A human tragedy within the boundaries of the European Union
Should a person claim that there are people in Europe who do not enjoy the most basic human rights, for example do not have the right to visit the graves of their parents, this would sound bizarre, and yet it would be true. This happens to be the case in Greece. The claims put forward by Greece to the effect that it is “the civilization that enlightened humanity” and “the cradle of democracy” are challenged by the facts. Greece has not been enlightening but darkening its minorities for years and the absence of basic tenets of democracy in Greece is conspicuous especially when the ethnic minorities are in question.
It is a matter of fact that the situation of the minorities in Greece is the worst within the European Union. The minorities living in Greece could be regarded as modern “Pariahs” despite their centuries-old history and culture and it is all the more shocking that this happens in a member country of the European Union.
Surely, Greece asserts its compliance with her international commitments. However, the reality is different. In open breach of all international documents protecting the rights and liberties of the Minorities, the ethnic Macedonians, Turks, Vlahs, Roma and the Albanians living in Greece are subject to discriminative policies of the Greek Government. The focus of this article is the predicament of the ethnic Macedonians.
Pressure Against Turkish Minority
In Komotini, it is find out that Greek police is collecting the signboards by force which has not been written in Greece.
According to an old rule says "All signboards of shops should be written in Greece", it is reported that Greece police warns the owners of shops whose signboard has been written in Turkish, and then they replace the Turkish signboards with Greece ones.
It is known that Greece police has been pulling out the signboards written in Turkish and Macedonian in order to put pressure on Turkish and Macedonian minorities.
This interference against the Turkish minority in Western Thrace is one of the pressure and assimilation activities on the existing minorities in Greece. The removing of the "Religous section" on ID cards relieves the social life of Turkish minority. On the contrary, keeping on the pressure activities against the minorities shows that there is no agreement on the minorty policy in Greece state. This case causes contradictions on practices concerning the minorities in Greek.
Regarded as one of the native components and oldest communities in the Balkan Peninsula, the Ulahs are the one of minorities living in Greece and non-Greek.
The New Encyclopedia Britannica describes them as " … a European people living in mostly Kamanya and Moldova and spreaded to several places in Europe … " and states "although many Slavs call them Volokh, Ulahs call themselves Romani, Romeni, Rumeni or Armoni". The Encyclopedia Americana gives information under the title "they are a people living in Moldavia, and called Volokh, but they prefer to call themselves Romani" .Greeks describe them as Hellens speaking a different dialect and even Latinized Hellens in the Roman Empire. Beside this argument contrary to historical, ethnologic, linguistic facts, Ulahs are a Latin-originated community speaking a dialect similar to Rumenian and using the Latin, Greek or Crill alphabet according to the county they live in.
Greece does not recognize Ulahs' ethnic identity and does not give correct information about their number. Based on 1951 the census, Greeks say the number of the Ulahs was 39855 and allege that they may reach about 15-20.000 now.
Indeed it is impossible to form and opinion about the number of Ulahs, several research institutes and organizations claim that this number could be between 250.000 and 1.200.000.
About the Ulah Minority, whose ethnical identity is not recognized by Greece, a former Minister of Foreign Affairs Evangalos Averof expressed that this number must have been between 150.000 and 200.000 for 1948.
Until the 9th Century there is no information about the Ulahs, after the second half of the 900s they gave their names to Teselya, Akarnania, Aetolia and Epir regions. It is mentioned about the Ulahs’ fight against Byzantium under the command of the Bulgarian Tsar in the 11th century.
One of the most important turning points in Ulahs' history is that they were recognized as a nation by the Ottoman Empire in 1905. The establishment of the "Macedoneian - Rumanian Committee", founded in 1860 in Bukres, and educational activities of bishop Margarit exposed an intense consciousness movement for Ulahs in the second half of the 19th century.
Margarit’s education of the Ulahian youth and teaching them Ulahian stimulated Rum-Orthodox patriarchate which had formed an indisputable superiority over the Balkanian Orthodox was disturbed by this development. Upon this Margarit went to Bucharest and joined the Macedonian - Rumanian Committee. Many Ulah students were educated in their own language through the said committee. In the meantime, the first Romanian School was opened in Tirnova in 1864.
