“The instrumentalization of the EYP in the pre-election period is unacceptable” said Alexis Tsipras leaving the Maximos Palace, where he had a meeting with Prime Minister Ioannis Sharma.

The president of SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance crossed the threshold of the Maximos Palace at 9:30 a.m. to meet with Prime Minister Ioannis Sharma and to express his displeasure with what the president of New Democracy, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, said about the crusade in Rhodope.

The statement of Alexis Tsipras in detail

“I came to express to him my strong concern about the way Mr. Mitsotakis has decided to exploit the sensitive issue of the Muslim minority in Thrace in the pre-election arena. For this reason, a major institutional as well as national issue is raised.

I expressed my concern about the targeting and extortion of the Greek Muslim minority of Thrace, a tactic that divides the local community, polarizes and can lead to significant national risks.

It is a practice that has already made Ankara rub its hands. I expressed my concern and concern about the way the EYP is being diluted with targeted fragmentary information that is leaked to media friendly to the ND in order to create impressions. The caretaker prime minister is responsible for the EYP. An EYP that in the previous 4 years was transformed into an agency exclusively to serve the interests of the power of Mr. Mitsotakis’ close by illegal monitoring of his political opponents, with illegal monitoring of ministers, and even the leadership of the armed forces. And now Mr. Mitsotakis does not hesitate to use this EYP as a tool in the pre-election campaign. It is unacceptable, vile, nationally damaging.

I also expressed my concern regarding the tactics of crude blackmail and targeting. The Muslim minority in Thrace and especially the Turkish influence on the Muslim minority cannot be dealt with either by targeting or by division.

It can only be tackled through the shielding and strengthening of equality and equality in Thrace, through the decisions we jointly made in the special inter-party committee established in 2020.

But in closing, I want to address and talk about an issue that goes beyond the issue of Thrace. An issue that concerns every social citizen, every Greek citizen. The statements of Mrs. Bakoyannis in front of the Muslim minority, i.e. this raw blackmail, that if you don’t vote for us you will have a hard time in the next 4 years, does not exclusively concern the Muslim minority. He was deliberately put in front of the cameras to get this message across and go to every home, every social group. It’s a dress rehearsal for what’s to come. Any social group, any citizen who is opposed, who has thoughts contrary to those of absolute and unchecked party and family power in the far future, will be targeted.

I want to state that both I personally and SYRIZA-PS against this chilling message which is a message to the detriment of Democracy, we will stand against it. We will be guarantors of the rule of law and Democracy, we will stand up, standing up so that fear does not spread to every social group, every home, every citizen. Greece has a strong Democracy, it will remain a strong Democracy”.