MJAFT! London Club

ENOUGH TO XENOPHOBIA!
Albanian Protest at the Greek Embassy in London

During the protest on the 21st June 2007 - Click for full photo album

Letter to the Prime Minister of Greece, Karamanlis - Click here for PDF version

PRESS RELEASE

21 Qershor 2007

MJAFT! LONDON CLUB STAGES ALBANIAN PROTEST AT THE GREEK EMBASSY IN LONDON

In response to the latest video broadcasted by Greek media where two Albanian teenagers are brutally beaten up, MJAFT! London Club staged a peaceful protest today in front of the Greek Embassy in London . The protest aimed at rejecting violence as an institutional practice within state institutions in Greece and was an expression of the Albanian offense caused by such unacceptable acts.

For two hours, the protesters chanted XENOPHOBIA=GREEK WORD, KARAMANLIS APOLOGISE, STOP ABUSE OF ALBANIANS IN GREECE, POLYDORAS RESIGN, ENOUGH TO RACISM, SHAME ON YOU, VIOLENCE NOT NEEDED.

Alban Bytyqi , one of the members of MJAFT! and one of the organizers said:

‘The main purpose of this protest was the expression of the Albanian anger toward the xenophobia observed recently among the institutional structures in Greece . The nature of the protest was extremely peaceful and in the tradition of MJAFT! Movement, we showed signs of extreme responsibility and civilization. For this, we were also congratulated by the British Police who were present.

The protest ended with the handing over of an official letter addressed to the Greek prime Minister Karamanlis which was signed by all the protesters. Through this letter, Mjaft! expresses their shock at the latest video and asks the Greek Prime Minister to:

• Offer a sincere public apology to  the  Albanian  people.
• Request the resignation of Public Order Minister Vyron Polydoras.
• Take immediate  corrective  measures against the officials involved in the latest abuse.
• Ensure that the internal police investigation is properly conducted.
• Ensure that such brutal abuses do not go unnoticed  or rectified  within state institutions in the future.

During the handing over of the letter, the Embassy staff assuret the protesters that this letter would be given by the Ambassador to the Greek Embassy and that they would receive a prompt reply.

Alketa Ceci of MJAFT! London Club added:

“This is only the tip of the iceberg of brutal abuses taking place in Greece . It is shameful that it took one year before this became public. It is clear that this is not an isolated incident therefore we will continue to exercise pressure”.

Ralf Gjoni , Director of MJAFT! London Club said:

“today in the 21 st Century, in an EU member state, the Albanians are beaten brutally, the Albanian flag is burned publicly, our citizens are constantly abused at border crossings and we hear of hundreds of thousands of cases of xenophobia and racism against Albanians. It is our mission to monitor that such incidents do not go overlooked or in the case of repetition that they get their duly deserved attention from Human Rights Organisations, European Institutions, Diplomatic Corpses and relevant government officials. The discrimination has got to end and that is why we gathered today. We have to make it clear that it is very hurtful for us to hear of such scandals and we will not put our head down when faced with such medieval acts of brutality.

MJAFT! London Club intends to proceed in a civilized and professional manner by following up with an open letter addressed to the Ambassadors to the UK of all EU member states in order to inform them of these incidents just as MJAFT! Movement in Tirana is taking the necessary steps to inform the political opinion all over Europe .

CONTEXT

The scandalous video showing a Greek police officer beating the two youngsters with a  baton  while forcing them to slap each other, as well as the recent video  footage revealing  Greek troops in training chanting anti-Albanian and racist slogans, are proof that Greek state structures such as the police and the army do not behave within EU legal parameters and are often in clear breach of human rights laws and international conventions. The Albanian civil society organizations have harshly protested at the Greek state.

MJAFT! London Club

Mjaft! London Club represents the extension of the MJAFT! Movement that seeks to involve the most responsible members of the Albanian community in the UK in order to promote the image of Albania in the UK .