UN Expert to probe Greece on Minorities
UN Independent Expert on Minority Issues Gay McDougall will study the state of Roma and Muslims in Greece, and her program envisages visits to the Greek regions of Thrace and Macedonia, reports electronic edition of Greek newspaper "Ethnos".
The newspaper says that McDougall's unannounced visit to Thrace and Macedonia, especially in the area of city Florina, is probably stimulated by the recent requirements by Skopje authorities for recognition of the Macedonian minority in Greece and return of properties of refugees from Aegean Macedonia.
Before departing for the tour, McDougall met in Athens with the chief secretaries in the ministries of foreign affairs, education, labor and justice, and is to be received Thursday by FM Dora Bakoyiannis.
"It is not excluded that the U.S. expert reveals Macedonian and other minorities in Greece, which can be seen from her readiness", reads "Ethnos".
The Turkish Consulate to Greece also offered its cooperation in the tour.
According to the newspaper, McDougall plans to publish a report on the state of Roma in Greece, whose number is assessed at about 300,000, due to be presented in the UN next March.________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
