What did he say about the attack against Makis Voridis?
“Regarding the recent amendment on the Monument to the Unknown Soldier, everything that has been voted is valid and what it says word for word, moreover, it has been published in the Government Gazette, so it is valid. The operational plan of ELAS will unfold in the coming days and the law will be implemented. Any gathering that goes beyond the purpose for which the monument exists will not be tolerated”, emphasized the Deputy Minister to the Prime Minister and government representative. Pavlos Marinakis answering questions in briefing political editors.
In a subsequent related question, Mr. Marinakis clarified that “from the moment of the vote, gatherings will not be allowed, from now on these gatherings will take place where they are allowed. The government has announced that there will be no exceptions.” In response to a question about the statement of the mayor of Athens, Haris Doukas, that the monuments are once there to symbolize disobedience, the government representative described Mr. Doukas’ statement as unfortunate and emphasized that “monuments are there to honor the nation’s heroes.”
With reference to the dispute between the mayor of Athens and the Minister of Defense regarding the responsibilities of taking care of the Monument, the government representative characteristically noted that Mr. Doukas “was saying different things one day, and different things the next, one day he said A and the other O” and pointed out that for the government “the matter is considered finished, the amendment was voted by all ND MPs”. Regarding tomorrow’s parades, Pavlos Marinakis clarified that “the government does not consider the relatives of the victims of a tragedy as opponents, we do not weigh the dead.”
In response to a question about the attack on the former minister, Makis Voridis, and his family in a restaurant in Heraklion, Crete, and the political reactions, the government representative noted that “PASOK’s statement of condemnation was also made half-heartedly.” Mr. Marinakis asked characteristically “think about what these people have in them to attack families, these people’s places are in a cell, as ordered by Justice. For this particular issue we will have arrests very soon, these people are criminals, we have to find them one by one. We live in the country, where a certain political space is the space of absolute hypocrisy and endless vulgarity, which weighs dead and civilians and which chooses which rallies to hold. The positive thing is that more and more citizens understand them now”.
When asked whether incidents, such as the attack on Mr. Voridis and his family, concern the government, the government representative noted that “it is not news that a very large part of the political system wants us to revive a climate of division in times with the upper and lower square. Some parties, moreover, co-governed with the upper and lower square, burdened the country with 100 billion euros. The escalation started on the occasion of the Tempe tragedy, there was a party, and I am referring to PASOK, whose leader called the prime minister the high priest of the cover-up and was looking for lost wagons and another party, I am referring to SYRIZA, whose leader went to associate the death of a man with the prime minister. When you sow hate you will reap such actions. The current climate has nothing to do with 2010, 2012 or 2015, the law is above all, law enforcement is the quintessence of Democracy.”
In response to a question as to whether there is a question of removing the deputy minister in addition to the Prime Minister, Giorgos Mylonakis, for the OPEKEPE case, the government representative categorically denied that there is such a matter and reiterated that the Parliament decided that no aggravating criminal evidence had arisen for the two former ministers, Makis Voridis and Lefteris Avgenakis. In another related question, Pavlos Marinakis remarked that “we are the government, which has impeached two of its ministers for the tragedy of Tempi, so the logic that there is a cover-up regarding Mitsotakis is not valid”. Regarding the statements of the head of the New Left, Alexis Haritsis regarding his absence from the funeral of Dionysis Savvopoulos, Pavlos Marinakis replied that “Mr. Haritsis co-governed with the extreme right, let the citizens judge that. Let’s leave Dionysis Savvopoulos out of the political debate.”
Regarding the invocation of Article 120 of the Constitution by the former President of the Republic, Prokopis Pavlopoulos, Pavlos Marinakis said that “Mr. Pavlopoulos is among the professors who are absolutely universally accepted. As PtD, he lived through difficult days for the Rule of Law, when two ministers of the then government were convicted by the Special Court, when, according to the confession of a former Minister of Justice, para-ministries of Justice were operating, as well as when Parliament was kept open to vote one after another for changes to the Criminal Code. We don’t need to be complacent, our Republic is solid, but it needs a battle every day.”