Greek authorities ban the existence of a Macedonian organization in the city of Serres.
The organization “St. Cyril and Methodius – local society of Serres” was established in December 2017 by members of the Macedonian community in Iraklea, Serres.
The association was registered by the Greek authorities in January 2018, when the problems for the Macedonians in this part of Greece began.
The goal of the organization is to preserve and popularize the local language and heroes, but the founding document did not state which language and whose heroes.
The legal challenges of the Macedonians in Serres begun when in March 2018 the leadership of the organization announced in its newspaper that it is about the Macedonian language and Macedonian heroes and not the Greek ones.
Immediately afterwards, the president of the Federation of Greek-Macedonian Societies, which claims that Macedonia is Greek, filed a lawsuit with the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Serres, explaining that any organization of Macedonians is against Greek laws and the constitution.
On February 14, 2019, the Prosecution requested the withdrawal of the registration of the Macedonian organization, accusing it of “trying to create a community” different from the Greek one, which has its own language and culture.
At the first hearing in Serres on April 9, 2019, the court withdrew the registration of the Macedonian organization, after which the organization filed an appeal with the higher court in Solun in February the following year. The Court there confirmed the decision to annul the registration of the Macedonian organization.
The court also rejected a request of the Hellenic League for Human Rights from January this year, after which the Macedonians from Serres are preparing for a petition to the Supreme Court in Athens.
This case shows that even after the signing of the treasonous and shameful Prespa Agreement, Greece continues to disrespect the basic human rights of the Macedonians.
In addition, journalist Goran Momiroski who first reported on the story was banned from entering Greece for several years because he posed “threat to Greece’s national security”.
