Australian Macedonian Human Rights Committee (AMHRC)

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  • AMHRC
    De-registered
    • Sep 2009
    • 919

    AMHRC will Host Open Forum with Friedman and Jovanov

    Dear Everyone,


    The AMHRC will be Hosting an Open Forum question and answer session with Professor Victor Friedman and Dimitri Jovanov - Macedonian Human Rights Activist from Aegean Macedonia

    Venue: Grand Neret Receptions 19 Salicki Avenue Epping

    Date: Monday 22nd. March

    Time: 7.30pm

    Entry: is free and all are welcome.

    Comment

    • Mikail
      Senior Member
      • Sep 2008
      • 1338

      Originally posted by AMHRC View Post
      Dear Everyone,


      The AMHRC will be Hosting an Open Forum question and answer session with Professor Victor Friedman and Dimitri Jovanov - Macedonian Human Rights Activist from Aegean Macedonia

      Venue: Grand Neret Receptions 19 Salicki Avenue Epping

      Date: Monday 22nd. March

      Time: 7.30pm

      Entry: is free and all are welcome.
      Great! See you there!
      From the village of P’pezhani, Tashko Popov, Dimitar Popov-Skenderov and Todor Trpenov were beaten and sentenced to 12 years prison. Pavle Mevchev and Atanas Popov from Vrbeni and Boreshnica joined them in early 1927, they were soon after transferred to Kozhani and executed. As they were leaving Lerin they were heard to shout "With our death, Macedonia will not be lost. Our blood will run, but other Macedonians will rise from it"

      Comment

      • Bill77
        Senior Member
        • Oct 2009
        • 4545

        Originally posted by AMHRC View Post
        Dear Everyone,


        The AMHRC will be Hosting an Open Forum question and answer session with Professor Victor Friedman and Dimitri Jovanov - Macedonian Human Rights Activist from Aegean Macedonia

        Venue: Grand Neret Receptions 19 Salicki Avenue Epping

        Date: Monday 22nd. March

        Time: 7.30pm

        Entry: is free and all are welcome.
        Great, i will definetly be there and looking forward to it. :rmacedonia
        http://www.macedoniantruth.org/forum/showthread.php?p=120873#post120873

        Comment

        • AMHRC
          De-registered
          • Sep 2009
          • 919

          AMHRC Delighted to Announce Friedman Lecture at La Trobe University

          AMHRC is Delighted to Announce that Professor Victor Friedman will be giving a Lecture on the Macedonian Language at La Trobe University



          Research Centre for Linguistic Typology La Trobe University



          RCLT Seminar:



          The Balkan Sprachbund Revisited: Language Contact in the Republic of Macedonia in the 21st Century

          Professor Victor Friedman, University of Chicago



          Tuesday, 23 March 2010, 3:30 pm

          RCLT Reading Room

          (Bldg NR6, Southern Drive—between the two Graduate House buildings). For more information and a map of our location, please visit our website: http://www.latrobe.edu.au/rclt/localworkshop.htm



          Abstract: I will discuss both the history and current state of the Balkan Sprachbund in light of the Guggenheim & Fulbright-Hays-sponsored research I did in Macedonia 2008-09. My conclusions are that despite the pressure of English and globalization, processes of local contact-induced change resembling those of the nineteenth century continue to operate, albeit for different reasons.

          Comment

          • AMHRC
            De-registered
            • Sep 2009
            • 919

            Open Forum with Friedman and Jovanov

            Dear Everyone,


            Just another reminder that the AMHRC will be Hosting an Open Forum question and answer session with Professor Victor Friedman and Dimitri Jovanov - Macedonian Human Rights Activist from Aegean Macedonia

            Venue: Grand Neret Receptions 19 Salicki Avenue Epping

            Date: Monday 22nd. March

            Time: 7.30pm

            Entry: is free and all are welcome.

            Comment

            • Risto the Great
              Senior Member
              • Sep 2008
              • 15658

              Sounds absolutely excellent.
              Perhaps Professor Friedman might enjoy a visit to the lovely wine regions of South Australia.
              Risto the Great
              MACEDONIA:ANHEDONIA
              "Holding my breath for the revolution."

              Hey, I wrote a bestseller. Check it out: www.ren-shen.com

              Comment

              • AMHRC
                De-registered
                • Sep 2009
                • 919

                Risto,

                Thanks as always for the support. Also, we have no doubt that Professor Friedman would like to visit; unfortunately he is on a very tight schedule and is due to leave Australia on the Wednesday. However, there is no reason why we should not consider a more expansive tour of Australia at some point in the future, when time is more on our side.


                Regards,

                AMHRC.

