GREECE


Greece is a constitutional republic and parliamentary
democracy. In free and fair national parliamentary elections
in October, the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) won a
comfortable majority, and its leader, Andreas Papandreou,
became Prime Minister. The defeated New Democracy Party of
former Prime Minister Constantine Mitsotakis assumed the role
of the opposition. President Constantine Karamanlis, the
largely ceremonial Head of State, was chosen by Parliament in
April 1990.

The police and security services are subject to a broad variety
of legal and constitutional restraints. The Greek Parliament,
a vigorous free press, the judiciary, committees and deputies
of the European Parliament, and Greek and international human
rights organizations monitor their activities. These
institutions and groups brought to light cases of improper
activities and pressed the Government to put a stop to such
activities.

The National Intelligence Service in an internal report (which
was leaked to the press in August) pointed to non-Greek
Orthodox persons and organizations as potentially dangerous to
Greece and monitored their activities and maintained dossiers
on them. The Mitsotakis Government stated that the report had
been immediately withdrawn and that it did not represent its
position (see Section 2.c.).

The Greek economy has a very large state sector with a strong
tradition of patronage. To promote further economic
development, Greece relies heavily on the European Community
(EC) for subsidies and loans. Political polarization and
opposition from labor unions and other groups hamper government
efforts to reduce the budget deficit and strengthen the private
sector.

The Constitution protects, and the authorities generally
respect, fundamental human rights. There continued to be
reports, investigated and mostly denied by the Government, of
Greek border guards and military personnel abusing Albanian
illegal aliens, resulting in the deaths of at least four
Albanians. A bilateral dispute with Albania in June and July
led to mass roundups of Albanians working in Greece--most but
not all of them illegally--and their summary expulsion to
Albania.


Other human rights problems in 1993 included prosecution of
persons who dissented on sensitive foreign policy and minority
issues or who "insulted authority," restrictions on religious
practice, discrimination against Gypsies, and continued use of
Article 19 of the Citizenship Code to revoke the citizenship of
Greek citizens who are not ethnic Greeks, despite assurance by
senior government officials in 1991 that Article 19 would be
repealed.

RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including
Freedom from:

a. Political and Other Extrajudicial Killing

Neither government forces nor legal opposition groups engaged
in political killing. In contrast to previous years, no lethal
terrorist attacks occurred in 1993. However, during 1993 there
were allegations that Greek border guards and military
personnel killed several Albanians who had illegally entered
Greece. The Army is conducting an investigation to determine
whether to court-martial a soldier who fatally shot an Albanian
immigrant on February 27. In another case three Albanians
reportedly fell over a cliff to their deaths when a Greek
border patrol fired at them during a night chase through rugged
terrain.

As a result of the investigation into the case of accused drug
dealer Suleyman Akyar, who was reportedly beaten to death in
January 1991 while in official custody, the prosecutor proposed
that three police officers be charged with using excessive
force leading to death, a felony. The three police officers
were subsequently exonerated, however, and the official cause
of death was ruled to be pneumonia.

A German citizen, Ramon Joachim Schulz, died in a prison in
Crete in August under questionable circumstances. The official
cause of death was listed as a heart attack, but there was
strong evidence that he had suffered a severe beating while in
detention. The Ministry of Justice opened a further
investigation into the case at the request of the German
Government.


b. Disappearance

Amnesty International (AI) reported the disappearance of two
ethnic Greeks with Albanian citizenship who were detained by
police in Zagora on March 4 and never seen again.

c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment

The Constitution specifically forbids torture, and a 1984 law
makes the use of torture an offense punishable by a sentence of
from 3 years to life imprisonment. This law has never been
invoked. Although reports of police abuse declined in 1993,
defense attorneys and other sources continued to report that
the police beat detainees in the initial arrest and
investigative phase in order to extract information and
confession, and then held detainees in harsh conditions in
holding cells. Allegations persisted that police and military
personnel beat and otherwise abused illegal Albanian aliens in
the process of deporting them, including credible reports of
such beatings during the mass expulsions in July (see Section
2.d.).

AI issued a report in 1992 describing incidents occurring in
1990 and 1991 in which police and prison guards allegedly
tortured or ill-treated individuals or groups of people in
their custody. An appendix, summarizing cases raised with the
Greek authorities since 1986, included 54 alleged victims in
1991. According to the report, methods of ill-treatment
included punching, kicking, and beating with sticks, clubs, or
truncheons. Beating on the soles of the feet was also
reported. The Government conducted its own internal reviews
and reported in 1993 that police and guards in most instances
had been exonerated.

Although concluding that most AI allegations were groundless,
the Minister of Public Order, in public statements in 1992
about terrorism, acknowledged shortcomings in police discipline
and promised corrective action. In further conversations about
the AI report in September 1993, senior police officials
stressed that they had instituted training programs to ensure
that proper procedures are followed and that the human rights
of detainees are respected. They said that the Ministry had
ordered police commanders to carry out serious investigations
of reports of abuse, to inspect regularly conditions in police
holding cells, and to punish officers who break the law.


In March a five-member delegation of the Council of Europe's
(COE) Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or
Degrading Treatment or Punishment, assisted by four
professional consultants and COE staff, visited over 20
prisons, police stations, and hospitals. The Committee's
confidential report to the Government was in preparation at
year's end.

The Ministry of Justice acknowledged that conditions in many
prisons are deplorable. Most prisons are severely overcrowded,
particularly the Korydallos prison near Athens, and medical
care is inadequate. There were relatively few reports of
physical abuse in Greek prisons. According to one credible
report, two Albanian prisoners who attempted to escape from a
prison on the island of Kos were beaten severely after their
recapture. An official of the Ministry of Justice said the
case was under investigation.

Prison conditions for conscientious objectors, in both civilian
and military prisons, have given rise to special concern in
recent years. The then minister of national defense
acknowledged in a press interview in July that living
conditions in the Avlona military prison, where most
conscientious objectors formerly were held, were "objectionable
and inadmissible." Investigations and visits by deputies of
the European Parliament and other groups resulted in much
adverse publicity. To begin correcting the situation, the
Government transferred about 200 prisoners to the military
prison at Sindos, which houses only conscientious objectors and
where conditions are far better.

However, Sindos prison has a maximum capacity of only 300
prisoners, whereas the number of imprisoned conscientious
objectors normally ranges between 350 and 400. As of October,
about 35 conscientious objectors were still being held at
Avlona, and over 90 were in Kassandra agricultural prison,
which consists of a central unit and several outlying stations.

