groups within the scope of the Convention. The Committee recommends that the State party conduct
research with a view to effectively assessing and evaluating the incidence of racial discrimination in the country, with particular
focus on discrimination based on national or ethnic origin, and take targeted measures to eliminate such discrimination.
Click here to read more »
Freedom In The World Report- 2009
Political Rights Score: 1
Civil Liberties Score: 2
Status: Free
Trend Arrow
Greece received a downward trend arrow due to countrywide riots in December that posed a serious threat to the
general population and to economic activities, as well as the inability of the government and security forces to control
the situation.
Overview
Violent protests triggered by the police shooting of a 15-year-old caused major disruptions and destroyed businesses in December.
The unrest followed a national strike called by civil servants in March to protest against proposed pension reforms, though the
changes were eventually passed by Parliament.
Civil servants staged a national strike in March 2008 in an effort to block a pension reform bill. The measure, which was
eventually approved, was expected to encourage retiring workers to stay in the workforce and merge pension funds to cut
operating costs. The protests significantly disrupted public transportation and led to the closing of schools and some public offices.
The country was shaken again in December, when the police shooting of a 15-year-old triggered violent protests led primarily by
university students. The protests, which were the worst in decades and caused considerable damage in Athens and other cities,
were believed to have been fueled by latent contempt for the police as well as a sense of social injustice and the long-standing
problem of corruption in everyday life.
Also during the year, Greece continued to grapple with Macedonia over the latter country’s name, which was shared by an
adjacent region in Greece. At a NATO summit in April, Greece blocked Macedonia’s bid to join the alliance.
Greece is an electoral democracy. All 300 members of the unicameral Parliament are elected by proportional representation. The
largely ceremonial president is elected by a supermajority of Parliament for a five-year term. The current president, Karolos
Papoulias of PASOK, was elected unopposed in 2005. The prime minister is chosen by the president and is usually the leader of
the majority party in Parliament; the current prime minister is Konstandinos Karamanlis of the New Democracy party. Five parties
won seats in Parliament in 2007: the center-left PASOK, the conservative New Democracy, the leftist KKE and Synaspismos, and
the far-right LAOS.
Click here to read more »
Political Rights Score: 1
Civil Liberties Score: 2
Status: Free
Trend Arrow
Greece received a downward trend arrow due to countrywide riots in December that posed a serious threat to the
general population and to economic activities, as well as the inability of the government and security forces to control
the situation.
Overview
Violent protests triggered by the police shooting of a 15-year-old caused major disruptions and destroyed businesses in December.
The unrest followed a national strike called by civil servants in March to protest against proposed pension reforms, though the
changes were eventually passed by Parliament.
Civil servants staged a national strike in March 2008 in an effort to block a pension reform bill. The measure, which was
eventually approved, was expected to encourage retiring workers to stay in the workforce and merge pension funds to cut
operating costs. The protests significantly disrupted public transportation and led to the closing of schools and some public offices.
The country was shaken again in December, when the police shooting of a 15-year-old triggered violent protests led primarily by
university students. The protests, which were the worst in decades and caused considerable damage in Athens and other cities,
were believed to have been fueled by latent contempt for the police as well as a sense of social injustice and the long-standing
problem of corruption in everyday life.
Also during the year, Greece continued to grapple with Macedonia over the latter country’s name, which was shared by an
adjacent region in Greece. At a NATO summit in April, Greece blocked Macedonia’s bid to join the alliance.
Greece is an electoral democracy. All 300 members of the unicameral Parliament are elected by proportional representation. The
largely ceremonial president is elected by a supermajority of Parliament for a five-year term. The current president, Karolos
Papoulias of PASOK, was elected unopposed in 2005. The prime minister is chosen by the president and is usually the leader of
the majority party in Parliament; the current prime minister is Konstandinos Karamanlis of the New Democracy party. Five parties
won seats in Parliament in 2007: the center-left PASOK, the conservative New Democracy, the leftist KKE and Synaspismos, and
the far-right LAOS.
Click here to read more »
THE DUBLIN II TRAP: TRANSFERS OF ASYLUM-SEEKERS TO GREECE
22 March 2010
1. INTRODUCTION
Amnesty International is concerned that state parties to the European Union (EU) Dublin Regulation continue or have resumed the
return of asylum-seekers under this Regulation1 to Greece despite continuing serious concerns with regard to the treatment of
asylum-seekers, refugees and migrants in Greece. The Dublin Regulation is an EU law for determining which member state is
responsible for deciding an asylum application lodged within the EU,2 and usually requires that asylum-seekers be returned to the
first country they entered upon arriving in the EU. Individuals transferred under the Dublin II system3 face a myriad of risks to
their human rights in Greece, including most seriously a risk of refoulement through failures in the asylum system at both
procedural and substantive levels. As this report will highlight, these failings are: difficulties in accessing the asylum system and
registering a claim; unfair examinations of asylum claims; a lack of procedural safeguards as required by international law to
ensure the correct identification of those in need of international protection, and to prevent violation of the principle of
non-refoulement.4 These procedural failings include the abolition of a substantive appeal, and a lack of legal counselling,
interpretation and information about the asylum procedure. On top of these systemic failings, expulsions to Turkey, including of
asylum-seekers, are creating further risks of indirect or chain refoulement.5 In addition, the vast majority of asylum-seekers
transferred under the Dublin Regulation are automatically detained in inadequate conditions at the airport upon their arrival in
Greece. Elsewhere in the country reception conditions fall far short of requisite standards, and economic and social rights are not
met. In view of these findings, Amnesty International must repeat its call to state parties to the Dublin Regulation to immediately
suspend all transfers to Greece under the Regulation until such time as reforms are implemented ensuring that requisite levels of
human rights protection are met for refugees and asylum-seekers in Greece.
