Ex-Greece president criticizes incumbent prime minister for spying on opposition

Mitsotakis government violates the constitution and tries to avoid political responsibility by shifting it to othersbecause of the awkward position associated with the issue of spying on political opponents and journalists, according to former Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos.

The former President of the Hellenic Republic openly criticized the Prime Minister, putting the Mitsotakis government in an even more difficult position.

Speaking at an event in Kommeno, during a ceremony in memory of 317 martyr heroes Kommenovictims of Nazi atrocities on August 16, 1943, the former President of the Republic and Honorary Professor of Law at the National University of Kapodistrias of Athens noted, among other things, the following:

“I have decided to end my speech by reminding us of the enduring value of representative democracy and our elemental obligation to defend it, to all of us, without exception, in practice and without interruption. For the past has taught us that representative democracy and its institutions are “fragile” assets and that constant vigilance is required to ensure their effective protection. It is in this direction that the saying of Heraclitus is of key importance, it is also of key importance today: “The struggle for the people before the law is good.”

In this regard, our primary responsibility is to ensure that the provisions of the Constitution as a whole are strictly observed, especially those guaranteeing the unhindered exercise of fundamental human rights. Therefore, sensing in our country today the dangers that lurk due to the violation of some of the above-mentioned rights, and in particular the violation of the right to confidentiality of communications, in accordance with Article 19 of the Constitution, to the detriment of citizens and even institutional participants in our political and political life, I I feel obliged to note the following: the political responsibility of those who exercise the power entrusted to them by popular vote is, by its very nature and definition, objective. Therefore, the bearers of this power must assume full political responsibility, and it is inconceivable that this responsibility should be in any way transferred to others. Simply put, in order to justify their aforementioned democratic legitimacy, political “leaders” cannot be content with simply administering power in the exercise of their duties, but must act, boldly and consistently, without counting the so-called “political costs”, as uncompromising defenders of representative democracy and its institutions. “.

As we reported earlier, in Greece broke out serious political scandal, who brought to the brink of resignation the New Democracy government led by Kyriakos Mitsotakis. The cause of the scandal was the discovery of an electronic surveillance program by the foreign intelligence service for the member of the European Parliament and the leader of the opposition party PASOK-KINAL Nikos Androulakis, as well as for the journalist Tanakis Koukakis.

The scandal has already led to retired head of the secret service ΕΥΠ Panagiotis Kontoleon and the head of the administration of the Greek Prime Minister Grigoris Dimitriadis.

It is also reported that on On August 22, an emergency meeting of Parliament was scheduledwhich may consider the issue of issuing vote of no confidence in the government of Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

It is reported that the issue caused a wave of indignation in the European Parliament. The head of the group of socialists and democrats of the European Parliament demanded that the case, which exposed Greece at the international level, be discussed at the first plenary session, even inviting journalist Tanasis Koukakis to the hearing.

Νέα πίεση στην κυβέρνηση #Μητσοτακη για τις #υποκλοπες. ? Η επιτροπή του ΕΚ καλεί στις 30/8 σε ακρόαση τον Θαν. #κουκακη. Η Κομισιόν το έχει ήδη καταδικάσει κ ζητά εξηγήσεις. Αδύνατον να κουκουλωθεί! https://t.co/uycuUkuNRS

— Dim. Papadimoulis (@papadimoulis) August 16, 2022

Tothe competent Commission of Inquiry of the European Parliament, which investigates surveillance through Predator, invited journalist Tanasis Koukakis to a hearing on August 30, whose mobile phone was infected with malware.

This was preceded by a similar speech by the Dutch MEP Sophie in’t Weldrepresenting the “Renewal of Europe” (Democrat 66), which set hot questions Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Citizens’ Protection Minister Takis Theodorikakis regarding the scandal of surveillance of political opponents and journalists.

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