A Belgian human rights group which visited parts of the
Kassandra prison reported in 1992 that in one station the
dormitory was a stable; it was cold and virtually unheated in
winter with holes throughout the building. The group also
reported abominable sanitary conditions, poor food, and limited
and belated medical care of poor quality. The Ministry of
Justice acknowledged that conditions at Kassandra prison remain
unsatisfactory but claimed that many conscientious objectors
sought a transfer to Kassandra despite its bad conditions in
order to be able to work and thereby reduce the length of their
sentences. The Ministry said it was instituting a similar
system of reduced sentences in exchange for work at the Sindos
prison, although the Jehovah's Witnesses reported in October
that work was available at Sindos for only 65 of the 200
conscientious objectors imprisoned there.

About 75 conscientious objectors are also held at the
Kassevetia Volos agricultural prison. The same Belgian human
rights group described conditions at this prison as far
better. The conscientious objectors at Kassevetia Volos
themselves described food and sanitary conditions, as well as
medical facilities, as satisfactory.

d. Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile

The Constitution requires judicial warrants for all arrests
except during the actual commission of a crime. The legal
system protects against arbitrary arrest orders. Police must
bring a person arrested on the basis of a warrant or while
committing a crime before an examining magistrate within 24
hours. The magistrate must issue a detention warrant or order
the release of the detainee within 3 days, unless special
circumstances require a 2-day extension of this time limit.

Defendants brought to court before the end of the day following
the commission of a charged offense may be tried immediately,
under a "speedy procedure." Although legal safeguards,
including representation by counsel, apply in speedy procedure
cases, the short period of time may inhibit the defendant's
ability to present an adequate defense. Defendants may ask for
a delay to provide time to prepare their defense, but the court
is not obliged to grant it. The effective maximum duration of
pretrial detention is 18 months for felonies and 9 months for
misdemeanors. A panel of judges may grant release pending
trial, with or without bail. A person convicted of a
misdemeanor and sentenced to 2 years or less may, at the
court's discretion, pay a fine in lieu of being imprisoned.

Despite these legal safeguards, both AI and the Lawyers
Committee for Human Rights (LCHR) reported that actual practice
frequently deviates from prescribed norms. For example,
lawyers informed AI that the police frequently interrogated
suspects as witnesses, because witnesses do not have the right
to legal representation during police questioning. Statements
made to the police in these circumstances may be used against
these persons in court if they are later charged and brought to
trial. AI and the LCHR also reported that detainees are
frequently not informed of their rights and that access to a
lawyer is denied until after interrogation, which allegedly in
some cases included torture or ill-treatment and the signing of
a statement.

Exile is unconstitutional. However, Greek citizens not of
ethnic Greek origin who travel outside the country may be
deprived of their citizenship and refused readmittance to the
country under Article 19 of the Citizenship Code (see Section
2.d.).

e. Denial of Fair Public Trial

The judicial system is characterized by three levels of courts,
appointed judges, an examining magistrate system, trial by
judicial panel, and the right of appeal by both prosecution and
defense. The Constitution provides for the independence of the
judiciary, but there are credible charges that judges sometimes
allow political criteria, including the desire to obtain
promotion, to influence their judgments.

The Constitution provides for public trials, and trial court
sessions are open to the public, unless the court decides that
privacy is required to protect victims and witnesses or
national security matters. The latter provision is not
abused. The defendant enjoys the presumption of innocence, the
standard of proof of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, the right
to present evidence and witnesses, the right of access to the
prosecution's evidence, the right to cross-examine witnesses,
and the right to counsel. Lawyers are provided to defendants
who are not able to afford legal counsel.

The antiterrorism law, enacted in 1990, which also covers
murder, kidnaping, and some other crimes, foreshortens trial
procedures and provides for mandatory life sentences for these
crimes. The new Government announced its intention to repeal
this law. Parliament voted to repeal it on December 9.

There are no political prisoners in Greece. As noted above,
however, there are at any given time from 350 to 400 persons
imprisoned for refusing, mainly on religious grounds, to
perform military service as Greek law requires (see Section
2.c.).


f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence

The Constitution prohibits invasion of privacy and searches
without warrants, and the law permits monitoring personal
communications only under strict judicial controls. Judicial
warrants showing probable cause are required for home searches,
and there are limits on conducting such searches at night.
However, the variety of persons and groups subjected to
government surveillance in 1993 raised questions about
safeguards. Targets included human rights monitors,
non-Orthodox religious groups, and members of minority groups
who meet with members of the diplomatic community. In one
case, the security forces interrogated the family of a
controversial academic who writes independently on such topics.

In September, however, prosecutors indicted several persons,
including a retired general who had served as national security
advisor to the president of the New Democracy Party (the
president of the party was also Prime Minister of Greece for
part of the period in question) on charges of wiretapping
political opponents from 1989 to 1991. A Greek human rights
monitor charged that a newspaper article, based apparently on a
leaked police report of surveillance carried out against him
and a visiting international human rights delegation, contained
information that could only have been obtained by monitoring
his telephone calls.

Section 2 Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

a. Freedom of Speech and Press

Freedom of speech and press is provided for in the Constitution
and generally respected in practice, but there are significant
exceptions. Some legal restrictions on free speech remain in
force and have been invoked the last 2 years in five cases (see
details below) concerning the politically sensitive topics of
relations with the former Yugoslav republic of Macedonia and
the question of ethnic minorities within Greece. On these
so-called national issues, under the previous government, the
authorities gave clear evidence of their intolerance of
political dissent; the charges the prosecutors brought in court
were based on what the defendants said or wrote, not on violent
acts or other criminal behavior. In the main, however, Greece
enjoys a tradition of outspoken public discourse and a vigorous
free press. Satirical and opposition newspapers do not
hesitate to launch scathing and vituperative attacks on the
highest state authorities.

The new Prime Minister, in his initial policy statement in
Parliament, announced his Government's intention, as a matter
of immediate priority, to repeal the laws that restrict freedom
of speech and press. The law that Parliament approved on
December 9 repealed the antiterrorism law and the provision in
the Criminal Code that forbade "insulting authority," and it
definitively ended prosecutions of "offenses committed by or
through the press." As a result of these changes, a number of
trials concerning restrictions on freedom of speech initiated
under the previous government were terminated.

The Constitution allows for seizure (though not prior
restraint), by order of the public prosecutor, of publications
that insult the President, offend religious beliefs, contain
obscene articles, advocate violent overthrow of the political
system, or disclose military and defense information. Seizures
are rare, however, and did not occur in 1993.

