Greece
28.02.02
Urgent Interventions
Greece: Evictions of Roma as part of the Preparation for the 2004 Olympic Games
Geneva, 28 February 2002
PRESS RELEASE
As part of the preparation for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Roma communities are being evicted from their settlements. So far, the Greek authorities have failed to take appropriate action to prevent these evictions and the International Olympic Committee has remained silent on this issue.
As part of the preparation for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, the Roma communities settled in the various areas of Athens and surroundings [area of Aspropyrgos] have been facing repeated threats of, and actual forced evictions. These evictions are taking place in blatant violation of Greek legal procedures and of international human rights covenants and conventions ratified by Greece. In recent years [since July 2000,] allegedly in connection with the development of infrastructure projects for the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, Greek local authorities have been openly claiming the land on which the Roma are settled, or were meant to be settled, to build sport facilities for the Olympic Games.
The first eviction took place on July 14th 2000, when the municipal authorities of Aspropyrgos, equipped with a bulldozer, entered a settlement of Romani tent-dwellers in Aspropyrgos, approximately 15 kilometres west of Athens. In the presence of the Mayor of Aspropyrgos and the police, they demolished most of the homes in the Roma camp causing the loss of all the personal effects belonging to Greek and Albanian Roma who lived in the settlement. The demolition crew then proceeded to burn the remains of the homes, presumably in order to deny the Roma the material (mostly wooden planks) necessary for rebuilding them. According to eye-witnesses, no eviction protocols or orders were presented to the Roma families. Indeed, the operation was carried out without the authorisation or presence of a public prosecutor, as is required under Greek law in cases of violation of privacy and homes.
The action taken by the services of the Municipality of Aspropyrgos resulted in the expulsion of the Roma from their encampment and in the demolition of their homes. According to eye-witnesses, only eight homes, occupied by people with health problems or aged persons, escaped demolition temporarily, as their residents were given an ultimatum to leave the site by July 17th.
Competent authorities have been reluctant to take appropriate measures with respect to this situation, notwithstanding a series of reminders coming from both governmental and non-governmental institutions. After the Greek Ombudsman advised, a year ago, on the illegality of these actions, the competent Ministry has not imposed any of the prescribed sanctions. Recently, the National Human Rights Commission recognised that evictions from many sites ahead of the Olympic Games were taking place with the – sometimes false – pretext of constructing sport facilities. The Commission particularly highlighted the fact that Municipality of Aspropyrgos did not even bother to follow the existing legal procedures of eviction, using instead “the offending argument of “cleaning the area from garbage””.
To date, there has not been any significant improvement in the situation concerning the Roma population living in the various areas of Athens and surroundings [area of Aspropyrgos]. Nineteen months after the aforementioned facts, no prompt and impartial investigation has been carried out, those responsible have not been brought to justice and the victims have not been compensated.
In the meantime, the arbitrary demolition of Roma houses in the area of Aspropyrgos has continued to be carried out. On September 13th 2001, the Municipal Authorities of Aspropyrgos proceeded to destroy six homes and to damage another, together with all their contents. The destroyed homes belonged to Greek and Albanian Roma families, and they were in an area adjacent to the one above. Before leaving the scene, municipal officials warned the Roma that they would return soon. Thankfully, due to the immediate reaction of the Greek Ombudsman’s office and of local NGOs, the municipal authorities did not honour their promise.
Finally, local authorities in Aghia Paraskevi, Ano Liosia, Halandri and [Nea Iona] Marousi have openly claimed that they want the land on which the Roma are settled, or were meant to be settled, to build sport facilities for the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. Fears have also been voiced that, as the state is interested in obtaining land for the construction of infrastructure for the 2004 Olympic Games, further evictions of Roma living - some for more than thirty years – on land which is strategically located may soon take place. This is the case of the three Kaloghreza (Marousi) settlements, right next to the existing Olympic Stadium. These settlements may be soon under threat of eviction, as extensive infrastructure projects are scheduled to take place in the area, in view of the upcoming Olympic Games.
OMCT recalls that the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which reviews States’ implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, has placed considerable emphasis on forced evictions. Indeed it has asserted, in its General Comment No. 4 (1991) on the right to adequate housing that "instances of forced eviction are prima facie incompatible with the requirements of the [International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights] and can only be justified in the most exceptional circumstances, and in accordance with the relevant principles of international law". In the case Selçuk and Asker v. Turkey, the European Court for Human Rights (ECHR) ruled that the destruction of the defendants’ homes constitutes a form of ill-treatment, in breach of article 3 of the Convention which states that «no one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment».
To date, OMCT regrets that the International Olympic Committee, as a co-organiser of the 2004 Olympic Games, being repeatedly consulted and asked for support in the matters concerning the above mentioned cases, has not being responsive to the appeal launched.
Indeed, the International Olympic Committee has remained, so far, silent, despite the solicitation of NGOs for intervention. This silence, which implicitly signals tolerance for these violations, is unacceptable. Indeed, OMCT believes that the International Olympic Committee, as a co-organiser of the 2004 Olympic Games, cannot remain indifferent to this blatant violation of human rights which, if tolerated, will only tarnish the image and the values of the Olympic movement.
