Athens, 5 March 2009  

“Greece will present its positions in detail on Tuesday, at the Human Rights Council in Geneva, regarding the Report of the Independent UN Expert on minority issues.  

Our positions are crystal clear and founded on absolute respect for human rights, a principle that applies to minorities and constitutes an accomplishment of the modern Greek Republic. 

In our country, every Greek citizen has the inalienable individual right to self determination, while the State’s active concern with the strengthening and the protection of human rights is continuous and effective. 

This policy is founded on our firm conviction that the mechanisms  for protection and strengthening of human rights should ultimately contribute to the harmonic coexistence of a country’s citizens. 

Therefore these mechanisms should not be transformed, directly or indirectly, into an opportunity or alibi for some that consciously attempt to exploit them for their own purposes on the level of interstate relations. Also, they should not become a tool in the hands of some who, for their own ends, seek the cultivation of division and a climate of tension within a society.”