The Macedonian Human Rights Movement International (MHRMI) welcomed a European Free Alliance statement calling for stronger protection of minority rights in Greece. The statement addressed the rights of the Macedonian and Turkish minorities to use their languages, form associations and express their cultural identities.
The Canadian-based organization thanked the alliance’s working group on language and minority rights for raising the issue. Its November 9 response also drew attention to European Court of Human Rights rulings that the groups want Greece to implement.
European Working Group Raises Language and Association Rights
The European Free Alliance working group criticized Greece’s treatment of the Macedonian and Turkish minorities. Its statement called for safeguards that would allow people to organize around a shared cultural identity and use their languages as part of community life.
Freedom of association is central to those demands. It concerns whether people can form organizations through which they can carry out cultural activities and represent their communities.
The groups also called for Greece to implement rulings from the European Court of Human Rights. Their statements put the focus on how court decisions are carried out and what that means for minority associations.
Canadian-Based Macedonian Group Backs the Call
MHRMI’s response brought a Macedonian diaspora organization in Canada into the European debate over minority rights in Greece. The group thanked the alliance for its continued support and highlighted the working group’s attention to Macedonian language and cultural expression.
The two statements connect a European policy discussion with advocacy by Macedonians abroad. Both call for protection of minority associations and the implementation of European human rights rulings in Greece.