However, several Penal Code restrictions have been used to
restrict free speech and press. Article 141 of the Penal Code
forbids "exposing the friendly relations of the Greek State
with foreign states to danger of disturbance"; Article 181,
repealed in December, forbade "insulting authority." Article
191 of the Code prohibits "spreading false information and
rumors liable to create concern and fear among citizens and
cause disturbances in the country's international relations and
inciting citizens to rivalry and division, leading to
disturbance of the peace." People were arrested for
distributing leaflets or booklets denouncing government policy
on Macedonia and asserting the existence and mistreatment in
Greece of Macedonian and other minorities.

In January 1992, a court sentenced six members of an
organization to 6 1/2 months' imprisonment for putting up
posters which read: "No to Patriots. Recognize
Slav-Macedonia." They appealed their conviction, and the
appeals court set a date to hear the case in December 1995. In
April 1992, police in Athens arrested four students for
distributing a leaflet entitled, "The Neighboring Peoples Are
Not Our Enemies. No to Nationalism and War." The leaflet
opposed the Government's domestic policy regarding Greece's
ethnic minorities. A court sentenced them in May to a fine and
19 months in jail. The charges were dropped due to the
lifting, as noted above, of restrictions on freedom of speech
and press.

In May 1992, police arrested five members of a Trotskyite group
for distributing a book about "working class" perspectives on
Balkan issues, denouncing the rise of Greek nationalism and
asserting the existence of a Macedonian minority in Greece. A
court acquitted them on May 7, 1993, after a week-long trial.
The public prosecutor's office appealed the unanimous verdict,
but the charges may be dropped due to the new law that ends
prosecution of offenses "committed by or through the press."
This is the only known case of the prosecution appealing an
acquittal on such charges.

In December 1992, a court convicted a 17-year-old high school
student on charges of attempting to incite citizens to
divisions among themselves, disturbing the peace, and carrying
a weapon. He distributed a leaflet that decried excessive
nationalism on the Macedonian issue and referred to Alexander
the Great as a "war criminal." The court sentenced him to a
year in jail. An international human rights organization noted
that he was accused of carrying an iron bar but stated that "it
was not found, and no evidence was produced in court to
corroborate the weapons charge." The student remains free
pending appeal which is scheduled for November 1995.

In March 1993, a court convicted two minoritiy activists from
Greek Macedonia for saying that they "feel Macedonian" and for
claiming the existence of a Macedonian minority of 1 million in
Greece. This claim conflicts with official government policy,
which denies the existence of any minorities other than the
Muslim minority recognized in the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne. The
court sentenced them to 5 months in prison and a small fine.
Both were free on appeal when the charges were dropped due to
the changes in law discussed above.

Police in September 1992 charged a leader of the Athens bus
drivers' union with "insulting authority" because of remarks he
made that questioned the independence of the Greek courts. The
charges were dropped when Article 181 was repealed.

In October 1992, three journalists with the newspaper O Locos
were sentenced to jail terms of from 8 to 18 months, which
could be satisfied by paying a fine, for insulting authority by
suggesting that the Supreme Court improperly accepted guidance
from the Government. The journalists remained free on appeal;
the prosecution of this case was terminated when Article 181
was repealed.

On April 2, the publisher of the left-of-center Athens daily
Ethnos and one of the paper's journalists were convicted of
insulting authority for a column written by the journalist and
published in the newspaper which stated that not all Thracians
had pure Greek blood. (Western Thrace is home to a substantial
ethnic Turkish population.) They were sentenced to 7 months'
imprisonment but are free pending appeal. Charges are expected
to be dropped due to the repeal of Article 181.

The antiterrorism law includes a section authorizing the
Supreme Court prosecutor to prohibit publicizing specific
statements by terrorist groups (specifically, groups acting in
concert to commit certain serious felonies, including murder).
In September 1992, six publishers and editors went on trial for
violating this law in Athens. The court convicted one
defendant and sentenced him to a fine and 6 months in jail
(which may be satisfied by paying another fine). He appealed
his conviction. Prosecution in all six cases ended with the
December repeal of the antiterrorism law.

The 1975 Constitution says the State exercises "immediate
control" over radio and television. An independent,
government-appointed body with the authority to enact rules
governing private broadcasting established procedural
regulations for radio several years ago. In 1993 it did so for
television as well, issuing licenses to six private stations.
The Government has not instituted any policy for dealing with
the large number of private radio and television stations that
are operating without licenses.

The only government effort to control an unlicensed station
occurred just prior to the October elections when the
government television station jammed the signal of a new,
opposition-oriented television station. However, when the
Council of State ruled that this was illegal, the former
government ceased the jamming. State-run stations tend to
emphasize the Government's views and positions but also report
objectively on other parties' programs and positions. In June
the governing board of ET, the state-owned television and radio
network, resigned in a move widely seen by the press as a
government effort to take full control of state-owned broadcast
media prior to the fall elections. The board, which resigned,
had criticized government officials for attempting to run ET
and was considered politically independent.


Throughout much of western Thrace, Turkish-language satellite
television broadcasts are available to those with access to
satellite ground stations. The mayors of two major towns in
the region set up two such ground stations for their
Turkish-speaking constituents. Fifteen Turkish-language
publications--10 weekly newspapers and 5 monthly magazines--are
published and circulate locally in Thrace, while newspapers and
other periodicals from Turkey are distributed only privately in
small numbers when brought in by taxis and travelers.

Academic freedoms are protected by democratically chosen
faculty organizations, though such groups tend to be
politicized. It is widely believed that those who engage in
public dissent, even in scholarly publications, on sensitive
issues like Macedonia and minorities will find it very
difficult to pursue an academic career since all universities
are state institutions.

b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association

The Constitution provides for freedom of assembly. Police
permits are routinely issued for public demonstrations, and
there were no reports that the permit requirement was abused.

The Constitution provides for the right of association, which
is generally respected. In 1991 a "Macedonian Cultural Center"
in Florina, organized by Greeks of Slavic descent, lost an
appeal of a lower court decision denying it registration
because of the use in its title of the word "Macedonian," which
the court held would cause "confusion." Government policy
holds that Greek citizens of Slavic descent who identify
themselves as Macedonians do not constitute a minority (see
Section 5). The decision was appealed to the Supreme Court,
which has not yet heard the case.

Greek authorities, while recognizing a Muslim minority, do not
recognize separately an ethnic Turkish minority (see Section 5).

c. Freedom of Religion

The Constitution provides for freedom of religious conscience,
but it also limits religious practice by prohibiting
proselytizing. It establishes the Greek Orthodox Church, to
which perhaps 95 percent of the population at least nominally
adhere, as the "prevailing" religion but prohibits
discrimination against religious minorities. The Greek
Orthodox Church wields significant influence through its
relationship with the Ministry of Education and Religion.