                Comment

                • osiris
                  Senior Member
                  • Sep 2008
                  • 1969

                  if any of you guys coming alone have a buddy who might want to come, do it please we need another 2 to make it 20

                  phoenix is the 18th

                  Comment

                  • AMHRC
                    De-registered
                    • Sep 2009
                    • 919

                    Rainbow, AMHRC and MHRMI - State Department Report on Greece 2010

                    STATEMENT OF EFA-RAINBOW, AMHRC AND MHRMI ON THE
                    2010 STATE DEPARTMENT REPORT ON HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES IN GREECE

                    12 March 2010

                    The European Free Alliance – Rainbow, the political party of the Macedonian minority of Greece, the Australian Macedonian Human Rights Committee (AMHRC) and Macedonian Human Rights Movement International (MHRMI) call upon the international community to demand that the Greek government take action to end its human rights violations in light of the US State Department’s annual report on human rights practices in Greece.

                    Yet again, the denial of the rights of the Macedonian minority featured in this year’s report. In respect of freedom of association, the State Department noted that the “government continued to refuse to allow the registration of the group Home of Macedonian Culture as an association in accordance with the provisions of the civil code” and that “[d]uring the year international organizations and NGOs expressed concern that this practice violated freedom of association.” A similar problem also existed in relation to Turkish cultural associations.

                    The report also observed that “at least a dozen unidentified men violently disrupted a presentation of a new Greek-Macedonian dictionary and a speech by a Western linguist and academic at the Foreign Press Association in Athens. The reports alleged that the men damaged banners and video equipment and injured at least one reporter. Allegedly, they were members of the ultra-nationalist group Golden Dawn.” This neo-Nazi group is tolerated by the state and fully participates in the political life of Greece.

                    Also noteworthy was the US State Department’s acknowledgment of the report issued in March 2009 by the UN Independent Expert on Minority Issues, Ms Gay McDougall, in which she “urged the government to withdraw from the dispute over whether there is a Macedonian or a Turkish ethnic minority in the country and focus instead on protecting the rights to self-identification, freedom of expression, and freedom of association of those communities and complying fully with the rulings of the ECHR that associations should be allowed to use the words “Macedonian” and “Turkish” in their names and to express their ethnic identities freely. The independent expert found that those identifying themselves as ethnic Macedonians still reported discrimination and harassment. Representatives of this minority claimed that they were denied the right to freedom of association, citing unsuccessful efforts since 1990 to register the organization “Home of Macedonian Culture” in Florina.”

                    Although EFA-Rainbow, the AMHRC and MHRMI welcome the inclusion of the aforementioned information in the report, there were some notable omissions which could have strengthened the report and thus given a better picture of the human rights situation in Greece. For example, the report makes no mention of the Macedonian political refugees who were driven out of Greece during the Civil War in Greece and are prevented from returning to Greece to reclaim citizenship and property rights due to fundamentally discriminatory laws enacted in 1982 and 1985 respectively which only afford such rights to “Greeks by genus”. In 2009 this discrimination was noted by the UN Independent Expert on Minority Issues, the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) and most recently again in a report authored by Boris Cilevics of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). In the section on religious freedom, the State Department failed to mention the continual persecution of Father Nikodim Tsarknias and the denial of church services in the Macedonian language.

                    Furthermore, a number of inaccuracies in the State Department report must also be pointed out. Firstly the Macedonian language is not just spoken in the “northwestern area of the country” i.e. in the Region of Western Macedonia as the report suggests, but also in the north-central part of the country, namely in the Region of Central Macedonia i.e. around the towns of Edessa/Voden, Naoussa/Negush etc. Secondly, in relation to the statement that “a small number of Slavic speakers insisted on identifying themselves as “Macedonian” we wish to state it is unacceptable (and inaccurate) to declare that the number of persons in Northern Greece that identify as Macedonian by ethnicity and the number of people that speak the Macedonian language is “small”. Given the fact that in Greece no data on questions of ethnic and linguistic identity are collected in the census, it is most inappropriate for the State Department (and indeed the Greek government) to speculate on the numbers. EFA-Rainbow, AMHRC and MHRMI strongly urge the international community to require the Greek government, under international supervision, to collect data on ethnic and linguistic diversity at the next national census in 2011.

                    In relation to the report’s claims that “Government officials and the courts denied requests by Slavic groups to identify themselves using the term “Macedonian,” stating that approximately 2.2 million ethnically (and linguistically) Greek citizens also use the term “Macedonian” to identify themselves”, we would like to state, as indeed we have in the past, that this is a poor attempt on the part of the Greek government to manipulate matters. Ethnic Greek citizens who might identify as “Macedonian” do so in a regional/geographic sense (and many also identify as Pontians, Refugees, etc in light of the fact that a considerable number of them settled in Greece from Asia Minor after 1923), while other Greek citizens identify as Macedonian in an ethno-cultural sense. The claim that some ethnic Greeks add a geographical/regional qualifier to their main ethnic identity marker (“Greek”) cannot serve as a justification for denying Macedonians their right to an ethnic identity. The right to self-identification is of crucial existential significance and must be respected. These points should have been acknowledged by the State Department in its report and the Greek response should not have been presented in the manner that it was, which seemed to be attempting to provide a ‘justification’ for the discriminatory policies of the Greek state.