During 2007/8, in response to growing concern about the dire asylum conditions in Greece expressed by, among others, the UN
Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe and various non-governmental
organizations (NGOs), a number of European countries took steps to suspend or reduce Dublin II transfers to Greece.
Given the evidence of serious continuing problems outlined in this report it is therefore of significant concern that, since the first
half of 2009, some state parties to the Dublin Regulation, including Finland, the Netherlands, Belgium and Norway, which were
previously circumspect in or had suspended applying the Regulation, have resumed returns of asylumseekers to Greece.6
European countries commonly argue that if breaches of human rights take place in Greece then individuals can seek redress there
since Greece is a party to the relevant human rights conventions and treaties. However, Amnesty International and other
organizations have repeatedly raised concerns about the obstacles faced by individuals in accessing their rights or effective
remedies in practice.
Click here to read more »
22 March 2010
1. INTRODUCTION
Amnesty International is concerned that state parties to the European Union (EU) Dublin Regulation continue or have resumed the
return of asylum-seekers under this Regulation1 to Greece despite continuing serious concerns with regard to the treatment of
asylum-seekers, refugees and migrants in Greece. The Dublin Regulation is an EU law for determining which member state is
responsible for deciding an asylum application lodged within the EU,2 and usually requires that asylum-seekers be returned to the
first country they entered upon arriving in the EU. Individuals transferred under the Dublin II system3 face a myriad of risks to
their human rights in Greece, including most seriously a risk of refoulement through failures in the asylum system at both
procedural and substantive levels. As this report will highlight, these failings are: difficulties in accessing the asylum system and
registering a claim; unfair examinations of asylum claims; a lack of procedural safeguards as required by international law to
ensure the correct identification of those in need of international protection, and to prevent violation of the principle of
non-refoulement.4 These procedural failings include the abolition of a substantive appeal, and a lack of legal counselling,
interpretation and information about the asylum procedure. On top of these systemic failings, expulsions to Turkey, including of
asylum-seekers, are creating further risks of indirect or chain refoulement.5 In addition, the vast majority of asylum-seekers
transferred under the Dublin Regulation are automatically detained in inadequate conditions at the airport upon their arrival in
Greece. Elsewhere in the country reception conditions fall far short of requisite standards, and economic and social rights are not
met. In view of these findings, Amnesty International must repeat its call to state parties to the Dublin Regulation to immediately
suspend all transfers to Greece under the Regulation until such time as reforms are implemented ensuring that requisite levels of
human rights protection are met for refugees and asylum-seekers in Greece.
During 2007/8, in response to growing concern about the dire asylum conditions in Greece expressed by, among others, the UN
Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe and various non-governmental
organizations (NGOs), a number of European countries took steps to suspend or reduce Dublin II transfers to Greece.
Given the evidence of serious continuing problems outlined in this report it is therefore of significant concern that, since the first
half of 2009, some state parties to the Dublin Regulation, including Finland, the Netherlands, Belgium and Norway, which were
previously circumspect in or had suspended applying the Regulation, have resumed returns of asylumseekers to Greece.6
European countries commonly argue that if breaches of human rights take place in Greece then individuals can seek redress there
since Greece is a party to the relevant human rights conventions and treaties. However, Amnesty International and other
organizations have repeatedly raised concerns about the obstacles faced by individuals in accessing their rights or effective
remedies in practice.
Click here to read more »
Greece: Escalating Risks for Migrants, Unaccompanied Children
EU Should Press New Government to Reform Asylum System and End Abuse
October 12, 2009
The European Union should press the newly elected Greek government to end the abusive detention and summary expulsions of
migrants, including unaccompanied children, and to reform the country's broken asylum system, Human Rights Watch said in a
report released today.
In a large-scale crackdown between June and August 2009, the Greek authorities arrested hundreds of migrants across the
country, evicting them from run-down dwellings in Athens, bulldozing a makeshift camp in Patras, and detaining new arrivals on
the islands. Unaccompanied children caught up in the crackdown were among the many subsequently transferred to detention
centers in the north, close to the Turkish border. From there, in secret nighttime operations, the Greek police forced dozens of
migrants - possibly hundreds, including unaccompanied children and potential refugees - across the border into Turkey.
"Greece's illegal expulsions have reached a new level," said Simone Troller, researcher at Human Rights Watch, "Migrants are now
being arrested throughout the country and then pushed back to Turkey. Clearly, people who need protection are not safe in
Greece."
Greece's dysfunctional asylum system is entirely in the hands of police, who create obstacles to filing asylum claims and deny
asylum seekers fair hearings and assessments of their claims. More than 99 percent of asylum seekers are denied after their first
interview. In July, the previous government effectively abolished asylum appeal procedures, a standard requirement under
European and international human rights law. The action left adults and children alike with no effective remedy and at risk of being
deported to places where their lives and safety may be at risk.
