Freedom in the World 1999 - Greece

1999 Scores

Status: Free
Freedom Rating: 2.0
Civil Liberties: 3
Political Rights: 1

Overview

Greece's ruling socialists were narrowly reelected on April 9, 2000. The Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) has ruled Greece since 1981, except from 1990 to 1993, when the conservative New Democracy Party (ND) held power.

Costas Simitis took over as prime minister four years ago and in that time has pushed forward pro-market policies, bringing the economy into line with the European Union. Simitis and his party, PASOK, defeated Costas Karamanlis of New Democracy with 43.83 percent of the votes while Karamanlis received 42.77 percent. Of the 300 seats in the unicameral parliament, PASOK won 158 seats; New Democracy, 125; the Communist Party of Greece, 11; the Coalition of the Left and Progress, 6.

Greece gained independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1830. The ensuing century brought continued struggle between royalist and republican forces. Occupation by the Axis powers in 1941 was followed by civil war between non-Communist and Communist forces that lasted until 1949. A military junta came to power as the result of a coup in 1967 and ruled until 1973, when naval officers failed to oust the junta and restore the monarchy. The failed 1973 coup led, however, to the formal deposition of the monarch and the proclamation of a republic. The current constitution, adopted in 1975, provides for a parliamentary system with a largely ceremonial president.

In June 2000, Greece was formally declared a member of the European Monetary Union and will adopt the euro in January 2001. Greek-Turkish relations continued to improve in early 2000 after Greece endorsed Turkey's bid for the European Union (EU) in December 1999. The countries signed low-level accords in January for tourism, the environment, the protection of investments, and fighting terrorism and organized crime. However, relations diminished during NATO exercises at the end of this year after Greece pulled out over a dispute with Turkey on military boundaries.

Terrorism remains a serious problem. A top British defense minister was shot dead in June by the November 17 urban guerilla group, which has killed at least 23 Greeks, Americans, and Turks since 1975. The United States issued a report in June, which stated that Greece, by failing to arrest or convict any terrorists, was not cooperating fully in the fight against terrorism. In an effort to combat terrorism, the Greek government has considered tough new measures, including setting up telephone hotlines for the public to give information about terrorism, a witness protection program, and the establishment of nonjury trials for terrorist suspects.

Political Rights and Civil Liberties

Greeks can change their government democratically. The Greek parliament has 300 members, elected for a four-year term by a system of proportional representation. Voting is compulsory for citizens between the ages of 18 and 70. The president is elected for a five-year term by parliament.

Among democratic countries, Greece is considered one of the worst with respect to freedom of expression. There continue to be frequent criminal charges in cases of libel and defamation. The public prosecutor may press charges against publishers and can seize publications deemed offensive to the president or to religious beliefs. A controversial law bans "unwarranted" publicity for terrorists from the media, including terrorists' proclamations following explosions. In 2000, there were reports of Turkish journalists being arrested, and Macedonian journalists were denied entrance at the borders of Greece. Another journalist was verbally and physically harassed after participating in an antiracist group movement with a local Roma (Gypsy) community.

Ninety-eight percent of the population belongs nominally to the state-sponsored Greek Orthodox Church. Orthodox bishops have the privilege of granting or denying permission to other faiths to build houses of worship in their jurisdictions. Members of non-Orthodox communities have been barred from entering occupations such as primary school teaching, the military, and the police. In June, the government announced that it would issue new identity cards that do not indicate the cardholder's religion. This is part of an effort by the Greek government to separate church and state and bring Greece in line with other EU members.

The government formally recognizes only the "Muslim minority" specified in the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne, applying the term to several different ethnic communities. Most of the Muslim community (officially estimated at 120,000 persons) is ethnically Turkish and objects to its classification as a merely "Muslim" minority. The country's Pomaks, the ethnically Slavic Muslim minority, make similar objections. Muslim Roma encounter large-scale discrimination in receiving education and other social benefits. Police brutality against the Roma remains a serious problem. The United Nations issued a report on the Roma in August, which included the raids on Roma slum settlements outside Athens to clear space for the 2004 Olympic Games. There were several other reports that some municipal councils unanimously decided to evict their Roma populations, holding them responsible for the increase in crime rates. These decisions were never condemned by the state. The Muslims object to the Greek government's prerogative to appoint its Muftis, or Muslim community leaders.

Greeks enjoy freedom of association, and all workers except military personnel and the police have the right to form and join unions, which are usually linked to political parties. A general strike paralyzed Greece in the beginning of October and again in December. The Greek unions were demonstrating against the government's unpopular labor reforms to combat high unemployment in preparation for Greece's entry into the EU's single-currency group in 2001.

The judiciary is independent. The constitution provides for public trials, and trial court sessions are usually open to the public. In 2000, Greek courts continued to ignore international norms and case law for minority rights, and Greece has been convicted three times by the European Court of Human Rights on Turkish minority cases.

Greece has a long history of jailing conscientious objectors to military service. In 1997, however, the government passed a new law to allow objectors to perform alternative, civilian service. The measure requires objectors to serve twice as long as military conscripts and was therefore criticized by Amnesty International as "punitive."

Women's groups have continued to organize to seek more equitable child custody and divorce laws and the creation of a family court.