                    Finally, EFA-Rainbow, AMHRC and MHRMI this year must once again strongly condemn the State Department’s use of the terms “Slavic dialect” and “Slavic groups”. These are not terms of self-identification and it would be appropriate that in issuing a human rights report, the State Department would indeed respect the principle of self-identification and refer to this group and their language simply as Macedonian. These terms have long been in pejorative use in Greece and have been utilised in conjunction with attempts to violently assimilate and even exterminate Macedonians. We trust that this error will be corrected in next year’s report.

                    The 2010 report on Greece can be found here http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt...eur/136034.htm

                    ------------------

                    The European Free Alliance – Rainbow is the political party of the Macedonian minority in Greece. The party has offices in Florina/Lerin and Edessa/Voden. For more information please visit www.vinozito.gr, or by email: [email protected] or on +30 23850 46548.

                    Established in 1984 the Australian Macedonian Human Rights Committee (AMHRC) is a non governmental organisation that informs and advocates to governments, international institutions and broader communities about combating discrimination and promoting basic human rights. Our aspiration is to ensure that Macedonian communities and other excluded groups throughout the world are recognised, respected and afforded equitable treatment. For more information please visit www.macedonianhr.org.au, or contact AMHRC at [email protected] or via +61 3 93298960.

                    Macedonian Human Rights Movement International (MHRMI) has been active on human and national rights issues for Macedonians and other oppressed peoples since 1986. For more information, please visit www.mhrmi.org, or contact MHRMI at 416-850-7125, or [email protected].

                    Comment

                    • Risto the Great
                      Senior Member
                      • Sep 2008
                      • 15658

                      Well worded document gentlemen.
                      Thank you.
                      Risto the Great
                      MACEDONIA:ANHEDONIA
                      "Holding my breath for the revolution."

                      Hey, I wrote a bestseller. Check it out: www.ren-shen.com

                      Comment

                      • Bill77
                        Senior Member
                        • Oct 2009
                        • 4545

                        Yes well worded indeed.

                        I do have an isue with the actual US State Department’s annual report though,

                        Quote: The report also observed that “at least a dozen unidentified men violently disrupted a presentation of a new Greek-Macedonian dictionary and a speech by a Western linguist and academic at the Foreign Press Association in Athens".

                        Well there faces were caught on video and to date, the Greek authorities have failed to aprahend the two of the culprits. So unidentified is nonsence.
                        http://www.macedoniantruth.org/forum/showthread.php?p=120873#post120873

                        Comment

                        • Pavel
                          Member
                          • Oct 2009
                          • 155

                          true Bill, there are some nice photos of a few of those evil doers.

                          Comment

                          • Pelister
                            Senior Member
                            • Sep 2008
                            • 2742

                            Furthermore, a number of inaccuracies in the State Department report must also be pointed out. Firstly the Macedonian language is not just spoken in the “northwestern area of the country” i.e. in the Region of Western Macedonia as the report suggests, but also in the north-central part of the country, namely in the Region of Central Macedonia i.e. around the towns of Edessa/Voden, Naoussa/Negush etc. Secondly, in relation to the statement that “a small number of Slavic speakers insisted on identifying themselves as “Macedonian” we wish to state it is unacceptable (and inaccurate) to declare that the number of persons in Northern Greece that identify as Macedonian by ethnicity and the number of people that speak the Macedonian language is “small”. Given the fact that in Greece no data on questions of ethnic and linguistic identity are collected in the census, it is most inappropriate for the State Department (and indeed the Greek government) to speculate on the numbers. EFA-Rainbow, AMHRC and MHRMI strongly urge the international community to require the Greek government, under international supervision, to collect data on ethnic and linguistic diversity at the next national census in 2011.
                            Excellent point.

                            Comment

                            • Grotius
                              Member
                              • Dec 2009
                              • 136

                              well done

                              well done to Vinozhito, AMHRC and MHRMI for this statement. this sort of stuff needs to be constantly highlighted and it is especially important to keep on raising the inaccuracies that seem to plague the US State Department Reports. I wonder whether some of the inaccuracies are deliberate or a result of lazy and uninterested reporting. In any event, again, Vinozhito, AMHRC and MHRMI need to be commended for their continual efforts in relation to Macedonian human rights and the fact that they do not fear raising these issues - even with the behemoth that is the US State Department.

                              Keep going guys!

                              Comment

                              • Pavel
                                Member
                                • Oct 2009
                                • 155

                                yeah grotius somebody has to look out for these things. the state department needs to be told because we know that others never tell them anything except what they want to hear....

                                Comment

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