Human Rights Watch interviewed 16 persons who were detained in Greece's northern border region between July and September.
Two of them described to us how Greek police forced them across the Evros River into Turkey. The Turkish authorities then
sent them back to Afghanistan. Eight others said they saw Greek police taking other migrants away from detention centers at
nightfall in trucks or vans. Four of them said that those who were taken away later got in touch with detainees who stayed behind
and told them the police had expelled them to Turkey.
These new accounts are consistent with Human Rights Watch's previous documentation of Greece's systematic and illegal
expulsion of migrants and refugees in a November 2008 report, "Stuck in a Revolving Door: Iraqis and Other Asylum Seekers and
Migrants at the Greece/Turkey Entrance to the European Union". At that time, Human Rights Watch conducted private and
confidential interviews in various locations in both Greece and Turkey with 41 asylum seekers and refugees, all of whom gave
consistent accounts of Greek authorities taking them to Evros River at night and forcing them across. The recent interviews
present new evidence that Greek authorities are now not only expelling migrants caught near the border, but also those, including
potential refugees and unaccompanied children, apprehended in other parts of the country.
Click here to read more »
EU Should Press New Government to Reform Asylum System and End Abuse
October 12, 2009
The European Union should press the newly elected Greek government to end the abusive detention and summary expulsions of
migrants, including unaccompanied children, and to reform the country's broken asylum system, Human Rights Watch said in a
report released today.
In a large-scale crackdown between June and August 2009, the Greek authorities arrested hundreds of migrants across the
country, evicting them from run-down dwellings in Athens, bulldozing a makeshift camp in Patras, and detaining new arrivals on
the islands. Unaccompanied children caught up in the crackdown were among the many subsequently transferred to detention
centers in the north, close to the Turkish border. From there, in secret nighttime operations, the Greek police forced dozens of
migrants - possibly hundreds, including unaccompanied children and potential refugees - across the border into Turkey.
"Greece's illegal expulsions have reached a new level," said Simone Troller, researcher at Human Rights Watch, "Migrants are now
being arrested throughout the country and then pushed back to Turkey. Clearly, people who need protection are not safe in
Greece."
Greece's dysfunctional asylum system is entirely in the hands of police, who create obstacles to filing asylum claims and deny
asylum seekers fair hearings and assessments of their claims. More than 99 percent of asylum seekers are denied after their first
interview. In July, the previous government effectively abolished asylum appeal procedures, a standard requirement under
European and international human rights law. The action left adults and children alike with no effective remedy and at risk of being
deported to places where their lives and safety may be at risk.
Human Rights Watch interviewed 16 persons who were detained in Greece's northern border region between July and September.
Two of them described to us how Greek police forced them across the Evros River into Turkey. The Turkish authorities then
sent them back to Afghanistan. Eight others said they saw Greek police taking other migrants away from detention centers at
nightfall in trucks or vans. Four of them said that those who were taken away later got in touch with detainees who stayed behind
and told them the police had expelled them to Turkey.
These new accounts are consistent with Human Rights Watch's previous documentation of Greece's systematic and illegal
expulsion of migrants and refugees in a November 2008 report, "Stuck in a Revolving Door: Iraqis and Other Asylum Seekers and
Migrants at the Greece/Turkey Entrance to the European Union". At that time, Human Rights Watch conducted private and
confidential interviews in various locations in both Greece and Turkey with 41 asylum seekers and refugees, all of whom gave
consistent accounts of Greek authorities taking them to Evros River at night and forcing them across. The recent interviews
present new evidence that Greek authorities are now not only expelling migrants caught near the border, but also those, including
potential refugees and unaccompanied children, apprehended in other parts of the country.
Click here to read more »
Statement by H.E. Ambassador Anastassis Mitsialis Permanent Representative of Greece to the United Nations
NEW YORK
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Mr. President,
Terrorism continues to present a serious threat to international peace, stability and security. International commitment to
confront terrorism must remain strong and our efforts to successfully address this challenge should be intensified. But if our
efforts are to be successful and self-sustaining, they must garner the broadest possible consensus and acceptance, and be based
on respect for the fundamental principles of international law and international humanitarian law and on the full respect and
protection of human rights.
That brings me to the issue which has come to the fore of international attention and concern: that is the issue of human rights.
Respect for human rights is one of the cornerstones of contemporary legal order and human rights conventions and institutions
have raised the awareness and sensitivity of states, governments, civil society, international organizations and NGOs.
Greece has submitted her candidacy for the UN Human Rights Council for the period 2012-2015, wishing to play a proactive
role in the protection of human rights. We believe that the UN HRC, can play a crucial role in the improvement of the situation of
human rights worldwide. It should not be restricted to pointing to the violators, but should mainly help overcome the shortfalls
and implement the universal standards.
Interest in the protection of human rights must be genuine and anthropocentric. And protection must be carried out in full
compliance with the fundamental principles of international law and the UN Charter. We should award a special place in the
system of human rights protection to gender issues. Women's rights need all our attention, because in many corners of the world
they continue to be violated systematically and flagrantly. Education and equal working opportunities are key areas.