Theoretically, Greek law prohibits proselytism by anyone, but
it apparently is not applied to those spreading the Orthodox
faith. The Mormons, who have an active missionary program in
Greece, report only occasional harassment by local police. In
June, however, police arrested four Mormons in Thessaloniki for
proselytizing and jailed them overnight. The following day,
the court found them not guilty and released them immediately.

The Greek Jehovah's Witnesses organization reported that, as of
late June, police had arrested 24 members for proselytizing.
Police had detained, warned, and harangued others but released
them within a few hours. Of those formally arrested for
proselytism, 17 were tried and 4 were convicted and sentenced
to between 10 and 15 months' imprisonment plus fines. The
courts postponed the trials of the others charged with
proselytism. All Jehovah's Witnesses were free while they
appealed their sentences. They also had the option of paying a
fine of less than $10 per day in lieu of serving their
sentences.

In May the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the 1986
conviction for proselytism of Minos Kokkinakis, a Greek
Jehovah's Witness, violated the European Convention on Human
Rights. The Court overturned his conviction and 4-month
sentence. It ordered the Government to pay him 400,000
drachmas (about $1,818) in damages and 2,789,500 drachmas
(about $12,700) in costs and expenses. The Government paid the
money within the time limit specified by the Court.

All Greek men, irrespective of religion, are subject to the
military draft; the law does not provide for nonmilitary
alternative service. (Noncombatant alternative military
service has been available since 1977, but the Defense Ministry
said in 1992 that no one had ever requested that option.) The
courts sentence conscientious objectors, almost all Jehovah's
Witnesses, to prison, usually for 4 years (the normal term of
military service is from 15 to 23 months), for refusal to
perform any kind of military service. As noted in Section
l.c., as of October about 400 conscientious objectors were in
Greek prisons. The European Parliament, in a human rights
resolution of March 11, 1993, stated that it "condemns, in
particular, the practice in Greece which treats conscientious
objectors as criminals and condemns them to long periods of
imprisonment in military prisons."


The previous government considered introducing nonmilitary
alternative service in 1988 and 1991. However, it claimed it
found no legal way to do so without amending the Constitution,
which declares that "every Greek capable of bearing arms is
obliged to contribute to the defense of the fatherland as
provided by law." It relied on the legal counsel of an
advisory legal body.

In its March 1993 report on conscientious objectors in Greece,
AI asserted that this legal body was not an independent
authority and its impartiality was not guaranteed; its opinions
were not binding on the Government or the courts; and the
Minister of Defense was under no procedural obligation to
consult it. AI cited other legal counsel and referred to the
constitutional provision that "freedom of religious conscience
is inviolable."

Traditionally, Jehovah's Witnesses ministers were not granted
the exemption from military service accorded under Greek law to
clergy of "known religions" and thus served prison sentences
for refusing military service. Since 1990-91, the Council of
State, the Supreme Court dealing with civil and adminstrative
matters whose opinions are binding on the Government, has ruled
that the Jehovah's Witnesses were a "known religion" and has
ordered the release of ministers who had refused induction.
However, the recruiting service of the armed forces regarded
these rulings as applying only to individual appellants, not as
binding precedents for subsequent Jehovah's Witnesses'
ministers who were called up. It thus continued to rely, in
the first instance, on the opinion of the Ministry of Education
and Religions, which in turn accepted the view of the Greek
Orthodox Church that the Jehovah's Witnesses are not a "known
religion." As a consequence, for the past few years, ministers
of the Jehovah's Witnesses have been called up for military
service and prosecuted for refusal; only after conviction could
they appeal to the Council of State for exemptions as ministers
of a "known religion." In practice, these ministers have spent
periods of a few months to over a year in jail while appealing
their cases to the Council of State.

The situation appears to have improved in 1993. The first
Jehovah's Witnesses minister called up was able, on an informal
basis, to obtain a stay of his induction date until his appeal
could be heard. A second such case was pending as the previous
government was leaving office in mid-October. The Ministry of
Defense confirmed that the Ministry informally has sought to
suspend such callups for 2 months to allow for appeals to the
Council of State. It is not clear that this informal
arrangement will provide enough time to prevent future
imprisonment of ministers.

Each house of worship in Greece requires the local Orthodox
bishop's permission to open and operate. It is not uncommon
for such permission to be delayed or even, at times, withheld,
though some denominations are able to open and operate churches
in the guise of cultural centers. However, in 1993 a court
sentenced three Jehovah's Witnesses to 1 month each for
operating a house of worship without permission. After losing
appeals to the Supreme Court over the closure of two houses of
worship, the Jehovah's Witnesses appealed to the European Court
of Human Rights, seeking to overturn both the particular
decisions of the Greek courts and the law requiring permission
of the local Orthodox bishop for a non-Orthodox denomination or
religion to open a house of worship.

Several denominations report difficulties in getting residence
permits for foreign members of their faiths who come to Greece
to perform missionary or charity work. One denomination filed
a suit in court to obtain the permits. Some denominations are
also considering bringing only nationals of other EC countries
to work in Greece, rather than Americans or other foreigners,
since EC regulations would facilitate their ability to stay and
work in the country.

Mosques and other Muslim religious institutions operate in
western Thrace, where most Greek citizens of the Muslim faith
reside. Some Muslims claim that Greek law weakens the
financial autonomy of the "wakfs," community funds used for
maintaining mosques and for charitable works, by placing the
wakfs under the administration of appointed muftis (Islamic
judges and religious leaders). The Treaty of Lausanne contains
language allowing minorities to control their charitable
institutions.

In accordance with a 1990 presidential decree, the State
appoints the three muftis in Greece, all resident in western
Thrace. According to government policy, muftis must be
appointed because, in addition to their religious duties, they
perform judicial functions in many civil and domestic matters,
for which the State pays them. The selection process includes
formal consultations with local Muslim leaders. The Muslim
minority is divided on the mufti selection issue. Some Muslims
accept the authority of the appointed muftis while others
insist on their right to elect the muftis who will serve their
communities. In February four muftis from Turkey were expelled
for preaching in western Thrace without the permission of the
Greek Government or the muftis appointed by it.

d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign
Travel, Emigration, and Repatriation

The Constitution protects freedom of movement within the
country, foreign travel, and emigration. Ethnic Greeks
intending to emigrate, and emigrants who return to Greece,
experience no discrimination with respect to freedom of
movement. However, Article 19 of the Greek Citizenship Code
distinguishes between Greek citizens who are ethnic Greeks and
those who are not. Greek citizens who are not ethnic Greeks
may be deprived of citizenship if it is determined that they
left Greece with the apparent intent not to return. However,
immigrants who are ethnic Greeks are normally recognized as
Greek citizens and accorded full rights, despite years or even
generations of absence from Greece. Most Article 19 cases
involve primarily ethnic Turks from western Thrace.

