“For political forces to comment on judicial decisions based on their partisan interests puts us on a dangerous trap. Institutions are not a game.”
This was stressed, among others, by Serres MP and Secretary of International Relations and the European Union of the New Democracy, Tassos Hadjivassiliou, speaking to SKAI on Tuesday morning, referring to the decision of Supreme Court not to withdraw from the archive the case of bugging.
Hatzivassiliou stressed that it is the right of every party to do as it wishes, but noted that treating judicial decisionsdepending on whether or not they serve the party narrative is dangerous logic. He said there is a selective attitude by the opposition towards justice, based on the political interest of each. In this context, he criticised PASOK and Syriazas, noting that their public statements called for a change in the decision. “They question the autonomy of Justice. Is this really serious? These people want to run the country tomorrow morning? Isn’t the institutions a game,” the former deputy foreign minister said emphatically.
At the same time, when asked about former Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, he said that when he talks about functionalization of Justice, he reminds everyone of what had happened under Syriza, such as the Novartis plot and the special courts.
As he said, the Prosecutor of the Supreme Court evaluated a decision of a Plenary Court and ruled on it, stressing that it is problematic for political forces to characterize the court decision based on their party narrative.
In this context, He pointed out that the prosecutor Constantine Tzavellas was not appointed by the government, but was elected first in votes by the Plenary of the Supreme Court. “Mr Tzavellas was essentially the proposal of the Judiciary itself to the Council of Ministers,” he said.
About the European Public Prosecutor
Hatzivassiliou also referred to the case of the OPEKEPE and the European Public Prosecutor, noting that it was the government that from the very first moment supported in practice the institution of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office and continues to do so. He stressed that the 13 New Democracy MPs under scrutiny have asked for their immunity to be lifted, without asterisks, adding that this is the greatest proof that government MPs respect the institutions and above all trust the Greek judiciary.
Greece builds partnerships, not anti-Turkish fronts
As for Greece-France relations and Angara’s rhetoric following Emanuel Macron’s visit to Athens, Mr. Hatzivassiliou stressed that Greece is not building fronts with the prefix “against” but partnerships based on regional stability and mutual service of national interests.
As she noted, Turkey is reproducing the narrative of its encirclement because it is popular in Turkish public opinion, while Greece, through its cooperation with countries such as France, Cyprus, Israel and Gulf states, is investing in stability and not in anti-Turkish alliances….
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