Thessaloniki 2024: Human Rights Forum Invokes Hate Speech Against Macedonian Minority

Brief description

Following a Human and Minority Rights Forum organised by the Macedonian minority in Thessaloniki on October 19, 2024, the Greek newspaper Estia published a defamatory article two days later, attacking the Macedonian community. The article referred to the community in a derogatory manner as "Skopjans," and accused their leaders and minority rights activists of being extremists who are "planting the snake’s eggs."

The article also acknowledged that Reverend Nikodim Tsarknias, a well-known Macedonian minority figure, had previously been persecuted by the Greek police and Intelligence Services solely due to his ethnic self-identification. The content reflects a broader pattern of public vilification targeting Macedonian identity and advocacy in Greece.

Although the Macedonian minority has taken similar hate speech and slander cases to court in the past, they have never won. They report that the Greek legal system routinely dismisses such cases, citing the official state position that no Macedonian minority exists in Greece—only the Muslim minority in Thrace is recognised.

While Greece has anti-racist and anti-hate speech legislation, it is rarely implemented by the judiciary, as the organisation reported. 

More information on the case can be obtained from:

Estia newspaper article: https://www.estianews.gr/eidiseis-arthra/thrasytatoi-skopianoi-diekdiko%e1%bf%a6n-dikaiomata-stin-thessaloniki/ 

NPO "Krste Misirkov" Macedonian Movement to Promote Mother Language, https://npokrstemisirkov.blogspot.com/