Aristotle proposed that "it is possible to fail in many ways, while to succeed is possible in only one way." It is our conviction that
this 'one way' is effective multilateralism led by the UN. We need the leadership of the UN if we are to carry out our ultimate
mission: safeguarding the dignity, lives and freedoms of the citizens we represent. We need to give the Secretary General -
whom we elected - the tools to guide this Organization so that it can once again take up its central role in international life. So
that the UN can meet the myriad challenges facing humanity. We have to identify the UN's weaknesses and have the courage to
redress them using common sense. Just as we would do at home. As we would do in our countries. Because every failure of the
UN is a personal failure for each and every one of us. Because the world is changing, and we have to change with it.
Click here to read more »
NEW YORK
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Mr. President,
Terrorism continues to present a serious threat to international peace, stability and security. International commitment to
confront terrorism must remain strong and our efforts to successfully address this challenge should be intensified. But if our
efforts are to be successful and self-sustaining, they must garner the broadest possible consensus and acceptance, and be based
on respect for the fundamental principles of international law and international humanitarian law and on the full respect and
protection of human rights.
That brings me to the issue which has come to the fore of international attention and concern: that is the issue of human rights.
Respect for human rights is one of the cornerstones of contemporary legal order and human rights conventions and institutions
have raised the awareness and sensitivity of states, governments, civil society, international organizations and NGOs.
Greece has submitted her candidacy for the UN Human Rights Council for the period 2012-2015, wishing to play a proactive
role in the protection of human rights. We believe that the UN HRC, can play a crucial role in the improvement of the situation of
human rights worldwide. It should not be restricted to pointing to the violators, but should mainly help overcome the shortfalls
and implement the universal standards.
Interest in the protection of human rights must be genuine and anthropocentric. And protection must be carried out in full
compliance with the fundamental principles of international law and the UN Charter. We should award a special place in the
system of human rights protection to gender issues. Women's rights need all our attention, because in many corners of the world
they continue to be violated systematically and flagrantly. Education and equal working opportunities are key areas.
Aristotle proposed that "it is possible to fail in many ways, while to succeed is possible in only one way." It is our conviction that
this 'one way' is effective multilateralism led by the UN. We need the leadership of the UN if we are to carry out our ultimate
mission: safeguarding the dignity, lives and freedoms of the citizens we represent. We need to give the Secretary General -
whom we elected - the tools to guide this Organization so that it can once again take up its central role in international life. So
that the UN can meet the myriad challenges facing humanity. We have to identify the UN's weaknesses and have the courage to
redress them using common sense. Just as we would do at home. As we would do in our countries. Because every failure of the
UN is a personal failure for each and every one of us. Because the world is changing, and we have to change with it.
Click here to read more »
ANNUAL REPORT 2008
March 2009
FOREWORD
by the NCHR President, Kostis A. Papaioannou
The Annual Report of the National Commission for Human Rights, according to its founding law, records its activities and work
of the previous year. It also refers to issues relating to the functioning of the Commission, at the national and international level,
and its cooperation with the government.
The assessment of the global situation reveals three important issues that may pose serious risks in terms of human rights in the
future. The first aspect is related to the economic crisis, a crisis with still unfathomable dimensions and duration. Over time it is
very likely for this crisis to create social tension and severe rupture of social cohesion. Large segments of the population,
indigenous and alien, are experiencing strong pressure in the economic and labour field, while the decline of the welfare state and
the mechanisms of social security weakens a valuable social safety net.
The second aspect, which is interlinked with the previous one, relates to migrant and refugee population. The inadequate policies
of social integration combined with the great number of migrants living in the grey zone of nonlegitimization constitute an
extremely negative setting. Moreover, the serious shortcomings of the asylum system undermine the protection of refugees,
which constitutes an international obligation of our country. Recent protests by Muslim migrants are a worrying signal and
enhance the extreme urgency of taking measures, such as the creation of those infrastructures that will allow the unimpeded
exercise of their religious rights. Furthermore, it is the responsibility of the state to take initiatives and act towards the social
integration of migrants and the protection of law, both at the national and local level, so as to contain the actions of those who
take advantage of the citizen’s insecurity by instigating xenophobia and racism with significant consequences on social cohesion
and peace.The great responsibility of the media, often exacerbating this feeling of insecurity needs to be underlined.
The third factor concerns the operation of the law enforcement personnel as guarantors of citizens’ rights. Incidents of police
arbitrariness, including the Grigoropoulos homicide which generated the December of 2008 riots, need to be addressed. Besides,
there is a significant number of convictions of Greece by international bodies for incidents of police brutality. The NCHR proposed
to the Ministry of Interior the joint preparation of a new curriculum for human rights training of police. The proposition was
accepted in principle.
The planning of the curriculum is in progress, but its continuation depends both on the political will and financial support by the
Ministry. The problem, however, of police violence will not be resolved solely via training. Several and important interventions are
also required in other areas, such the effective investigation and attribution of responsibility for reported incidents.
Click here to read more »
March 2009
FOREWORD
by the NCHR President, Kostis A. Papaioannou
The Annual Report of the National Commission for Human Rights, according to its founding law, records its activities and work
of the previous year. It also refers to issues relating to the functioning of the Commission, at the national and international level,
and its cooperation with the government.
