Rainbow (political party)

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This page refers to the Greek political party. For the sexual activity see Rainbow party (sexuality).

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Party logo

The Rainbow (Greek:Ουράνιο Τόξο, Ouránio Tóxo Slavic: Виножито, Vinožito) is a political party in Greece.

It is known for its activism amongst the Slavic-speaking minority (which the party regards as an ethnic Macedonian minority) and its support to Macedonian Slavs living in Greece. The Rainbow states that it is not a separatist party and sees the acceptance of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia in the European Union with positive regard.

In the past, it had an alliance with the Organization for the Reconstruction of the Communist Party of Greece (OAKKE). The two in 1996 formed a coalition in the Parliamentary elections.

The party has come under sustained criticism for suggesting that there is a Macedonian Slav minority in Greece. They have been prosecuted, their offices burnt and effects stolen.^[1] They have come under sustained attack from much of the Greek national press.^[2]

The European Court of Human Rights found the Government of Greece guilty of violating the European Convention on Human Rights in their approach to the party and ordered the government to pay compensation to a sum of 35,000 Euros.^[3]

1 Electoral results
2 Political agenda
3 See also
4 Notes
5 External links

[edit] Electoral results

It participated in the 1999 elections for the European Parliament, obtaining 4,951 votes (0.08% of the total Greek vote), and the 2004 elections, obtaining 6,176 votes out of 6,283,637 total votes cast (0.1%). Their best return was in the Florina prefecture, where they managed to tally 1,200 votes. The Rainbow Party is a member of the European Free Alliance. They decided not to take part in the 2004 parliamentary elections, citing shortage of funds as the reason.

Out of the 6,176 votes Rainbow Party received, less than half (2,955) were cast in the region of Macedonia itself. Because parties stand for election across the entire length and breadth of the country, the pro-ethnic Macedonian Rainbow Party polled better in such distant regions as Crete and the Peloponnese than it did in many Macedonian prefectures. Political analysts have yet to explain why a party championing the "Macedonian" cause would attract more voters outside Macedonia, in areas with no Slavonic-speakers, than in its intended target region. Some observers have pointed to the party's attractive name and logo as a possible reason for its unexpected success outside Macedonia.[1]. The final result almost certainly included ethnic voters.

Petros Dimtsis is a Rainbow Party member who has been elected to the office of prefecture counselor in the Florina prefecture, under the flag of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK), in the 2002 Greek Prefectural Elections. So far, he is the only member of the party to have been elected to any office.

[edit] Political agenda

An issue very important to the Party's agenda is the reestablishment of the former ELAS refugees living in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia back to Greece. During the Greek Civil War (1944-1949), many Macedonian fighters of the communist ELAS (Greek National Liberation Army) took refuge in parts of the former Yugoslavia (particularly the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia), under the protection of the Yugoslav leader Josip Broz Tito. At the end of the war, those political refugees who only considered themselves "Greek" were allowed to return to their homeland and reclaim their properties. However, the same thing did not happen to those who originated from Greece and defined themselves as "ethnic Macedonians", who have been refused to reestablish in the country since then.

The Rainbow Party is also interested in achieving political recognition of what they regard as an ethnic Macedonian minority in Greece, and preserving its culture, language, and customs.