Mjaft! London Club Protests in front of the Greek Embassy in London

Yesterday, Mjaft!’s Civic Club in London organized a peaceful protest in front of the Greek Embassy in London in response to an offensive video that was publicly broadcasted by the Greek media. This video showed two Albanian juveniles being beat up by the Greek police. The protesters manifested against this type of violence, which Greek institutions regretfully practice, and they expressed their indignation about such acts. During this two-hour protest in front of the Greek Embassy in London (at 1A Holland Park, London, W11 3TP), the following slogans were employed to express the Albanians’ ire: “XENOPHOBIA – A GREEK WORD”, “KAKAMALIS: APOLOGIZE TO ALBANIANS, ENOUGH TO THE VIOLENCE AGAINST ALBANIAN IMMIGRANTS IN GREECE, “POLYDOROS: RESIGN, ENOUGH TO RACISM, SHAME ON YOU”. The protest was organized by Mjaft!’s Civic Club in London in collaboration with the Hope Programme and the Black and White Fans Association. Alban Bytyci, one of the London Club members, explained that, “the protest’s main objective was to express our indignation about Greek xenophobia, which has recently been on the rise.” The participants submitted a signed official letter to the Greek Prime Minister, Karamalis. Through this document Mjaft!’s London Club expressed the indignation that the Albanian immigrant population in Great Britain feels in regards to this shocking video. The letter demanded that the Greek Government take the following reactionary measures:
Offer a sincere public apology to the Albanian people.
Request the resignation of the Minister of Public Order, Vyron Polydoras.
Take immediate punitive measures against the officials involved in this latest incident of abuse.
Ensure that the internal police investigation is properly conducted.
Ensure that such brutal abuses do not go unaddressed by state institutions in the future. As the protestors submitted the letter to embassy personnel, they were assured by these personnel that it would be sent to the Greek Prime Minister and that they would receive a response from the Greek Government in regards to their concerns. Alketa Ceci, a Mjaft! activist stated that, “This incident is only the tip of the iceberg and it mirrors the many scandalous cases of the brutal treatment of immigrants in Greece. It is shameful that it took the Greeks a year to discover this scandal. However, we are confident that this is not the only case so we will continue to place pressure upon the government”. Ralf Gjoni, the Director of Mjaft! London Club, stated: “In Greece, an EU member state, the Albanian flag is publicly burned. Young Albanian citizens are constantly maltreated at border crossings even when their paperwork is totally in order, and now the police force brutally abuses young Albanians on their premises. It is our mission to ensure that such incidents do not go overlooked and that, in the case of repeat offenses, they receive their duly deserved attention from Human Rights organizations, European Institutions, Diplomatic Corps and relevant government officials. The discrimination must end! It is rather curious, given our proximity as peoples, cultures and traditions, that we should be observing such events, when in fact the spirit of cooperation and solidarity ought to prevail.”MJAFT!’s London Club will continue to follow this case by sending an open letter to all the embassies of the EU countries in London to inform them about the situation. Mjaft! Movement in Tirana is also undertaking some actions in order to raise public awareness about this incident both in Albania and Europe.