The assessment of the global situation reveals three important issues that may pose serious risks in terms of human rights in the
future. The first aspect is related to the economic crisis, a crisis with still unfathomable dimensions and duration. Over time it is
very likely for this crisis to create social tension and severe rupture of social cohesion. Large segments of the population,
indigenous and alien, are experiencing strong pressure in the economic and labour field, while the decline of the welfare state and
the mechanisms of social security weakens a valuable social safety net.
The second aspect, which is interlinked with the previous one, relates to migrant and refugee population. The inadequate policies
of social integration combined with the great number of migrants living in the grey zone of nonlegitimization constitute an
extremely negative setting. Moreover, the serious shortcomings of the asylum system undermine the protection of refugees,
which constitutes an international obligation of our country. Recent protests by Muslim migrants are a worrying signal and
enhance the extreme urgency of taking measures, such as the creation of those infrastructures that will allow the unimpeded
exercise of their religious rights. Furthermore, it is the responsibility of the state to take initiatives and act towards the social
integration of migrants and the protection of law, both at the national and local level, so as to contain the actions of those who
take advantage of the citizen’s insecurity by instigating xenophobia and racism with significant consequences on social cohesion
and peace.The great responsibility of the media, often exacerbating this feeling of insecurity needs to be underlined.
The third factor concerns the operation of the law enforcement personnel as guarantors of citizens’ rights. Incidents of police
arbitrariness, including the Grigoropoulos homicide which generated the December of 2008 riots, need to be addressed. Besides,
there is a significant number of convictions of Greece by international bodies for incidents of police brutality. The NCHR proposed
to the Ministry of Interior the joint preparation of a new curriculum for human rights training of police. The proposition was
accepted in principle.
The planning of the curriculum is in progress, but its continuation depends both on the political will and financial support by the
Ministry. The problem, however, of police violence will not be resolved solely via training. Several and important interventions are
also required in other areas, such the effective investigation and attribution of responsibility for reported incidents.
Click here to read more »
TRANSLATED FROM GREEK BY GOOGLE TRANSLATE
Annual Report 2009
GEORGE B. KAMINIS
SYNIGOROS OF CITIZENSHIP
FEBRUARY 2010
Introduction
The profound crisis currently affecting the economy and the credibility of the political agreement; warp is a consequence of a
universal collective crisis as it has eliminate the long search for effective and responsible public interest and all together. The
present economic and political system as a by expression of this general crisis develops its corrosive effects and inside the
government, which in turn transforms the reproduction and berries. Furthermore, this universal internal crisis affecting society in
a time- as an exogenous non-factor, the mass flow of immigrants, legal and illegal, rearranges the European neighborhood values
and symbols of a collective nature, overturning entrenched social attitudes and political attitudes and disrupts balances, which
were not volatile, but still relevant and readable. Minus-estate of Greek society in comparison with other European that is required
to manage the big issues of national and collective "identity," Being-intestinal Los unprepared. For many years the domestic
political debate has essentially disappeared into the misty skandalologias a binge that concealed the real problems of the country
stimulated the unreliability of the political system; tion. The policy now returns, but finding the ideology of a society; Ria,
psychologically tired and unprepared to deal with big problems that stand in front of it.
Clearly, solutions to these problems are to find policies forces in the country, each position, government or opposition. The
contracts Li of the Ombudsman in shaping public debate, however, can be is crucial, as is occasionally heard in a number of
important is that the positions of the Ombudsman on these issues have shaped by the experience of twelve years of friction with
everyday problems to bring to the attention of people, problems associated with two major categories issues. The first category is
daily contact with the citizen public services: health care, education, social security, environment, faux watches, all kinds of
licensing, transactions with public enterprises, etc. The These are areas of administrative action with a strong influence on daily-
quantity of life for citizens. Any attempt at comprehensive reform in these areas will inevitably meet with strong vested interests
and guilds within and outside of government.
There is also a second category of cases that have been routinely employment to the Ombudsman. These are those related to
defense human rights. Among them stand out on the brunt of anti-quotations already caused and will certainly intensify in the next
years, the rights of aliens. Requirements for legal entry and stay in the country, integration of legal immigrants in employment,
education and social security, conditions and procedure for awarding citizenship or sponsoring political asylum, discrimination
based on nationality, race, religion, etc. All these are matters which the Ombudsman has at times made the views with frankness,
all based on tens of thousands of cases have he has dealt with solely by the Constitution, laws and international binding
agreements of the country.
Click here to read more »
Annual Report 2009
GEORGE B. KAMINIS
SYNIGOROS OF CITIZENSHIP
FEBRUARY 2010
Introduction
The profound crisis currently affecting the economy and the credibility of the political agreement; warp is a consequence of a
universal collective crisis as it has eliminate the long search for effective and responsible public interest and all together. The
present economic and political system as a by expression of this general crisis develops its corrosive effects and inside the
government, which in turn transforms the reproduction and berries. Furthermore, this universal internal crisis affecting society in
a time- as an exogenous non-factor, the mass flow of immigrants, legal and illegal, rearranges the European neighborhood values
and symbols of a collective nature, overturning entrenched social attitudes and political attitudes and disrupts balances, which
were not volatile, but still relevant and readable. Minus-estate of Greek society in comparison with other European that is required
to manage the big issues of national and collective "identity," Being-intestinal Los unprepared. For many years the domestic
political debate has essentially disappeared into the misty skandalologias a binge that concealed the real problems of the country
stimulated the unreliability of the political system; tion. The policy now returns, but finding the ideology of a society; Ria,
psychologically tired and unprepared to deal with big problems that stand in front of it.
