GREEK HELSINKI MONITOR
Press release
23 October 2006

Greek state news agency and media distort State Department position on Macedonian language and ethnicity

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Greek Helsinki Monitor (GHM) denounces a new example of directed journalism in the service of “national interests” by the Greek state Athens News Agency (ANA) that was willingly disseminated by several Greek media without checking the story despite its obviously irrational content. A State Department spokesperson answer to a Greek journalist, on 19 October, stating that the USA recognize states (including Macedonia with its constitutional name) and not languages or sub-national groups within states was distorted by ANA so as to present is as “U.S. State Department says it does not recognise ‘a Macedonian language’ or ethnicity.” Such a position would obviously be irrational a few days after the US State Department-headed delegation to the OSCE referred to a Macedonian minority in Greece : statement at the website.

http://www.osce.org/item/21661.html

Nevertheless, this story was disseminated with utmost satisfaction by Greek media like the Athens-based information radio stations SKAI and Flash as well as the national daily “Eleftherotypia.” GHM appends the ANA story (in Greek; no access to English version available at (click here to see) the transcript of the related excerpt of the State Department briefing, and the related release of the Greek Member State Committee of the European Bureau for Lesser Used Languages (EBLUL).

(European Free Alliance) Map showing the Cultures and Languages in the E.U.

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