Foreign reports on the wiretapping issue and government positions continue. It's Spiegel's turn, which states that Kyriakos Mitsotakis governs in an authoritarian manner. As the German newspaper states, "Greece is slipping into autocracy".
"Greece is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Europe, perhaps for this reason several European capitals are willing to turn a blind eye on the dark side of their EU partner.. The dissolution of democracy in Hungary and Poland keeps the European courts and the Commission busy.
"The fact that Greece, under the right-wing conservative Kyriakos Mitsotakis constantly sliding towards authoritarianism it has not particularly bothered Brussels, Berlin and Paris" the article characteristically writes, while the columnist points out that "what Mitsotakis does not want to talk about is the innumerable violations committed by Greek officials during his tenure».
"In the field of immigration policy, specifically, the Greek government has violated European and international legislation. Greek security forces have repatriated thousands of refugees to Turkey over the past two years. They used immigrants as slaves for these illegal repatriations, kidnapped people seeking protection on the Greek islands and abandoned them at sea," comments Pop.
And he also mentions that "Greek officials seem not to be held accountable for their crimes at the border. Instead, what often happens is that the people recording them are under suffocating pressure."
He cites the example of the NGO Josoor, which, he says, stopped operating after the Greek authorities harassed it for months, while workers of such organizations are prosecuted as traffickers. "The journalist of Spiegel, George Christidis, was discredited as an agent of the Turks in the pro-government Greek media", it is noted.
The publication also refers to the recent incident in Evros, pointing out that after the death of a 5-year-old girl, because the Greek authorities refused to provide her with help, the government did not do any self-criticism. "On the contrary, he defamed Christidis, because he allegedly gained illegal access to the victim's parents. It is precisely this inversion of responsibilities that they have become accustomed to from Athens," writes Pop.
Athens may consider itself the "cradle of democracy", however according to the columnist "Mitsotakis is increasingly resorting to authoritarian practices", with him and his partners "to have reduced the lie to the center of their politics».
Regarding relaunches, he writes that "Spiegel and other media have documented the illegal kickbacks in detail and the European anti-corruption agency has confirmed them. And yet, even today, the Greek government claims without shame that it does not carry out re-promotions".
"In this way, the foundations of democratic dialogue are disintegrating. According to Reporters Without Borders, freedom of the press is in last place in the EU, while in a Reuters survey, only 7% of citizens answered that they consider the media in Greece to be free", he adds.
Furthermore, Maximilian Pope emphasizes that "Greece turns into a police state under Mitsotakis. The head of the Hellenic Intelligence Service was recently forced to resign after it was revealed that there had been surveillance of an opposition party leader, as well as a journalist. To what extent Mitsotakis himself is involved in the case is something that has not yet been clarified."
It makes clear how it is up to the Greeks to stop the country's path towards authoritarianism. "Next year, at the latest, there will be an election in the country and the citizens will be able to decide what country they want to live in and what immigration policy their government should follow."
With regard to European Union, the journalist points out that it must be placed. "He has accepted the anti-democratic policies of Mitsotakis for some time and in some cases welcomed them. During a visit to Evros in 2020, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described Greece as the "shield of Europe". And within the member states there is satisfaction with the fact that the Greek border authorities are expelling the refugees, by whatever means.
»When German Foreign Minister Analena Burbock was in Athens recently, she asked her hosts to clarify her position on the accusations of pushbacks. This sounded like a decisive, but also a cheap trick, because the matter has long been settled.
If the E.U. she is serious about her values, should now start infringement proceedings against Greece", ends up.
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