The Interior Ministry initiates proceedings under Article 19 on
the basis of reports by local authorities in Greece or by Greek
embassies or consulates abroad. It holds a hearing at which
the affected person is not present, nor is the affected person
notified of the hearing. Those who lose Greek citizenship as a
result of such hearings sometimes learn of this loss only when
they seek to reenter Greece. According to the Foreign
Ministry, 123 persons lost Greek citizenship under Article 19
in 1993; 3 of them have filed administrative appeals which are
still pending.

Despite the repeated assurances since 1991 of the previous
government's senior officials that Article 19 would be
abolished, the previous government did not introduce the
requisite legislation in Parliament. The new Government has
not yet stated its intentions.

Persons who lose their Greek citizenship under Article 19 have
the right of "administrative appeal" to the Interior Ministry
and may also appeal to the Greek Council of State and to the
Council of Europe. Leaders of the Turkish-origin Greek
community complain that the time and expense involved tend to
discourage such appeals.

Greece maintains a restricted military zone along its northern
border with Bulgaria, in areas where many Pomaks (Muslims who
speak a Bulgarian dialect) reside. Since entry into the zone
is strictly controlled, even for local inhabitants, some
residents of the area complain that their freedom of movement
is restricted. Foreign diplomats are allowed into the zone
only under escort and with special authorization.

Greece frequently offers temporary asylum, though rarely
permanent resettlement, to a growing number of refugees from
Eastern Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. Greece is
increasingly a transit country for economic migrants.
Increasing numbers of Pakistanis and Iraqi Chaldeans and Kurds
are attempting to enter Greece illegally. Through June, Greece
had received requests from 595 persons for asylum status. It
granted such status to 53 persons and denied it to 909 persons
(a number of whom had applied prior to 1993).

Although a party to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status
of Refugees, Greece reserved on the provision that would allow
refugees to work. Refugees may not enter the Greek labor
market but may be self-employed. A recently enacted Greek law,
which lacks as yet the necessary implementing decree, would
provide some professional rehabilitation and accommodations for
refugees. Several United Nations and Greek organizations
assist refugees with shelter, food, medical care, education,
and legal counseling, but the funding and level of assistance
of these agencies is very limited.

Ethnic Greek immigrants, such as those who have come from the
former Soviet Union since 1986 and those rescued from the civil
war in Georgia, normally qualify for immediate citizenship and
special assistance from the Government. The 1,000 ethnic
Greeks from Georgia were resettled in western Thrace, raising
concerns among the ethnic Turkish minority that they would lose
jobs to the newcomers. Permanent resettlement in Greece is not
usually available for nonethnic Greek refugees.

Chams, ethnic Albanians who were deported from northern Greece
in the late 1940's, have requested reinstatement of their Greek
citizenship and property confiscated at that time. The
Government expressed a willingness to discuss compensation for
property but does not recognize their alleged historic claim to
citizenship.

Following the Albanian Government's expulsion of a senior
cleric of the Greek Orthodox Church, accused of meddling in
Albanian internal affairs, a charge denied by both the Greek
Government and the cleric, Greece responded with mass roundups
and summary expulsions of Albanians working in Greece, most of
them illegaly. Credible reports suggest at least 10,000 were
expelled. (Other reports say as many as 25,000.) Greek
security forces reportedly beat some Albanians and gave them no
chance to take their possessions with them. There were also
unconfirmed allegations that some had money taken from them
during the process of expulsion.

Section 3 Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens
to Change Their Government

Greece is a multiparty democracy in which the Constitution
guarantees full political rights for all citizens. (See
Section 5 for allegations of limitations on the ability of some
Gypsies to vote.) Members of the unicameral 300-seat
Parliament are elected to maximum 4-year terms by secret ballot.

The government headed by Prime Minister Constantine Mitsotakis,
leader of the New Democratic Party, lost its majority in
Parliament in September and called new elections in October.
The opposition Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) won the
free and fair elections and formed a new Government headed by
Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou. The transition was prompt,
smooth, and orderly. Parliament elects the President for a
5-year term. Universal suffrage for those over age 18 is
compulsory and enforced by fines and administrative penalties.
Opposition parties function freely and have broad access to the
media.

Under a 1990 electoral law, no candidate may be elected whose
party does not receive 3 percent or more of the nationwide
vote. This law also applies to independent candidates. As a
result, neither of Greece's former independent Muslim members
of Parliament, both of whom proclaim their Turkish ethnic
identity, was reelected to Parliament in 1993. A third Muslim
running as a member of PASOK resigned from the party when it
demanded he stop identifying himself as an ethnic Turk. In the
province of Rodopi, the Muslim independent candidate received
more votes than any other parliamentary candidate and yet could
not be seated because he did not receive 3 percent of the total
national vote. Although there was no lack of Muslim candidates
in the ranks of the major parties in 1993 (10 altogether), no
Muslim was elected. In the October national elections in
Greece, a "Macedonian" independent parliamentary candidate from
Florina received 369 votes out of a total of 44,855 votes cast
in the district.


There are no legal restrictions on the participation of women
in government or politics. Women's representation at the
higher levels of Greek political life is increasing but remains
low. The head of the Communist party is a woman. Women hold 3
of the 45 ministerial and deputy ministerial seats in the
Government that took office in October. Women are represented,
though not yet widely, in the leadership of the two largest
parties (New Democracy and PASOK).

Section 4 Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations
of Human Rights

Domestic human rights organizations are allowed to operate,
although the Government monitors their activities and may or
may not cooperate with them. The Government did not obstruct
human rights organizations' visits and investigations, although
a delegation from Helsinki Watch did not come to a scheduled
meeting in June with a deputy foreign minister once it became
clear that a Greek associate of the delegation would be
excluded from it. The Greek security services monitored the
activities of the Helsinki Watch delegation and its Greek
associates. Another international human rights group said that
the Government was not forthcoming with information about cases
of alleged police abuse of detainees the group raised.

The Government, in principle, respects the right of foreign
diplomats to meet with Greek officials and other citizens,
including critics of official policy, and such contacts
normally take place without adverse reaction. Occasionally,
however, senior government officials make known their
unhappiness over such meetings, particularly with activist
members of minority groups or communities. It is also clear
that the security services closely monitor such contacts.

