Canberras cold calculations: Athens more powerful than Washington DC. How Greece, not the US, sets Australias Foreign Policy on the Balkans. Done Dimov, an ethnic Macedonian and Australian citizen and the nephew of the legendary WWII Macedonian Partizan commander Ilija Dimovski-Goče (1908-61) denied access to his native village of Statica by the Greek authorities in 2006. Source: Macedonian daily Dnevnik Translated by UMDiaspora Staff Discrimination against the Children Refugees: Greece Still Uses the Black Book The Greek customs authorities rejected my entrance into the country because my passport said that I was born in the village of Statica, and not in Melas, which is the current Greek name, stated Done Dimov, an Australian citizen. Greece continues with its policy of discrimination against the children refugees, not allowing them to visit their hometowns in northern Greece. On August 24th, Done Dimov, an Australian citizen was rejected entry into the country. “The border official told me that the village of Statica does not exist in Greece and that according to Greek Government regulations he could not grant me entrance and that I had the right to file a complaint wherever I wished. Even if I wanted to change the name of the village in my passport, it would not be possible because I arrived in Australia with documentation, which clearly stated that I was born in Statica, Greece. For me to change the name of my place of origin, the Greek authorities will need to issue me a birth certificate, but they wouldn’t even let me cross the border,” said Dimov. Dimov said that, as soon as he went back to Australia, he would file a suit with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg against Greece for its violation of his basic human rights. “I am an Australian citizen; I will also file a complaint with the Australian authorities, because I believe my entrance was denied due to my activities with the Macedonian Diaspora in fighting for our rights. I am a supporter of Vinozito in Greece and OMO Ilinden in Bulgaria, and thus I have been put on the black list,” says Dimov. Gjorgji Donevski, secretary general of the Committee of Organizations of Ethnic Macedonians Expelled from Greece, said that the topographic names issue was resolved between Macedonia and Greece by citing Greece on the passport as a place of birth. “As an organization, we advised the children refugees to seek birth certificates from Greece. So far about 1,000 have done so and some have received positive responses. Under the laws of 1982 and 1985, citizenships can only be granted to ethnic Greeks who escaped during the civil war. We filed a suit in Strasbourg in hopes that Greece will revoke these discriminatory laws, so that people can go back to their old homes and claim their property and other rights,” stated Donevski. youtube/watch?v=qijUkIwO-uE# --------------- Back in August 2009, leading Greek-Australian newspaper Neos Kosmos pointed out this stark reality, where Australia feared Greece more than say Washington DC or Al Qaeda over setting its foreign policy: Neos Kosmos wrote: Greece is refusing to accept the name “Republic of Macedonia” which the neighbouring country has adopted in its constitution. A number of nations including the US recognise this constitutional name. Unlike the US, however, Australia has remained vigilant on the naming issue adhering to Greek Australian sensitivities. “I can’t imagine any Australian government committing such an act of political suicide risking a major fall out with the Greek Australian community,” a Greek Australian politician, who wished not to be named, stressed to Neos Kosmos English Edition (NKEE). “Especially, under the circumstances where the possibility of an early election is looming over the anticipated impasse with the government’s effort to pass its Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme,” the politician clarified. The bill was recently defeated in the Senate and the Rudd government has indicated its resolve to reintroduce the bill unchanged in November. If a consensus is not reached by then, it could trigger a possible double dissolution of Parliament. (end quote) Link: neoskosmos/news/en/gruevski-visit-australia-alarm-social%20security -------------------
Posted on: Tue, 02 Dec 2014 04:17:54 +0000
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