Sunday 17th June 2018
The National Aegean Macedonian Council of Australia, a branch of the World Macedonian Congress – Australia, vehemently condemns the recent arrest of a native (ntópios) man in the town of German (Agios Germanos) on Saturday 16th June 2018.
The local resident was meeting up with news reporters from the Republic of Macedonia when Greek police arrived and told them to stop speaking Macedonian, when the local man refused police orders and continued speaking Macedonian he was apprehended and taken into police custody. This is a paradox in itself: the Greek government deny such race exists yet arrest an individual that refuses to stop speaking, as they stated: “Macedonian”.
This oppressive action is a breach of basic human and civil rights. It is a deliberate action by the Greek government to intimidate, harass, bully and frighten the Macedonian population in occupied Aegean Macedonia (so-called Northern Greece). It is Greece showing its true colours as oppressors of basic human and civil rights.
We call on world and community leaders to condemn this action and pressure Greece by boycotting all Greek products/services until Greece allows all its citizens the freedom to express their basic human and civil rights.
We call on all Macedonians in occupied Macedonia not to succumb to this harassment and intimidation. We implore them to continue speaking their Macedonian native tongue and continue expressing their Macedonian culture. We applaud the recent action for the MP of Pella who yesterday, via live television broadcast, addressed the Greek Parliament first in his native Macedonian tongue, and then in his adopted Greek language (see video below).
By Nik Petrov
National Executive Director of World Macedonian Congress – Australia for Aegean Macedonian Affairs and President of ‘National Aegean Macedonian Council of Australia’
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