Section 5 Discrimination Based on Race, Sex, Religion,
Disability, Language, or Social Status

Women

There are broad constitutional and legal protections for women,
including equal pay for equal work. The General Secretariat
for Equality of the Sexes, an independent government agency,
charged that the law was not consistently enforced. Official
statistics show that the average wages of women in
manufacturing establishments are 47 percent lower than those of
men in comparable positions, and wages of women in wholesale
trade are 24 percent lower that those of men in comparable
positions. Women are gradually entering traditionally
male-dominated occupations, including the higher echelons of
business. The General Secretariat for Equality of the Sexes
coordinates efforts to remove barriers. Women's groups say
that women in public service face a "glass ceiling" when
considered for promotion. The Government elected in October
listed progress on women's issues as a high priority. Muslim
women in western Thrace have the option of Islamic or civil
marriage and Islamic or civil jurisdiction in domestic disputes.

There is a strong cultural bias against reporting cases of
rape, incest, or wife beating, and police and local authorities
generally do not intervene in domestic conflicts. Women's
groups have identified violence against women as a significant
problem. As a result of pressure from these groups, a Center
for Battered Women, run by the General Secretariat for Equality
of the Sexes, started operating in Athens at the beginning of
1993. It is apparently the only such center in the country.
It received 250 women in 1993.

The highly cohesive Greek society and family structure tolerate
a high degree of verbal confrontation but do not tolerate
violence. The level of physical violence, whether resulting
from domestic conflict or common crime, is remarkably low.
However, verbal abuse of women in Greece is common. The
General Secretariat for Equality of the Sexes claims that the
courts are lenient when dealing with wife-beating cases, but
the Secretariat expects that to change due to the increasing
number of women who are entering the judiciary.

Children

Greece has legislation protecting children from all forms of
maltreatment perpetrated by parents or others responsible for
their care. However, there is a strong cultural bias against
reporting cases of domestic violence. The State undertakes
preventive and treatment programs for abused children and for
children deprived of their family environment, ensuring that
alternative family care or institutional placement is made
available to them. However, children's rights advocacy groups
claim that protection of high-risk children in state
residential care centers is inadequate and of low quality.

Immunization and vaccination of children against tetanus,
measles, whooping cough, and other children's diseases is
mandatory, free of charge, and provided for by specific
legislation. Polio and neonatal tetanus have been eradicated.
The mortality rate for children under 5 years of age, which was
64 per thousand in 1960, dropped to 11 per thousand in 1990.
However, access of Gypsy children and illegal migrants to free
state services, such as education and medical care, is very
low, primarily due to their itinerant lifestyle.

National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities

There are communities in Greece which identify themselves as
Turks, Pomaks, Vlachs, Gypsies, and Macedonians. Many are
fully integrated into Greek society. Of these, ethnic Turks
form the largest group. The only minority Greece formally
recognizes is a "Muslim minority," which is referred to in the
1923 Treaty of Lausanne. The Government insists on the use of
this rubric to refer to several different ethnic communities,
most of which adhere to the Muslim faith. The Muslim minority
is comprised primarily of ethnic Turks or Turkish speakers in
western Thrace, which the Government estimates at roughly
120,000 persons. In addition to people of Turkish origin, it
includes Pomaks (Muslims who speak a language akin to
Bulgarian) and Gypsies. Many Greek Muslims, including Pomaks,
identify themselves as Turks and say that the Muslim minority
as a whole has a Turkish cultural consciousness. The use of
the word "tourkos" ("Turk") is prohibited in titles of
organizations, though individuals may legally call themselves
"tourkos." To most Greeks, the word "tourkos" connotes Turkish
citizenship and loyalties, and many object to its use by Greek
citizens of Turkish origin. Use of a similar adjective,
"tourkoyennis" (of Turkish descent/affiliation/ethnicity),
however, is allowed (see also Section 2.b.).

Northern Greece is home to an indeterminate number (estimates
range from under 10,000 to 50,000 or more) of Greek citizens
who are descended from Slavs. Some still speak a Slavic
dialect that some call Macedonian, particularly in the Florina
district, where there is a substantial slavophone population.
A small number of them consider themselves to be members of a
distinct ethnic group which they identify as Macedonian, and
assert their right to minority status. One activist who
identified himself as Macedonian was subject to a punitive job
transfer in his civil service career as a result of his
activism. Organizations of self-identified Slavic Macedonians
are not allowed to use the word "Macedonian" in their names.
In 1991 the Thessaloniki appellate court upheld a ban against a
cultural center in Florina on these grounds (see Section
2.b.). That organization appealed to the Supreme Court, which
has not yet ruled on the case. Individual citizens are free to
speak the Slavic dialect in public and perform Slavic dances
and music openly. However, some Greeks of Slavic descent
reportedly do not proclaim themselves Macedonian for fear of
losing their jobs in the public sector or being penalized,
e.g., through a punitive job transfer.

The Secretariat for Adult Education (a government agency)
estimates the number of Gypsies in Greece is between 120,000
and 150,000. Gypsies (both Christian and Muslim) are scattered
throughout the country. Most Greek Gypsies are at least
nominally Greek Orthodox, with Greek names, who speak Romany at
home but Greek in public transactions. In western Thrace,
Gypsies tend to be Muslim, with Turkish names and some
knowledge of the Turkish language. The Government estimates
the Muslim Gypsy population to be 22,000. The official
government policy is to encourage Gypsies to assimilate. For
those who do not, illiteracy, poverty, crime, and social
prejudice continue to be significant problems. Some
municipalities attempt to prevent settlement by Gypsies,
refusing to register them as citizens. (All Greek citizens are
required to be registered in a municipality.) Without such
registration, Gypsies are not allowed to vote, cannot obtain
papers required to start a business, and are excluded from a
range of government services.

Some Muslims also live on Greek islands near the Turkish coast
or in Athens and other industrial areas. Muslim villages
usually elect Muslim-dominated local governments. In Komotini
and Xanthi, both Muslims and non-Muslims hold seats on the town
councils.

Employment of Muslims in the public sector is much lower than
the Muslim share of the population. Some ethnic Turks claim
that they are hired only in small numbers for lower level
public sector employment and rarely, or not at all, at higher
levels. The Government cites their lack of fluency in Greek,
as well as the need for a university degree for high-level
positions, as factors limiting the number of Muslims eligible
for public employment.

Public offices in Thrace do their business in Greek; the courts
provide interpreters as needed. In the Komotini district in
Thrace, where many members of the Muslim minority live, the
office of the district governor ("nomarch") has interpreters
available.