For more information please contact:
Nathalie Mivelaz
The World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)
8, Rue du Vieux-Billard
P.O. Box 21
1211 Geneva 8
Tel.: ++41 22 809 49 39
Fax: ++41 22 809 49 29
E-mail: nm@omct.org
PRESS RELEASE
As part of the preparation for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Roma communities are being evicted from their settlements. So far, the Greek authorities have failed to take appropriate action to prevent these evictions and the International Olympic Committee has remained silent on this issue.
As part of the preparation for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, the Roma communities settled in the various areas of Athens and surroundings [area of Aspropyrgos] have been facing repeated threats of, and actual forced evictions. These evictions are taking place in blatant violation of Greek legal procedures and of international human rights covenants and conventions ratified by Greece. In recent years [since July 2000,] allegedly in connection with the development of infrastructure projects for the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, Greek local authorities have been openly claiming the land on which the Roma are settled, or were meant to be settled, to build sport facilities for the Olympic Games.
The first eviction took place on July 14th 2000, when the municipal authorities of Aspropyrgos, equipped with a bulldozer, entered a settlement of Romani tent-dwellers in Aspropyrgos, approximately 15 kilometres west of Athens. In the presence of the Mayor of Aspropyrgos and the police, they demolished most of the homes in the Roma camp causing the loss of all the personal effects belonging to Greek and Albanian Roma who lived in the settlement. The demolition crew then proceeded to burn the remains of the homes, presumably in order to deny the Roma the material (mostly wooden planks) necessary for rebuilding them. According to eye-witnesses, no eviction protocols or orders were presented to the Roma families. Indeed, the operation was carried out without the authorisation or presence of a public prosecutor, as is required under Greek law in cases of violation of privacy and homes.
The action taken by the services of the Municipality of Aspropyrgos resulted in the expulsion of the Roma from their encampment and in the demolition of their homes. According to eye-witnesses, only eight homes, occupied by people with health problems or aged persons, escaped demolition temporarily, as their residents were given an ultimatum to leave the site by July 17th.
Competent authorities have been reluctant to take appropriate measures with respect to this situation, notwithstanding a series of reminders coming from both governmental and non-governmental institutions. After the Greek Ombudsman advised, a year ago, on the illegality of these actions, the competent Ministry has not imposed any of the prescribed sanctions. Recently, the National Human Rights Commission recognised that evictions from many sites ahead of the Olympic Games were taking place with the – sometimes false – pretext of constructing sport facilities. The Commission particularly highlighted the fact that Municipality of Aspropyrgos did not even bother to follow the existing legal procedures of eviction, using instead “the offending argument of “cleaning the area from garbage””.
To date, there has not been any significant improvement in the situation concerning the Roma population living in the various areas of Athens and surroundings [area of Aspropyrgos]. Nineteen months after the aforementioned facts, no prompt and impartial investigation has been carried out, those responsible have not been brought to justice and the victims have not been compensated.
In the meantime, the arbitrary demolition of Roma houses in the area of Aspropyrgos has continued to be carried out. On September 13th 2001, the Municipal Authorities of Aspropyrgos proceeded to destroy six homes and to damage another, together with all their contents. The destroyed homes belonged to Greek and Albanian Roma families, and they were in an area adjacent to the one above. Before leaving the scene, municipal officials warned the Roma that they would return soon. Thankfully, due to the immediate reaction of the Greek Ombudsman’s office and of local NGOs, the municipal authorities did not honour their promise.
Finally, local authorities in Aghia Paraskevi, Ano Liosia, Halandri and [Nea Iona] Marousi have openly claimed that they want the land on which the Roma are settled, or were meant to be settled, to build sport facilities for the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. Fears have also been voiced that, as the state is interested in obtaining land for the construction of infrastructure for the 2004 Olympic Games, further evictions of Roma living - some for more than thirty years – on land which is strategically located may soon take place. This is the case of the three Kaloghreza (Marousi) settlements, right next to the existing Olympic Stadium. These settlements may be soon under threat of eviction, as extensive infrastructure projects are scheduled to take place in the area, in view of the upcoming Olympic Games.
OMCT recalls that the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which reviews States’ implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, has placed considerable emphasis on forced evictions. Indeed it has asserted, in its General Comment No. 4 (1991) on the right to adequate housing that "instances of forced eviction are prima facie incompatible with the requirements of the [International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights] and can only be justified in the most exceptional circumstances, and in accordance with the relevant principles of international law". In the case Selçuk and Asker v. Turkey, the European Court for Human Rights (ECHR) ruled that the destruction of the defendants’ homes constitutes a form of ill-treatment, in breach of article 3 of the Convention which states that «no one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment».
To date, OMCT regrets that the International Olympic Committee, as a co-organiser of the 2004 Olympic Games, being repeatedly consulted and asked for support in the matters concerning the above mentioned cases, has not being responsive to the appeal launched.
Indeed, the International Olympic Committee has remained, so far, silent, despite the solicitation of NGOs for intervention. This silence, which implicitly signals tolerance for these violations, is unacceptable. Indeed, OMCT believes that the International Olympic Committee, as a co-organiser of the 2004 Olympic Games, cannot remain indifferent to this blatant violation of human rights which, if tolerated, will only tarnish the image and the values of the Olympic movement.
For more information please contact:
Nathalie Mivelaz
The World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)
8, Rue du Vieux-Billard
P.O. Box 21
1211 Geneva 8
Tel.: ++41 22 809 49 39
Fax: ++41 22 809 49 29
E-mail: nm@omct.org
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