The decision of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Giorgos Gerapetritis, to withdraw the work of Georgia Lale “Guilt of the Neighbor” which was exhibited at the Greek Consulate in New York as part of an art exhibition with reference to domestic violence caused the intervention of the Head of Foreign Affairs of the SYRIZA-PS . Renas Douros.

SMrs. Douro specifically stated:

“We learned yesterday of your decision to drop an exhibit on display at our country’s Consulate General in New York.
A report on gender-based violence and femicide.
You ordered the Pink Greek flag to be lowered.
And that’s sad and unacceptable at the same time because it wasn’t a random exhibit.
This is the exhibition of Georgia Lale with the work “Guilt of the Neighborhood”.
And as the organizers of the exhibition explain, this project, the pink Greek flag, was made from sheets donated by women living in our country.
And, as the organizers of the Exhibition note: “These women seemingly have few things in common, but they are all lying on these sheets desperate and scared”.
Mr. Minister of Foreign Affairs, your decision to take down the specific painting, with the specific symbolism, is sad and inappropriate.
It is sad because it sends the tragically wrong message at a time when gender-based violence is on the rise, when femicides are about to become a daily occurrence,
while your government refuses even the most self-evident, the legal establishment of the term “femicide”.
But your decision is also inappropriate and I say it with regret, Mr. Minister, because you especially represent our country abroad. And the message of withdrawing a work of art with a deep humanist message against violence against women tarnishes the country’s image abroad.
Your decision is a decision – a decision for Art and for human rights. It is a decision to align with the extreme right.
It is a decision to obey black.
You obeyed the supposedly holy rage of the representative of one of the manifestations of the black that unfortunately are again inside the Parliament.
We, Minister, remain firmly in favor of the free expression of art, in favor of pink, in favor of women’s voices, against violence, against black people, against the extreme right”.