The Treaty of Lausanne guarantees the Muslim minority the right
to Turkish-language education, with a reciprocal entitlement
for the Greek minority in Istanbul. Western Thrace has both
Koranic and secular Turkish-language schools. Government
disputes with Turkey over teachers and textbooks caused these
secular schools serious problems in obtaining sufficient
numbers and quality of faculty and teaching materials. Over
9,000 Muslim children attend Turkish-language primary schools.
Around 650 attend Turkish-language secondary schools, and
approximately 1,000 attend Greek-language secondary schools.
Many Muslims reportedly go to high school in Turkey due to the
limited number of places in the Turkish-language secondary
schools, which are assigned by lottery. Very few graduates of
the Muslim secondary school system attend Greek universities.

To address some of these problems, the Greek Government issued
new Turkish-language elementary texts, prepared in Greece, on a
variety of subjects in early 1993. Texts on mathematics,
science, and other subjects were also received from the Turkish
Government. The Greek Government reviewed their content in
time for the beginning of the school year in September. It
accepted 14 science and mathematics texts, returned 2 texts for
requested changes, and rejected 2 others. However, some
Turkish-origin Greeks object to having their schools use
teaching materials prepared in Greece and say the texts violate
a 1968 Greek-Turkish educational protocol. In the wake of
unlawful seizures of these texts by Turkish activists, two
activists received sentences of 21 months in prison and one
received 15 months, but all had their convictions reversed on
appeal; six persons were sentenced to 17 months in jail but are
free pending their appeal; and one was acquitted in his
original trial.

Some Turkish-origin Greeks complain that it is difficult to
obtain permission to bring in teachers from Turkey or to hire
Turkish-speaking teachers locally, particularly for the secular
Turkish-language middle schools in Xanthi and Komotini. Under
the 1968 educational protocol, Greece and Turkey may annually
exchange up to 35 teachers each to serve, respectively, in
Istanbul and western Thrace. In 1992 Greece sent 16 teachers
to Istanbul and admitted 16 of the 35 high school teachers whom
Turkey nominated to teach in Thrace. The Foreign Ministry
reports that the 16 teachers from Turkey took part in February
in a 1-week "Muslim" teachers' strike to protest the
Turkish-language elementary textbooks that had been produced in
Greece. Negotiations for a Greek-Turkish teacher exchange for
the 1993-94 school year are reportedly still under way.


Religious Minorities

Leaders of various non-Orthodox religious groups assert that
their members face discrimination in reaching senior rank in
government service, particularly in the security services.
They allege that to avoid this glass ceiling some members of
their faiths resort to declaring themselves Orthodox. Senior
government officials, when questioned about such allegations of
discrimination, deny that it exists and point to certain
persons not of the Orthodox faith who have had successful
careers in government service. There appears to be no
scholarly research on this issue.

A number of Jehovah's Witnesses reported difficulties in
employment. An accountant who had earlier been imprisoned as a
conscientious objector passed his accountancy examination, but
the appropriate regulatory board did not certify him because he
had a conviction on his record. He took a factory job while
awaiting the outcome of his 1989 appeal to the Council of State.

Several fully certified Jehovah's Witnesses teachers have also
faced difficulties in gaining employment in recent years. In
one well-documented case that began in 1991, a middle-ranking
official of the Ministry of Education, in a memorandum to a
local educational official on the issuance of a teaching permit
to a member of the Jehovah's Witnesses or the Baha'i religion,
stated that according to the Ministry's "legal consultants...it
was not permissible to endorse the appointment to Greek schools
of educators who do not believe in the Greek Orthodox
religion." The local official in turn wrote the applicant, who
wished to teach in a private school, that he could not have a
teaching permit in accordance with the "attached document
issued by the Ministry of Education and Religion."

A public school principal was demoted to teacher, and another
Jehovah's Witness was denied permission to open a private
school. As a result of such difficulties, a total of six
Jehovah's Witnesses have appeals pending with the Council of
State.

The European Parliament adopted a resolution on January 21
which, inter alia, criticized the decision of the Greek
Government to require that Greek citizens declare their
religion on the bilingual identity cards that allow Greeks to
travel freely within the European Community. The resolution
ascribed the decision to "pressure from the Orthodox clergy in
particular" and referred to the "concern this decision has
aroused among the Catholic and Jewish religious minorities."
The resolution stated that the Parliament "disapproves of
the...decision," termed it "a constraint on individual freedom"
and called on the "Greek Government to revoke this decision."
The Government in May sought the authority to drop this
requirement, but the Parliament refused to grant it.

A sharp political controversy erupted in August when an
opposition newspaper obtained a copy of, and printed excerpts
from, an internal report of the National Intelligence Service
about the dangers to Greece allegedly posed by non-Orthodox
denominations. The report argued that "any Greek who is not
Greek Orthodox is not a genuine, incorruptible, pure Greek,"
and that the leaders and adherents of non-Orthodox
organizations are characterized for the most part as having a
"lessened national conscience." The report suggested that "the
State must take appropriate measures," specifically
recommending steps to ensure that the "radio and television
channels which are under the control of religious heretics will
not be permitted to operate."

The report claimed "the Vatican has not renounced...its firm
aspirations toward a Latinization of the Greek people" and also
evinced strong suspicions of Protestants, Pentecostals, and
Jehovah's Witnesses; a companion report leaked to the press
showed that the Intelligence Service was keeping them under
surveillance and maintaining dossiers on their activities. The
Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a strong letter of
protest to the Prime Minister, denouncing the report's slurs on
patriotic but non-Orthodox Greeks and asking that he disown the
report of the Intelligence Service and the tactics it
recommended.

The former government replied that the report was undertaken by
a low-ranking functionary, that it was withdrawn immediately
when it came to the attention of higher authorities, and that
it did not represent the official position of the Government.
However, the press, both secular and Catholic, published a
facsimile of a letter of commendation from the then director of
the National Intelligence Service to the author of the report,
stating that it was "thorough, detailed, and well documented."

People with Disabilities

Greece has specific legislation mandating hiring of disabled
persons in public and private enterprises employing more than
50 persons. However, the law is inadequately enforced,
particularly in the private sector. The law provides that
disabled persons should comprise 3 percent of staff in private
enterprises. In the civil service, 5 percent of administrative
staff and 80 percent of telephone operator positions are
reserved for disabled persons.

Physical access for disabled persons to all kinds of private
and public buildings is provided by the construction code, but
the law is poorly enforced. In 1993 the Government started
replacing old city buses with new ones with stairs specially
designed for the disabled.

Greece has special centers, both government-funded and
privately funded, for handicapped and disabled children and
adults, which provide education and training designed to help
them achieve self-reliance and lead a full life in society.
However, the number of such centers as well as the total number
of disabled persons in Greece is not available. The Ministry
of Health, Welfare, and Social Security and children's rights
advocacy groups cite statistics showing a 93-percent increase
of budgetary funds for welfare during the 1990-92 period, a
53-percent increase in the number of disabled persons who
attended vocational training programs, and a 28-percent
increase in allowances to disabled persons.

