Police recordings of Greek and foreign journalists for the Skouries gold mine case in Greece directed to criminalize activists
The Greek
para-state of 60s is here, now.
Transcripts
of telephone interviews and conversations with Greek and foreign
reporters have been included the case file relating to the
investigation of anti-mining activists in northern Greece suspected
of founding a "criminal organisation".
It
is worth noting that telephone transcripts were conducted in 2012 ,
long before the armed attack on the factory of the company Hellenic
Gold in Skouries-Halkidiki. The use of published interviews and
contacts with journalists as evidence for criminal activities, has no
precedent in country's history.
The
Association of Daily Newspapers Editors of Athens announced that
"Dolorous impression has caused in
journalism the fact that the case file is "enriched" with
transcripts of telephone conversations - spying products - of Greek
and foreign media journalists for the establishment of a supposed
criminal organization in Skouries-Halkidiki", stating that
"there is no precedent in the history of the country."
The
Association also announced that "The journalistic reportage,
conversations of journalists and their publications should not be
considered data for “criminal activities”" and asked from
the Ministries of Public Order and Justice and the involved judges
and prosecutors to "immediately give explanations."
The
authorities accuse the Hellenic Mining Watch founder Tolis
Papageorgiou that, fraudulently gave false information and
propagandistic material, in order to influence the opinion of people
to react positively to the anti-gold residents of the area and
against the Hellenic Gold company. Some conversations of Tolis
Papageorgiou with a journalist of Reuters included in telephone
transcripts. The police indirectly accuse Greek, but even the
international press that, even unwittingly, is involved in a type of
propaganda against the Hellenic Gold company.
But
what is particularly interesting is the fact that the authorities
show a special sensitivity for the Hellenic Gold company, essentially
prohibiting any reaction against it. The invention of "propaganda"
essentially makes unreliable any disagreement with the company and
its investment plan and makes unreliable anyone who claims that an
environmental crime is taking place in the specific area. The
authorities seem to criminalize dialogue, while blaming a single man,
and possibly some others, that he affects public opinion through the
media, which he used to his advantage.
And
all these, while the company itself admits - rather proudly - that is
funding the security forces in the region. It's true. The Hellenic
Gold company, through its magazine "Mining News", admits
that in the context of "corporate social responsibility"
not only subsidizes infrastructure and schools or health centers, but
also security forces. Hellenic Gold says in the magazine that "a
key part of reciprocity ends in public services and security forces
with financial and material-technical support at every level."
This means that the Hellenic Gold offers its services to the Greek
police among other things, in the name of the so-called "corporate
social responsibility". This act is not obviously illegal, but
it is an indication of the company's relations with the state which
provides protection. The same state that sold the land and the mines
to the company at ridiculous price.
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