The Ulah’s education in their own language was only possible within the borders of the Ottoman Empire. From 1892, the Ottoman Empire dwelled upon the Ulah issue, and allowed them to get education in their own school and their own teachers in their own language.
The number of the Ulahian people was about 600.000 within the Ottoman Empire borders from the 1890's. These people became an important exploitation factor for countries looking for land in Balkans . Against the pressure of the Bulgarian and Greek-Orthodox Patriartchates, a group consisting of Ulahian representatives requested help from the Ottoman Empire.
The Romanian Government allotted 600.000 Frank to Ulahs schools and churches to prevent pressures and activities to Hellenisation and Bulgarisation efforts in the Balkans.
The recognition of these rights by the Ottoman administration was appreciated in Romania and written about in the Independence Romanian newspaper dated December 23, 1903. In addition to this, the newspaper has also stated that the Ulahs were recognized by the Ottoman administration. It is understood that the acceptance of the help from the Romanian government to the Ulahs by the Ottoman government and support for the freedom of the churches and schools were interpreted as recognization of the Ulahs.
While the recognition of the Ulahs rights by the Ottoman administration resulted in the reaction of the Patriarchate and Greeks living in the region, the Romanian minister of foreign affairs have Istanbul because of the permission given by of the administrator for the opening of an Ulah church in the monastery and performing of their religious ceremonies in their own language. The Ulahs celebrated the opening of their church, which they saw as a victory over the Greeks, with demonstrations.
The Ulahs entered a new period having equal rights for the first time in their history. In addition to the right of electing their own leaders they also had the right to be represented in the Ottoman assembly. In the period until the Balkan wars Ulah members with other representatives worked in Meclis-i Mebusan.
Ulah settlements, especially in the Epir-Pindus region, were constantly attacked by the Greek gangs. Terror movements and/or Hellenization policy against the Ulahs in this region continued from the occupation of Tesalia by Greece in 1901 to the Balkan Wars.
In this period, which lasted from the recognition of the Ulahs by the Ottoman administration and the aid provided by Romania to 1912, the number of Ulah primary schools rose to 114, and high schools to 4 and they published more than 20 newspapers and magazines in their own language.
OPPRESSION Of THE ULAH MINORITY BY THE GREEK GOVERNMENT :
In the intensifying politically competitive environment of the 19th century over Epir – Macedonia – Teselia, the Ulahs have been tried to be sided with by the rival powers and games were played on them. Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia and Romania while trying to expand their territories also tried to show the Ulah population under their ethnic population. Furthermore the fact that the Ulahs were a nomadic nation and spoke a number of languages caused them to be shown as an extention of these nations in there kinds of statistical games.
The Balkan Wars of 1912 – 1913 caused the Ottoman Empire to lose its territories to the Meriç River and affected the remaining non – Greek population’s lives in adversely. Athens administration did not have the tolerance for the Ulahs and other non – Greek population as much as the Ottoman administration had. Moreover, Greece accepted the Ulahs as a minority in the Bucharest Treaty in 1913 but managed to decrease the percentage of Ulah the children going to their own schools through policies of mental oppression and deterrence.
In the period between the two wars, especially during the Melaksas dictatorship, as a result of state terror in Greece, the Ulahs as well as the Macedonians were forced to learn Greek, adults were forced to attend night schools and discrimination was made between the children and the young who attended the Ulah schools and learned Ulah / Romanian and the ones who attended the Greek schools and learnt Greek. This state and social oppression on the Ulahs and practices like banning the use of their native tongue have broken their resistance to a great extent. All these have been made in spite of the Treaty of Bucharest which was signed in 1913 and dictated that Greece would allow Romanian financed Ulah schools in its territory.
In the Second World War some parts of Greece were attacked by the Italian forces and the Ulahs were used in these attacks. As a result of these attacks an Ulah princedom under Italian direction was founded under the leadership of Alkibiades Diamandi who was an Ulah. Diamandi, who was declared as the prince of this autonomous structure, was also the commander of a military force named “Romanian legion” and included the Ulah princedom Macedonia, Teselia as well as Pindus Princedom Epir.
