The Ministry of National Defense in conjunction with the parliamentary committee on German reparations and the national council for the claims held an event on Monday evening. Defense Minister Panos Kammenos underlined that “the Greek people do not deserve a country that bows down, Greece remains standing up”, while the President of Parliament Zoi Konstantopoulou stressed that “assertion and resistance are required to remain free”.
During his speech Mr. Kammenos argued that Greece “will not give in to any blackmail” and stressed that the country has never betrayed any f its allies. He added that Greece continues to work on developing closer ties with its neighbors, in order to increase security and creativity in Europe.
Regarding the German reparations, Mr. Kammenos referred to Argyris Sfountouris, a survivor of the massacre carried in Distomo, national resistance fighters and Army Sergeant Antonis Deligiorgis, who recently helped save migrants off the coast of Rhodes: “They are Greece, these are her people”.
In her address, Mrs. Konstantopoulou spoke of Parliament’s decision to work towards restoring victims and damaged, claiming the payment for the forced loan imposed by the German occupation forces and returning stole archeological artifacts. She drew parallels between the final radio broadcast, before the Nazi forces entered Athens, with the final broadcast before the riot police took ERT off the air in 2013. “Freedom is a difficult case, but a good one”.
The Alternate Minister of National Defense Kostas Isichos stressed that Greece’s claims are not against the German people, nor are they an attempt to offset the country’s public debt. He explained that when the translation of new evidence is complete and publicized, then researchers and historians will be able to come to their conclusions.
Finally, the Alternate Minister of European Affairs Nikos Hountis called Germany to change is stance. Mr. Hountis noted that the European Union was based on the principles of democracy and equality, which must be safeguarded in order to avoid any future conflict on the Old Continent.
