Athens City Hall erases the names of those killed in Tempi

Since the very morning, the deputy mayor of the Athens municipality, Roxana Bey, has been trying to justify herself for the fact that on the night from Wednesday to Thursday Municipal staff decided to erase all the names of the victims who died in Tempi.

At first the street sweepers were to blame for this, and then the blame was placed on the security of the parliament… Ms. Roxanne Bey, in her statement, claims that she never gave the order to erase the names, stressing that “strongly against” this action and adds that the brigade erased them at the invitation of parliamentary security.

“A cleaning crew from the Municipality of Athens erased the names of the victims of the Tempi tragedy written in Syntagma Square last night by request of parliament security. I categorically declare that I never ordered this and was not informed of this unjustified action, which I categorically oppose. The criticism leveled at me is completely justified. “I apologize to the families and thousands of citizens, including myself, who demonstrated to demand justice for the Tempi victims.” – Roxana Bey, Deputy Mayor for Cleanliness of the Municipality of Athens, said in a statement.

Earlier in the TV show of the ALPHA channel, and before that MEGA, they were indicated as “responsible” road cleaners. On ALPHA she said: “We didn’t know that they went and wiped them down, and the cleaners themselves thought: “Let’s start with this.”

On MEGA she stated the following: “I was informed about this yesterday, and I saw it on social networks. As a rule, cleaning teams clean up places where public events are held after demonstrations. There were no special teams to make this clear. I haven’t spoken to any of the crews.”

Subsequently, the Deputy Mayor for Sanitation stated that “The crew goes there all the time, they didn’t call me to ask, “to wipe or not to wipe.” Workers arrived at the site at 11:30 at night, at the time when this usually happens. I understand the reaction, but I’m explaining standard practice. There was no other specific message.”

In conclusion, the deputy mayor for sanitary issues noted that the teams “always leave after marches, but they didn’t go out on purpose.” However, these excuses are difficult to believe, because the crew of the cleaning vehicles knewthat the names of the victims were written on the asphalt near the monument to the Unknown Soldier. They knewthat in order to take such an action, having erased the names, in a moment of tense atmosphere, they need to get permission “over”, because the cost of such actions will be political.

In general, following protocols in a state that takes into account the interests of its citizens is the norm. But there are always exceptions. When we are dealing with the memory of 57 unfortunate victims, and even young people, some things should be stipulated in separate instructions for city hall employees who work in such special places as the main square of the country.

The Athens municipality knew that the names of the victims were written on the asphalt and knew that, in accordance with cleaning protocols, the crew would rush to clean up in the evening, which they did. Therefore, they could have instructed not to erase the names until further notice, but did not do so. This means that this happened due to blatant indifference.

Ultimately, the problem lies with the entire Greek political system, since it lives like an elite and as such has nothing to do with the problems and especially the pain of the popular strata, who only need it to vote for them.

Σβήνουν τα ονόματα στη βουλή#τεμπη_εγκλημα pic.twitter.com/VjDxPAKIdn

— Λεωνίδας Θερμός (@Qfkjc1anA7THfJa) February 28, 2024

There are hundreds of angry comments under the video.

https://twitter.com/Myway400/status/1762969530521858089

However, some say that Syntagma is not the place for such demonstrations.

https://twitter.com/CGRIP3/status/1762982690041593930

The monument is a sacred grave dedicated to those who fought for our country. This is not a place for demonstrations and slogans. What happened is blasphemy.

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