[Muanet] Greek academic refused entry to USA

[Dion Giles]

This post from Greek academic John Miljos to a colleague came to me 
by a circuitous route.  Miljos was en route to a conference at Stony 
Brook University in New York when he was stopped at JFK airport, 
questioned about his political beliefs by FBI officers, and put on a 
plane back to Athens.  The links shown below are in Greek.

Dion Giles

Dear Jerry, dear all,

This is to inform you that I was refused entry to the United States 
at JFK Airport on Thursday June 8 on political grounds!

I arrived to the US to participate in the How Class Works conference, 
at Stony Brook University (Conference coordinator: Michael Zweig). 
After being detained for a number of hours at the airport, I was then 
questioned by the FBI and ultimately sent back to Athens by the 
border police. They claimed that I was denied entry because of a visa 
irregularity despite the fact that I had travelled to the United 
States on exactly this visa several times in the past and had just 
checked with the U.S. Embassy in Athens before coming to confirm that 
the visa was valid even though it was in the final six months of its 
ten-year duration.

The interrogation by the FBI focused on my political beliefs and 
affiliations, which I finds totally repellent, an extravagant theatre 
of the absurd, and a clear clue of the extremist right-wing policy of 
the present-day US administration.

This refusal of entry was yesterday's front page news in nearly all 
newspapers in Athens and elsewhere in Greece, the conservatives 
included, and was also extensively discussed in today's papers. Most 
of the radio stations in Athens reported it for several hours on 
Friday afternoon as first piece of news. I have been giving dozens of 
interviews to radio stations and newspapers on Friday. I also gave a 
press conference soon after my arrival, parts of which were 
broadcasted by several TV stations. Below are the relevant links of 
two of the country's biggest newspapers. (One should understand Greek 
to be able to read them. However, we will probably translate some 
excerpts soon).

All Greek opposition political parties (i.e. The Socialist Party 
[PASOK], the Communist Party [KKE] and the Coalition of the Radical 
Left [SYRIZA]) drafted resolutions condemning the United States for 
this action; one party (SYRIZA, of which I am a member) has already 
presented such a resolution to the European Parliament. The 
Confederation of Greek University Teachers, the union representing 
academics in Greece, is joining in the protests. Human rights 
organizations have also taken stance.

Professor Michael Zweig, the How Class Works conference coordinator, 
has already applied to the leaders of Stony Brook University and 
United University Professions to alert them to the situation, in 
seeking some possible actions or measures.

Would it be worthwhile to think of some more alternatives?

Hasta siempre,

John

http://www.enet.gr/online/online_text/c=112id=7731524

http://www.enet.gr/online/online_text/c=110,dt=10.06.2006,id=4338164

http://www.ethnos.gr/article.asp?catid=5348&subid=2&pubid=48303