Clearly, solutions to these problems are to find policies forces in the country, each position, government or opposition. The
contracts Li of the Ombudsman in shaping public debate, however, can be is crucial, as is occasionally heard in a number of
important is that the positions of the Ombudsman on these issues have shaped by the experience of twelve years of friction with
everyday problems to bring to the attention of people, problems associated with two major categories issues. The first category is
daily contact with the citizen public services: health care, education, social security, environment, faux watches, all kinds of
licensing, transactions with public enterprises, etc. The These are areas of administrative action with a strong influence on daily-
quantity of life for citizens. Any attempt at comprehensive reform in these areas will inevitably meet with strong vested interests
and guilds within and outside of government.
There is also a second category of cases that have been routinely employment to the Ombudsman. These are those related to
defense human rights. Among them stand out on the brunt of anti-quotations already caused and will certainly intensify in the next
years, the rights of aliens. Requirements for legal entry and stay in the country, integration of legal immigrants in employment,
education and social security, conditions and procedure for awarding citizenship or sponsoring political asylum, discrimination
based on nationality, race, religion, etc. All these are matters which the Ombudsman has at times made the views with frankness,
all based on tens of thousands of cases have he has dealt with solely by the Constitution, laws and international binding
agreements of the country.
Click here to read more »
The earliest civilization to appear around Greece was the Minoan civilization in Crete, which lasted approximately from
3650 (Early Minoan) BCE to 1450 BCE, and on the Early Helladic period on the Greek mainland from ca. 2800 BCE
to 2100 BCE. Little specific information is known about the Minoans (even the name is a modern appellation, from
Minos, the legendary king of Crete). They have been characterized as a pre-Indo-European people, apparently the
linguistic ancestors of the Eteo-Cretan speakers of Classical Antiquity, their language being encoded in the undeciphered
Linear A script. They were primarily a mercantile people engaged in overseas trade. Although the causes of their demise
are uncertain, they were eventually invaded by the Mycenaeans from mainland Greece. Mycenaean Greece, also known
as Bronze Age Greece, is the Late Helladic Bronze Age civilization of Ancient Greece. It lasted from the arrival of the
Greeks in the Aegean around 1600 BCE to the collapse of their Bronze Age civilization around 1100 BCE. It is the
historical setting of the epics of Homer and much other Greek mythology. The Mycenaean period takes its name from
the archaeological site Mycenae in the northeastern Argolid, in the Peloponnesos of southern Greece. Athens, Pylos,
Thebes, and Tiryns are also important Mycenaean sites. The Greek Dark Ages (ca. 1200 BC–800 BC) refers to the
period of Greek prehistory from the presumed Dorian invasion and end of the Mycenaean civilization in the 11th century
BC to the rise of the first Greek city-states in the 9th century BC and the epics of Homer and earliest writings in
alphabetic Greek in the 8th century BC. There are no fixed or universally agreed dates for the beginning or the end of the
Ancient Greek period. Traditionally, the Ancient Greek period was taken to begin with the date of the first Olympic
Games in 776 BC, but most historians now extend the term back to about 1000 BC. The traditional date for the end of
the Ancient Greek period is the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC. The following period is classed as Hellenistic.
Ancient Greece is considered by most historians to be the foundational culture of Western Civilization. The Hellenistic
period of Greek history begins with the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and ends with the annexation of the
Greek peninsula and islands by Rome in 146 BC. During the Hellenistic period the importance of "Greece proper" (that
is, the territory of modern Greece) within the Greek-speaking world declined sharply. The great centres of Hellenistic
culture were Alexandria and Antioch, capitals of Ptolemaic Egypt and Seleucid Syria respectively. (See Hellenistic
civilization for the history of Greek culture outside of Greece in this period.). Militarily Greece itself declined to the point
that the Romans conquered the land (187 BC onwards), though Greek culture would in turn conquer Roman life.
Although the period of Roman rule in Greece is conventionally dated as starting from the sacking of Corinth by the
Roman Lucius Mummius in 123 BC, Macedonia had already come under Roman control with the defeat of its king,
Perseus, by the Roman Aemilius Paullus at Pydna in 168 BC. The Romans divided the region into four smaller republics,
and in 146 BC Macedonia officially became a Roman province, with its capital at Thessalonica. The rest of the Greek
city-states gradually and eventually paid homage to Rome ending their de jure autonomy as well. The Romans left local
administration to the Greeks without making any attempt to abolish traditional political patterns. The agora in Athens
continued to be the centre of civic and political life. The history of the Byzantine Empire is described by scholar August
Heisenberg as the history "of the Roman state of the Greek nation, that turned Christian". The division of the empire into
East and West and the subsequent collapse of the Western Roman Empire were developments that constantly
accentuated the position of the Greeks in the empire and eventually allowed them to become identified with it altogether.