Section 6 Worker Rights

a. The Right of Association

The Constitution, and subsequent legislation passed in 1987 and
1992, provide for the right of association. All workers, with
the exception of the military and the police, have the right to
form or join unions.

Approximately 35 percent of Greek workers (nearly 1.5 million
persons) were organized in unions in 1993. Unions receive most
of their funding from a Ministry of Labor organization, the
Workers' Hearth, which distributes mandatory contributions from
employees and employers. Only the five most powerful public
sector unions have dues-withholding provisions in their
contracts, in addition to receiving Workers' Hearth subsidies.
The International Labor Organization's (ILO) Committee of
Experts acknowledged in 1993 that Act No. 1915 of 1990 seems to
give effect to ILO recommendations that the Government end its
financial interference in trade union affairs and in the
collection of union dues.


Over 4,000 unions are grouped into regional and sectoral
federations and two umbrella confederations, one for civil
servants and one for private sector employees. Unions are
highly politicized, and there are party-affiliated factions
within the labor confederations, but they are not controlled by
political parties or the Government in day-to-day operations.
There are no restrictions on who may serve as a union
official. Greek unions maintain a variety of international
affiliations and are free to join federations and
confederations.

Legislation passed in 1990 mandates a skeleton staff during
strikes affecting public services, such as electricity,
transportation, communications, and banking. During strikes in
June and July, skeleton staffs did not completely ensure that
essential services continued uninterrupted; however, there were
no repercussions against the unions. The previous government's
1992 lawsuit against the electric company workers' union, filed
under the skeleton staff provision, is still pending in the
courts. In 1993 the ILO's Committee of Experts requested the
Government to guarantee that workers' organizations participate
in defining the minimum services to be maintained in the event
of a strike.

More than 200 strikes occurred in 1993, including a number in
July and August by public utility workers protesting
privatization legislation. While numerous, electric company
strikes did not prove as disruptive as in the past. However,
bus strikes in December and January in opposition to government
moves to deprivatize the Athens bus system proved extremely
disruptive and were marred by violence. As of January 4, 1994,
the dispute between the Government and bus drivers had not been
resolved. Major legal restrictions on strikes include a
mandatory period of notice, which is 96 hours for public
utilities and 24 hours for the private sector. Public
corporations, including utility companies, state-owned banks,
the postal service, Olympic Airways and the railroads are also
required to maintain a skeleton staff during strikes. The size
of the skeleton staff is determined by the Ministry of Labor in
conjunction with the management of the particular public
corporation.

The courts have the power to declare strikes illegal, although
such decisions are seldom enforced. Unions complain, however,
that this judicial power serves as a deterrent to some of their
membership from participating in strikes. The courts declared
a majority of the strikes illegal for a variety of reasons,
without any repercussions. The Government may also declare
"civil mobilization" of workers in case of danger to national
security, life, or property, or the social and economic life of
the country. The ILO Committee of Experts has criticized this
power as violating the standards of ILO Convention 29 on forced
labor. The Government did not resort to civil mobilization
during 1993.

Two ILO bodies expressed hope in 1993 that counterinflationary
legislation passed in 1992, suspending collective bargaining
and wage increases in the public sector for the duration of the
year, had lapsed. In response to union complaints that most
labor disputes ended in compulsory arbitration, legislative
remedies were enacted in 1989 providing for mediation
procedures, with compulsory arbitration as a last resort. The
legislation establishing a national mediation, reconciliation,
and arbitration organization went into effect in January 1992
and applies to the public sector and public corporations (the
military and civil service excluded). However, a government
decree in early 1993 setting limits to wage and salary
increases for public enterprises diminished the scope of the
organization and was the basis for a complaint lodged with the
ILO by the Confederation of Greek Labor (GSEE) for violation of
ILO Conventions 98 and 87. The complaint is still pending with
the ILO.

b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively

Legislation passed in 1955 and amended in 1990 ensures the
right to organize and bargain collectively in the private
sector and in public corporations. These rights are respected
in practice. There are no restrictions on collective
bargaining for private sector employees. Civil servants, who
have no formal system of collective bargaining, collectively
negotiate their demands with the Office of the Minister to the
Prime Minister, with which the final decision rests.

Antiunion discrimination is prohibited. The Labor Inspectorate
or the courts investigate and work to resolve complaints of
discrimination against union members or organizers. Court
rulings have mandated the reinstatement of improperly fired
union organizers.

Greece has no export processing zones.


c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor

Forced or compulsory labor is prohibited by the Constitution
and is not practiced. The Ministry of Justice enforces this
prohibition.

d. Minimum Age for Employment of Children

The minimum age for employment in the industrial sector is 15,
with higher limits for certain activities. The minimum age is
12 in family businesses, theaters, and the cinema. These age
limits are enforced by occasional Labor Inspectorate spot
checks and are generally respected. However, families engaged
in agriculture, food service, or merchandising often have
younger family members assisting them, at least part-time.
Education is free and compulsory for all children through the
ninth grade.

e. Acceptable Conditions of Work

Collective bargaining between the GSEE and the employers'
association determines a nationwide minimum wage. The Ministry
of Labor routinely ratifies this minimum wage, which has the
force of law and applies to all Greek workers. The minimum
wage is sufficient for a decent standard of living for a worker
and family. The minimum daily wage is approximately $19; the
minimum monthly salary is approximately $430.

The maximum legal workweek is 40 hours in the private sector
and 37 1/2 hours in the public sector. A law that took effect
in 1992 significantly extended legal operating hours for retail
establishments, provided that the average workweek did not
exceed the legal maximum over a period of time. The law
provides for at least one 24-hour rest period per week,
mandates paid vacation of 1 month per year, and sets limits on
overtime.

Legislation provides for minimum standards of occupational
health and safety. Although the GSEE characterizes health and
safety legislation as satisfactory, it charges that
enforcement, the responsibility of the Labor Inspectorate, is
inadequate. In 1992 GSEE cited statistics indicating a fairly
high number of job-related accidents over the past two
decades. Inadequate inspection, failure to enforce
regulations, outdated industrial plant and equipment, and poor
safety training of employees contribute to the accident rate.
Workers do not have the legal right to remove themselves from
situations they believe endanger their health. They have the
right, however, to lodge a complaint with the Labor
Inspectorate, and inspectors are prohibited from divulging the
name of the worker who lodged the complaint. Inspectors have
the right to close down machinery or a process for a period of
up to 5 days if they see a safety or health hazard they believe
represents an imminent danger to the workers.