Marinakis: The law stands above all of us
"Demonstrations are provided for and guaranteed by our Constitution and our Democracy — by the very functioning of our Democracy. There is no person whose heart doesn’t ache when seeing these images, especially of children and civilians, in Palestine or anywhere else in the world,” emphasised government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis, speaking to Real FM on Tuesday, in response to a question about the reactions to the arrival of Israeli tourists at Rhodes.
At the same time, he added, there were limits: "One [observation I want to make here] is that there is a red line — and when someone crosses it, a healthy demonstration turns into a fascist, racist, and aggressive act against a person simply because they happen to have a certain origin, a certain religion, a certain nationality. That cannot be tolerated in a state governed by the rule of law, like Greece. It’s one thing to say ‘freedom for Palestine,’ and quite another to tell someone — simply because they are from Israel, of a certain religion, and Jewish — that ‘you are not welcome in this country.’ People who do the latter are fascists."
"Unfortunately, many of them are also in Parliament, and they represent the other face of fascism — the other extreme of fascism — which we must confront democratically, using all our democratic tools and all our strength. The police acted in accordance with the law and will continue to do so. The day in Syros was an unfortunate one. It was a bad day, which I believe was not the norm. What happened in Rhodes will be the norm. The law must be enforced. The law stands above all of us. We will protect every demonstration, as defined by the Constitution, but we will also protect every citizen who wishes to visit our country — regardless of their nationality or religion. And those who do not understand this will face the consequences of the law, without excesses and without extremes, exactly as the law prescribes," emphasised Marinakis.
"They should accept this — and especially some MPs should understand it — that they represent the Greek people and our democratic system, which has endured for 51 years. It is inconceivable — I am referring to a statement made by an MP from the New Left — to tell citizens of another country that they are not welcome. Such things cannot be tolerated in the Hellenic Republic," he added.