The leading role of Constantinople began when Constantine the Great turned Byzantium into the new capital of the
Roman Empire, henceforth to be known as Constantinople, placing the city at the centre of Hellenism a beacon for the
Greeks that lasted to the modern era. The 11th and 12th centuries are said to be the Golden Age of Byzantine art in
Greece. Many of the most important Byzantine churches in around Athens, for example, were built during these two
centuries, and this reflects the growth of urbanisation in Greece during this period. There was also a revival in the mosaic
art with artists showing great interest in depicting natural landscapes with wild animals and scenes from the hunt. Mosaics
became more realistic and vivid, with an increased emphasis on depicting three-dimensional forms. With its love of
luxury and passion for colour, the art of this age delighted in the production of masterpieces that spread the fame of
Byzantium throughout the whole of the Christian world. The year 1204 marks the beginning of the late Byzantine period,
when probably the most important event for the Empire occurred. Constantinople was lost for the Greek people for the
first time, and the empire was conquered by Latin crusaders and would be replaced by a new Latin one, for 57 years. In
addition, the period of Latin occupation decisively influenced the empire's internal development, as elements of feudality
entered aspects of Byzantine life. In 1261 the Greek empire was divided between the former Greek Byzantine
Comnenos dynasty members (Epirus) and Palaiologos dynasty (the last dynasty until the fall of Constantinople). After the
gradual weakening of the structures of the Greek Byzantine state and the reduction of its land from Turkish invasions,
came the fall of the Greek Byzantine Empire, at the hands of the Ottomans, in 1453, when the Byzantine period is
considered to have ended. When the Ottomans arrived, two Greek migrations occurred. The first migration entailed the
Greek intelligentsia migrating to Western Europe and influencing the advent of the Renaissance. The second migration
entailed Greeks leaving the plains of the Greek peninsula and resettling in the mountains. Greece being mostly
mountainous, the Ottomans could not conquer the entire Greek peninsula since they created neither a military nor an
administrative presence in the mountains. The Ottomans ruled Greece until the early 19th century. On March 25, 1821
(also the same day as the Greek Orthodox day of the Annunciation of the Theotokos), the Greeks rebelled and declared
their independence, but did not achieve it until 1829. The big European powers saw the war of Greek independence,
with its accounts of Turkish atrocities, in a romantic light. During the 19th and early 20th centuries, in a series of wars
with the Ottomans, Greece sought to enlarge its boundaries to include the ethnic Greek population of the Ottoman
Empire. As a result of the Balkan Wars of 1912-13 Epirus, southern Macedonia, Crete and the Aegean Islands were
annexed into Greece. Greece reached its present configuration in 1947.In the 1950s and 1960s, Greece developed
rapidly, initially with the help of the U.S. Marshall Plans' grants and loans, and later through growth in the tourism sector.
In 1967, the Greek military seized power in a coup d'état, overthrew the centre right government of Panagiotis
Kanellopoulos and established the Greek military junta of 1967-1974 which became known as the Régime of the
Colonels. The Central Intelligence Agency was involved in the coup and President Clinton later apologised for the
interference. In 1975, following a referendum to confirm the deposition of King Constantine II, a democratic republican
constitution came into force. Another previously exiled politician, Andreas Papandreou also returned and founded the
socialist PASOK party, which won the elections in 1981 and dominated the country's political course for almost two
decades. Since the restoration of democracy, the stability and economic prosperity of Greece have grown. Greece
joined the European Union in 1981 and adopted the Euro as its currency in 2001.
Sources: Wikipedia: History of Greece
3650 (Early Minoan) BCE to 1450 BCE, and on the Early Helladic period on the Greek mainland from ca. 2800 BCE
to 2100 BCE. Little specific information is known about the Minoans (even the name is a modern appellation, from
Minos, the legendary king of Crete). They have been characterized as a pre-Indo-European people, apparently the
linguistic ancestors of the Eteo-Cretan speakers of Classical Antiquity, their language being encoded in the undeciphered
Linear A script. They were primarily a mercantile people engaged in overseas trade. Although the causes of their demise
are uncertain, they were eventually invaded by the Mycenaeans from mainland Greece. Mycenaean Greece, also known
as Bronze Age Greece, is the Late Helladic Bronze Age civilization of Ancient Greece. It lasted from the arrival of the
Greeks in the Aegean around 1600 BCE to the collapse of their Bronze Age civilization around 1100 BCE. It is the
historical setting of the epics of Homer and much other Greek mythology. The Mycenaean period takes its name from
the archaeological site Mycenae in the northeastern Argolid, in the Peloponnesos of southern Greece. Athens, Pylos,
Thebes, and Tiryns are also important Mycenaean sites. The Greek Dark Ages (ca. 1200 BC–800 BC) refers to the
period of Greek prehistory from the presumed Dorian invasion and end of the Mycenaean civilization in the 11th century
BC to the rise of the first Greek city-states in the 9th century BC and the epics of Homer and earliest writings in
alphabetic Greek in the 8th century BC. There are no fixed or universally agreed dates for the beginning or the end of the
Ancient Greek period. Traditionally, the Ancient Greek period was taken to begin with the date of the first Olympic
Games in 776 BC, but most historians now extend the term back to about 1000 BC. The traditional date for the end of
the Ancient Greek period is the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC. The following period is classed as Hellenistic.
