Oikonomou: Surreal… media that criticize the government say there is no freedom of the press in Greece

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Reporters Without Borders’ report that prompted the government spokesman’s comment

For an unprecedented and coordinated attack against the government, by media outlets that are quick to adopt the criticism that in Hellas there is no freedom of the press, spoke the government spokesman Giannis Oikonomou.

Mr. Economou was referring to a report by Reporters Without Borders, which shows Greece to be lower on the list than Chad, a country where there is a dictatorship.

In more detail, the statements of Mr. Housekeeper:

“Recently we have been experiencing an unprecedented and coordinated attack against the Government and through this attack against the Motherland with the vehicle of the infamous report on the level of freedom of the press in Greece. It is indeed remarkable, even surreal, that these views – that there is no freedom of the press – are invoked with greater fervor here in Greece, by those media that are the harshest critics of the Government. Those Media that criticize the Government the hardest – as they have every right to do in a Democracy – are the ones that rush to adopt the criticism that there is no freedom of the press in Greece. In the big picture if you look at it this is surreal.

This smear campaign has all the characteristics of a well-organized disinformation campaign, with lies, with claims that do not correspond to reality, with the absence of even rudimentary research with the distortion and manipulation of facts. Some even with sick imagination went so far as to claim that Greece falls short in press freedom even in relation to Dictatorships.

I will be more specific. First of all the infamous report on the freedom of the press in Greece, a report by RSF (Reporters Without Borders) that the Opposition parties are happy to circulate in Greece, even the President of the Official Opposition, Mr. Tsipras, has it invoked by many others.

Beyond our country, this report says that Trinidad is above France. Burkina Faso, with shootings in the streets, RSF says, and displacements are above the US. The Dominican Republic above Spain and Australia. Namibia and East Timor say RSFs are above Canada, Belgium and the UK. Papua New Guinea over Japan.

And of course this report that you refer to among others calls the occupied territories of Cyprus, the Republic of Northern Cyprus, places Greece in freedom of the press below Chad, that Chad is above Greece. Chad in which there is a military dictatorship and in which incidentally according to the Reuters agency on 21/10/2022 dozens of people were killed and hundreds injured in the violence that broke out in the country, as hundreds took to the streets demanding a faster transition to democratic power. This is the country that, according to RSF, has more freedom of the press than Greece.

From the official data of the Greek Police and the Ministry of Citizen Protection, it appears that during the period from 01/01/2019 until today, in the last 3 years, there have been 14 complaints about abusive behavior, unacceptable behavior, which are checked, some have resulted in disciplinary proceedings, others are ongoing. 14 cases we all agree shouldn’t have happened.

From 2019 until today, 15329 marches-gatherings-demonstrations-meetings have taken place throughout the country. To have a sense 14 complaints about 15329 marches and gatherings! This is the country that represses and prevents journalists from doing their job…”.

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