Sotiris Bletsas

Sotiris Bletsas
Born1956 (age 69–70)
Grammatiko [el], Greece
EducationUniversità Iuav di Venezia
Polytechnic University of Milan
OccupationsArchitect, minority rights activist, politician
Known forBeing convincted and then acquitted over minority languages activism in Greece

Sotiris Bletsas (born 1956; Aromanian: Sutir Bletsa; Greek: Σωτήρης Μπλέτσας) is an architect, Aromanian language activist and politician from Greece. In 2001, he received a jail sentence for distributing material about minority languages in Greece, subsequently appealing the decision successfully and being acquitted.

Biography

Bletsas was born in 1956 in Grammatiko [el], in the Karditsa regional unit, with origins from Gardiki, in the Trikala regional unit. He lived in Grammatiko until he finished primary school, then completed his secondary education in Sofades and at the boys’ secondary school in Trikala (Trikolj). Bletsas studied architecture at the Università Iuav di Venezia, graduating in 1981 and specializing in reinforced concrete the following year at the Polytechnic University of Milan. Ever since, he worked in architecture, having attended various seminars on architecture and business administration.

In 1995, at an Aromanian festival in Greece, he distributed some European Bureau for Lesser-Used Languages (EBLUL) material about minority languages in Greece. In 2001, on an initiative of the MP for Edessa Evgenios Haïtidis, he was charged with "dissemination of false information" (contrary to article 191 of the Greek Penal Code) who reportedly was supported by the leadership of the Panhellenic Federation of Cultural Associations of Vlachs. The case drew protest from the Greek Helsinki Monitor and from abroad.

He was first found guilty and sentenced to fifteen months in jail, suspended for three years, and fined 500,000 drachmas; however, he successfully appealed the decision and was subsequently found not guilty on 18 October 2001. Amnesty International's British branch had referred to Bletsas' conviction as "clearly in breach of Greece's obligations under the European Convention of Human Rights to uphold freedom of expression", stating that it could be seen as promoting intolerance.

Bletsas has held the position of director in the Greek branch of the EBLUL, established in January 2002, being among the several Aromanians to have done so. Bletsas asserts that the Aromanian language should be officially recognized in Greece and that the country's minority languages would generate more cultural richness if they received an official recognition status, as "this is what the practices of developed Western countries show us".

Bletsas ran as a candidate in Trikala for the Movement of Democratic Socialists (KIDISO) during the 2015 Greek parliamentary election. He was a candidate for municipal councilor of Trikala in the list of the local politician Konstantinos Kremmydas in the 2019 Greek local elections. Bletsas was the sixth candidate in PASOK – Movement for Change (PASOK-KINAL)'s list for Trikala in the 2019 Greek parliamentary election.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Bana Armâneascâ, Nr. 1/2 (43/44), 2006 (in Aromanian). p. 26.
  2. ↑ Karapostolis, Konstantinos (14 May 2019). "Σωτήρης Μπλέτσας: Μια ...αρχιτεκτονική υποψηφιότητα στον συνδυασμό "Μαζί για τα Τρίκαλα"". Trikala Day (in Greek).
  3. 1 2 A protest of the Trâ Armânami Association of French Aromanians outlining the details of Bletsas' arrest and conviction (in French) Archived 2012-02-04 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ↑ "Dr. G. Nakratzas - Political advicer of EFA - 11.2". Archived from the original on 8 February 2012. Retrieved 13 September 2007.
  5. ↑ The BALKAN Human Rights Web Pages Archived 2007-01-18 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ↑ E-1325/01
  7. ↑ "Minority Language Activist Bletsas Found Not Guilty in Historic Court Decision", "2001 Minority Language Activist Bletsas Found Not Guilty". Archived from the original on 30 November 2007. Retrieved 17 January 2007.
  8. ↑ "GREECE: Freedom of expression must be upheld". Amnesty International UK. 23 February 2001.
  9. ↑ "Community News". The Newsletter of the Society Farsharotu. 16 (1–2). 25 April 2003.
  10. ↑ Kontos, Christos (23 January 2018). "ΣΩΤΗΡΗΣ ΜΠΛΕΤΣΑΣ: Τα Βλάχικα να αναγνωριστούν επίσημα ως γλώσσα". Energos Politis (in Greek).
  11. ↑ "Ο Σωτήρης Μπλέτσας ο 6ος του ΚΙΝ.ΑΛ. στα Τρίκαλα". Trikalavoice (in Greek). 13 June 2019.