Ancient Greece is considered by most historians to be the foundational culture of Western Civilization. The Hellenistic
period of Greek history begins with the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and ends with the annexation of the
Greek peninsula and islands by Rome in 146 BC. During the Hellenistic period the importance of "Greece proper" (that
is, the territory of modern Greece) within the Greek-speaking world declined sharply. The great centres of Hellenistic
culture were Alexandria and Antioch, capitals of Ptolemaic Egypt and Seleucid Syria respectively. (See Hellenistic
civilization for the history of Greek culture outside of Greece in this period.). Militarily Greece itself declined to the point
that the Romans conquered the land (187 BC onwards), though Greek culture would in turn conquer Roman life.
Although the period of Roman rule in Greece is conventionally dated as starting from the sacking of Corinth by the
Roman Lucius Mummius in 123 BC, Macedonia had already come under Roman control with the defeat of its king,
Perseus, by the Roman Aemilius Paullus at Pydna in 168 BC. The Romans divided the region into four smaller republics,
and in 146 BC Macedonia officially became a Roman province, with its capital at Thessalonica. The rest of the Greek
city-states gradually and eventually paid homage to Rome ending their de jure autonomy as well. The Romans left local
administration to the Greeks without making any attempt to abolish traditional political patterns. The agora in Athens
continued to be the centre of civic and political life. The history of the Byzantine Empire is described by scholar August
Heisenberg as the history "of the Roman state of the Greek nation, that turned Christian". The division of the empire into
East and West and the subsequent collapse of the Western Roman Empire were developments that constantly
accentuated the position of the Greeks in the empire and eventually allowed them to become identified with it altogether.
The leading role of Constantinople began when Constantine the Great turned Byzantium into the new capital of the
Roman Empire, henceforth to be known as Constantinople, placing the city at the centre of Hellenism a beacon for the
Greeks that lasted to the modern era. The 11th and 12th centuries are said to be the Golden Age of Byzantine art in
Greece. Many of the most important Byzantine churches in around Athens, for example, were built during these two
centuries, and this reflects the growth of urbanisation in Greece during this period. There was also a revival in the mosaic
art with artists showing great interest in depicting natural landscapes with wild animals and scenes from the hunt. Mosaics
became more realistic and vivid, with an increased emphasis on depicting three-dimensional forms. With its love of
luxury and passion for colour, the art of this age delighted in the production of masterpieces that spread the fame of
Byzantium throughout the whole of the Christian world. The year 1204 marks the beginning of the late Byzantine period,
when probably the most important event for the Empire occurred. Constantinople was lost for the Greek people for the
first time, and the empire was conquered by Latin crusaders and would be replaced by a new Latin one, for 57 years. In
addition, the period of Latin occupation decisively influenced the empire's internal development, as elements of feudality
entered aspects of Byzantine life. In 1261 the Greek empire was divided between the former Greek Byzantine
Comnenos dynasty members (Epirus) and Palaiologos dynasty (the last dynasty until the fall of Constantinople). After the
gradual weakening of the structures of the Greek Byzantine state and the reduction of its land from Turkish invasions,
came the fall of the Greek Byzantine Empire, at the hands of the Ottomans, in 1453, when the Byzantine period is
considered to have ended. When the Ottomans arrived, two Greek migrations occurred. The first migration entailed the
Greek intelligentsia migrating to Western Europe and influencing the advent of the Renaissance. The second migration
entailed Greeks leaving the plains of the Greek peninsula and resettling in the mountains. Greece being mostly
mountainous, the Ottomans could not conquer the entire Greek peninsula since they created neither a military nor an
administrative presence in the mountains. The Ottomans ruled Greece until the early 19th century. On March 25, 1821
(also the same day as the Greek Orthodox day of the Annunciation of the Theotokos), the Greeks rebelled and declared
their independence, but did not achieve it until 1829. The big European powers saw the war of Greek independence,
with its accounts of Turkish atrocities, in a romantic light. During the 19th and early 20th centuries, in a series of wars
with the Ottomans, Greece sought to enlarge its boundaries to include the ethnic Greek population of the Ottoman
Empire. As a result of the Balkan Wars of 1912-13 Epirus, southern Macedonia, Crete and the Aegean Islands were
annexed into Greece. Greece reached its present configuration in 1947.In the 1950s and 1960s, Greece developed
rapidly, initially with the help of the U.S. Marshall Plans' grants and loans, and later through growth in the tourism sector.
In 1967, the Greek military seized power in a coup d'état, overthrew the centre right government of Panagiotis
Kanellopoulos and established the Greek military junta of 1967-1974 which became known as the Régime of the
Colonels. The Central Intelligence Agency was involved in the coup and President Clinton later apologised for the
interference. In 1975, following a referendum to confirm the deposition of King Constantine II, a democratic republican
constitution came into force. Another previously exiled politician, Andreas Papandreou also returned and founded the
socialist PASOK party, which won the elections in 1981 and dominated the country's political course for almost two
decades. Since the restoration of democracy, the stability and economic prosperity of Greece have grown. Greece
joined the European Union in 1981 and adopted the Euro as its currency in 2001.
Sources: Wikipedia: History of Greece
Click on map for larger view
Click on flag for Country Report
| TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS |
None reported.
