Retour Save democracy in greece

To Vima, 14/04/2013

For years now Greece has been under the spotlight because of its dire financial and economic situation linked to  a sharp increase of unemployment, poverty,  and  widespread discontent. This hardship, however, is not the only urgency that Greece has to tackle and resolve: hate crimes and impunity must also be addressed to protect the country’s democracy and human rights values.

Hate crimes have sharply risen in the country in recent years. Between October 2011 and December 2012, more than 200 incidents of racist violence, mainly against migrants, were recorded. This figure is only the tip of the iceberg, as migrants are often afraid of contacting state authorities to report abuses.

Racial hatred is  branching out into the state’s spheres and is fed by a neo-Nazi party, “Golden Dawn”, that holds 18 out of the 300 seats in the Greek Parliament. Members of this party, including MPs, have been involved in some of the most serious cases of hate speech and brutal, physical violence.

As a member state of  the Council of Europe bound by the European Convention on Human Rights, Greece has a duty to adopt effective measures against hate crimes and to prevent actions that endanger the personal integrity and dignity of every person on its territory.

Current Greek law has the capacity to effectively sanction individuals and political organisations which incite or promote intolerance and hate crime. Restrictions on political parties, including their prohibition, are also possible under international and European human rights law.

However, the Greek state’s response to the threat posed by racist and other hate crimes has been so far ineffective. The few cases brought to trial have led to excessively lenient, non-dissuasive penalties against the perpetrators of hate crimes.

This situation is further worsened by the failure to address the dysfunction of law enforcement authorities, especially the police, whose disregard for binding human rights standards has received international criticism. To make things worse, the suspicion of collusion of a part of the police with “Golden Dawn” has dealt an extremely damaging blow to public confidence not only in the police, but in the state as a whole.

One of the explanations of the state’s ineffective response so far can be found in the serious gaps in training and awareness-raising concerning anti-racism legislation and practice for police, prosecutors and judges. Moreover, Greece’s justice system suffers from chronic, structural shortcomings, in particular excessively lengthy proceedings, lack of an effective remedy and costly court fees.

As regards in particular law enforcement authorities, the institutional culture of impunity has, all too often, led to ineffective action against the use of excessive force and hate crime. An independent and effective police complaints mechanism is also an important institution that Greece is still lacking.

Addressing these shortcomings must be a priority. I see in particular three urgent steps that the Greek authorities have to undertake in this context.

First, the Greek political institutions need to live up to their responsibilities, to abstain from rhetoric that foments intolerance, and to condemn firmly and unequivocally all instances of hate speech and racist violence.

Second, the existing anti-racism law must be fully and effectively implemented. Also, the adoption of the bill concerning racism and xenophobia through criminal law, pending since 2011, should be accelerated and provide for the heaviest possible criminal penalties for racist and xenophobic offences. All this must be accompanied by systematic training of all competent authorities, primarily the police, prosecutors and judges.

Last but not least, impunity in law enforcement bodies must be eradicated. This includes the effective prosecution of all serious human rights violations, the introduction of anti-corruption policies and the establishment of independent control mechanisms. Deterrent measures, including a ban from state ranks and public functions, should also be applied to any person who commits racially motivated crimes or support undemocratic manifestations.

Racist violence has a broad societal impact and corrodes democratic and human rights values based on the respect for, and equality of, human beings. This is why it should be treated more seriously than other forms of violence and extremism. The future of Greece’s democracy depends largely on the ability of the Greek state to address today the frailties of its response to hate crimes.