However the post war events, the defeat of Italy, the alliance of Greece with the Allies who won the war resulted in the failure of this undertaking. Romania stopped the support for the Ulahs as a result of being in the Moscow directed block after the war and Bucharest no longer gave any financial support for the Ulah schools and churches
THE REACTIONS OF THE ULAHS AGAIST GREECE'S AND INDIVIDUALS,INSTITUTIONS AND ESTABLISHMENTS THAT CONDUCTED STUDIES CONCERNING THE ULAH MINORITY
After the Wold War 2, some Ulahs ,who thought they were different from the Greeks, could not resist the assimilation policies of Greece and united with Greece , other Ulahs emigrated to the USA, Australia and established the 'Ulah Diaspora’. Although the Ulahs who settled down in rural areas continued to speak their own language; people who moved to the cities began speaking the Greek language.
Among the Ulahs that emigrated to Germany and France some who were influenced by the 1975 Helsinki Human Rights Final Act carried out important activities dating from the 1980s. One of them ,Vasile Barbara, first in Mannheim and then in Freiburg established “The Union Für Aromunische Sprache und Kultur”, contacted The University of Freiburg and with the help of the ‘Chair of Romanistic' she initiated the ‘language and literature’ movement. This association publishes a periodical that was called Zborlu A Nostru , too. The Union Für Aromunische Sprache und Kultur signed a protocol with the Romantic Chairs of The University of Mannheim and The University of Freiburg and realized the first ‘International Chair Of Aromance’.
There are 3000 members of the Ulah Diaspora in Germany. They are trying to continue their identity and particularly their language through the Union Fur Romantic Sprache und Kultur and Zentrum Fur Aromunische Studien that was established in 1995.
The document entitled 'The European Charter of Regional and Minority Languages’ ,which was prepared by the Ministers Committee of the European Council in1994, came into force in 1998 and was signed by Greece too, envisages conservation including the Ulah language. Although an enterprise called EBLUL, foresees keeping in existence the languages spoken less and is supported by EU. It’s known that this enterprise causes reactions in Greece, that is a member of the EU.
Although activities of associations such as the Union of Panhellenistic Ulah Cultural Associations are permitted in Greece recently ; these associations were mainly established for declaring the Ulahs as ‘Greeks speaking the Ulah language'. The movement of Ulahs is still tried to keep under control in Greece.
In recent years it is identified that the Ulahs did some initiatives in Romania and they expected support, because their rights and existence are in danger. Within this framework the union active in Freiburg made a call upon the Parliament Of Romania in 1994. With the intensive studies of Vasile Barbara the report was presented to both Bucharest and the European Council was fruitful in 1996 and 1997, so the European Council took up the Ulah problem. The European Council adopted the report of the Spanish member of parliament Lluis Maria de Puig, which concerning the Ulahs and this report was accepted unanimously on June 24,1997(1).
In the report of Lluis Maria de Puig concerning the Ulahs such as:
CONSEQUENCE:
Greece's permanent Representative in the European Council says that Ulahs have Greek ethnic consciousness and among these people there are very famous men of letters ,artists, scientists and politicians that represent the Greek nation.
The European Council has accepted the report of Lluis Maria de Puig and exposed the problems of the Ulahs. They have also said that the rights of Ulahs must be preserved but Greece , although it is a member of EU, continues to ignore these documents and insists on the manifesto idea that includes ‘There is no minority in Greece'.
Richard Clagg(2) points out that the Ulahs speak a language that is very close to the Roman language emphasizes these people are an important minority in Greece. Wace and Thompson who did important research in the region also say that the Ulah language is an independent and different language on the Latin-originated languages.
Although Greece is a member of the EU, it ignores the reality on its lands which it has possessed lands after 1913 and denies the existence of the Ulah Minority
(1) HATIPOGLU M.Murat Lecturer Dr., Ethnic Group
(2) Cambridge University Press , A Concise History of
(3) WACE Alan J.B. and THOMPSON M.S. , The Nomads of the Balkans – An Account of Life and Customs Among the Vlachs of Northern Pindus