“The despair of opposition parties is no excuse that, in order to save themselves politically, they systematically slander Greece,” the government spokesman notes Paul Marinakis In a post with which he comments on his announcement SYRIZA for the report of the NGO “Reporter Without Borders” about the freedom of the press in Greece.
In detail, the government spokesman states:
“The reason I make this post is not about answering a party that collapses with increasingly intensity poll, but because I feel my debt to repel yet another attempt to spread false news against the country.
SYRIZA today chose to issue a statement on Greece’s ranking about the freedom of the press from “reporters without borders”, that is, a non -governmental organization.
First I have to clarify that this report finds untrue since:
– It is misleading that “the government spokesman oversees public media”, while ERT and RES-EIA are not politically supervised or operational. Institutionally supervised by the General Secretariat for Communication & Information, which is staffed by permanent civil servants and is strictly limited to administrative and procedural matters. ERT and RES-EIA administrations are defined by the new system of selecting administrations with a transparent procedure carried out through ASEP, which was not the case until recently and was legislated in the days of our own government. And yet, this is silenced in that report.
– Perhaps the most blatant inaccuracy is the report of the report that “amending a law of 2023 has increased (!) The risk of imprisoning journalists for defamation”. The reality is that the Mitsotakis government abolished the offense of simple defamation, significantly enhancing the legal protection of journalists in the exercise of their duties, as they can now be prosecuted for slander, an offense that is much more difficult to abolish.
– It is mentioned “frequent use of violence and prohibitions by the police”, but it is also silenced that a few days ago the annual report of the “platform for promoting the protection of journalism and safety of journalists” by the Council of Europe. The report was compiled by the 15 international organizations and associations of the Council of Journalists’ platform for the safety of journalists (including reporters without borders!). This year’s report notes that for 2024 the downward trend of Greece alerts continued, with just 3 “alerts” for threats of journalists, which have been answered by our state authorities, when in 2023 there was a significant decline of “warnings”-alerts of over 80% from 20%.
– It is easily referenced to “attacks on journalists in the sports field”, but the report “forgets” that thanks to this government, an aggravating occasion has been established for crimes and threats of violence against journalists in the sports field.
– Finally, it is written that “the Task Force has a limited scope”, something completely inaccurate. The Task Force for the safety of journalists is a comprehensive institution with a political consultation mechanism, the participation of professional associations, police, judicial officers and journalists. It is not an ad hoc group, but a stable institutional form with regular meetings and institutional results, recognized by the OSE and the Council of Europe.
The only truth about the freedom of the press in all EU states is imprinted annually in the European Commission’s annual report on the rule of law, which includes a specific unit for SMEs and the freedom of the press. Especially in the latest report on the Rule of Law of 2024, Greece’s evaluation is extremely positive, as it recognizes our country’s response to each of the recommendations made by the Commission to its previous reports. Specifically for SMEs, progress steps are highlighted, which relate to the strengthening of their administrative and legislative framework, the strengthening of transparency around their ownership status by the operation of print and electronic registries, to ensure transparency in the distribution of all state and state aid and state aid and state aid and state It is also worth mentioning the collective contract for journalists working in the wider public sector who is welcomed by all journalists’ associations.
Even the despair of opposition parties is not an excuse that, in order to save themselves politically, Greece systematically slander. “
SYRIZA’s announcement
Earlier, the SYRIZA Press Office in a statement said:
“The decline from 88th to 89th in the global freedom of the press, this year for Greece, in the report drawn up by the International Organization” Journalists Without Borders “is a stigma for freedom of print in our country. Specifically, according to the table, Greece is in the last position of the European Union. In addition, it is below Albania (80th), Botswana (81st) and Zambia (82nd).
This report highlights that the strengthening of regime characteristics is a strategic choice for the ND government. After all, Mr Mitsotakis’ first move in 2019 was to take on the responsibility of the EYP, which, as it was revealed, was systematically watching journalists. He did exactly the same with ERT and the Athens Macedonian News Agency.
In the same context of the influence and control exercise, the various media funding lists are apparently included, through which the government is supplying public money channels and big issuers.
The country’s slide at the level of freedom of the press bears the signature of the ND government. And it is the duty of all democratic and progressive forces to work together to end this downhill. “
See the post of government spokesman
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