2003 Open Letter by Dr. Nakratzas on the Macedonian Political Refugees

Dr. George Nakratzas
Open Letter to the Greek Prime Minister

May 3, 2003

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Open Letter

To the Right Honourable
Konstantinos Simitis
Prime Minister of Greece

From: Dr. Georgios Nakratzas
Physician and Writer
Holland

Rotterdam, 3 May 2003

Dear Sir,

Two years ago I visited Turkey as a member of an international delegation, in support of Turkish writers suffering persecution.

During the course of this visit I made a pilgrimage to the home of my father, the village he was forced to abandon when he fled as a refugee in 1922. This tragedy was a consequence of the forced exchange of populations, proposed and implemented by the government of Eleftherios Venizelos - not by the Turks, as Greek propaganda claims.

Despite all we hear in Greece about Turkish barbarity, no one forbade me to enter Turkey, nor to visit the land of my forefathers.

Recently we have seen the free movement of refugees on the island of Cyprus, once again as a result of a Turkish initiative.

During a recent visit to the capital of the Republic of Macedonia, I was witness to the keen emotions felt by the children of the Civil War of 1946-1949, the children who were driven from Greece during the hostilities and are now middle-aged men like ourselves.

These people are denied the right to return to their homeland, to return to the homes and fields of their forebears; some of them are even denied the right to make a simple visit to Greece.

Sir, do you believe that the conduct of our country, a country currently President of the European Union, is the humane conduct befitting a modern European state?

I am writing to convey to you the cry of despair and protest of Rainbow, the party of our country's ethnic Macedonians. This letter will be copied - in English - to the European Commission, the members of the European Parliament, and the whole global community.

Yours faithfully,

Dr Georgios Nakratzas

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