Monday, March 23, 2015
President Prokopis Pavlopoulos said that Greece is leading in the institutional fight against xenophobia and racism. "The Constitution introduces the two highly complementary principles that every person has equal value with others and that everyone has an inalienable right to self-determination," he noted.
“Racism, as a mindset and as an attitude, is used to raise fear, hatred and discrimination mainly against vulnerable groups,” said Alternate Minister of Citizens’ Protection Yiannis Panousis, who also described the phenomenon as a threat to social cohesion.
From Athens and Thessaloniki in northern Greece, to Patras in the western part of the country and Chania on Crete island in the southern Aegean Sea, people marched, asking for the closure of migrants' detention centers and the granting of Greek citizenship to second generation migrants who were born and raised in Greece.
In a different walk against discrimination, representatives from groups who suffer from racism like migrants, the Roma and LGBT communities, religious groups, and other minorities, along with European anti-racism networks and prominent Greek civil society leaders, gathered in front of the Greek Parliament in Athens and marched towards the Prime Minister's office to send their message. "For the first time groups affected by racism are united. The new Leftist government has shown sensitivity for human rights. We hope things will change for the better," President of the Greek Migrants Forum Ahmed Moavia said.
See also: President of the Hellenic Republic Pavlopoulos’ Speech on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (in Greek, 21.03)
