Mr. Speaker, Ladies and Gentlemen MPs,
Allow me to start by welcoming to the Hellenic Parliament my colleague the Foreign Minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mr. Lagumdzija, with whom I will be having a meeting and talks today on issues concerning the relations between the two countries. So I welcome him to the temple of Greek Democracy and, allow me to say, of global Democracy, because it was from this city that this beautiful world adventure started and that led, today, to the peoples of Europe living in true democracy, based on the principles and values born in this land. I welcome you again.
My Dear Colleagues,
I followed with particular attention the positions taken by the colleagues and the President of Syriza, Mr. Tsipras, and I would like you to allow me to start by saying that I am truly pleased, because a serious, responsible national dialogue is being articulated in this Chamber. I want to thank Mr. Glezos, because in the communication we had, when the date for this debate had already been set, he responded to my request to put it back a few days so I, too, could be present. And this is because it really is a very important debate that gives us the opportunity, first of all as the government, to brief the MPs and to hear the parties’ views on an issue that, despite the decades that have gone by, continues to be open.
About a year ago, in March 2012, a joint session of the Parliamentary Standing Committees on Finance and Foreign Affairs was held for the first time, so that there could be an in-depth discussion of reparations issues. That debate concerned us a great deal.
Summarizing its conclusions, I would like to set out three main points. First of all, the lack of a clear picture and available data. Second, the lack of political will, and third, a common point of reference, I would say, of all the parties, which led logically in the direction of consensus, towards which, as it appears from the development of the debate so far, we are also heading today. I fully understand the questions you are raising, particularly as regards the upholding of justice and truth with regard to the trials suffered by the Greek people in the difficult years of the occupation. A difficult era, during which the Greek people suffered, went hungry, and were plundered as no other country was during World War II.
This is well known, not only to us – who as a country and people underwent the suffering of the war, economic degradation, hunger, acts of violence, the theft and destruction of our cultural wealth, the arson and violence of the conquerors – but also to Europe and the whole world. These eras cannot be compared, of course, but nor are the memories erased. Since then, great strides and changes have been made. Europe was united, the enemies of that era are working together and coexisting within a united Europe. Peace has been consolidated in Europe – with difficulties, it is true, culminating in the general economic crisis. But Europe is on the course of the common destiny of all the European peoples.
But in that tragic period – while major chapters have closed – the matter of reparations was not resolved in a mutually acceptable manner, and this is pointed up by the fact that no government, to this day, has waived these claims. That is why we are pursuing what is rightfully ours in the proper and legal manner, and no one should doubt that we are taking all the necessary actions to this end. And the Greek state has always held the position that the pending matter of the war reparations exists, and that is why we maintain the right and the potential to handle this issue so that it has the best possible outcome for our country.
Moreover, there is no doubt that the matter of German reparations is intricate and presents particular complexities in the framework of international law. But there is also its other very important dimension – the moral and historical dimension – and this touches the hearts of all Greeks, just as it is true that this matter should have been settled sooner. But you will agree with me that sometimes history doesn’t judge by time, but by actions. But in no case should the reopening of the issue be seen as a hostile act towards a people with whom we share a common course within the European family.
The citizens of Germany themselves have condemned the atrocities of the Nazi regime, and today, together with all the European peoples, they are living in the era of Democracy. And it is certain that they understand the position of the Greeks, which in no way identifies today’s democratic Germany with the Nazi regime. The opposite is the case: together with Germany and all of the democratic countries of Europe, we are dynamically present at the side of peoples who are struggling for Democracy, human rights, and rule of law.
There are those who attempted to link our country’s necessary fiscal adaptation, as well as the major reforms we are pushing through, with the reparations issue. This is wrong, and it is wrong because a matter that has been pending for 60 years has no place in the timeframe of the fiscal crisis. In fact, its settlement will erase the last dark area left to us by history, heralding a new chapter in our relations.
The Finance Ministry, on the instructions of Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, proceeded to gather, record and analyze the available archival material. I remind you that the matter of German reparations has been raised repeatedly in the past. The current President of the Republic raised it when he was the Foreign Minister. So the issue opened, but it wasn’t closed. But now I assure you that it was opened so that it can be closed, with justice prevailing.
As for the research carried out of the economic archives of the state, our colleague the Alternate Minister of Finance, Mr. Staikouras, will be able to brief you more fully and in greater detail. The findings forwarded to the Foreign Ministry – a report that really is the result of painstaking and systematic work carried out by the competent Committee mandated with drawing it up – was sent to the State Legal Service, and we are awaiting their opinion so there can be a strong legal foundation for our next steps. And this is because, as you can see, any battle fought will have a legal dimension, particularly considering the prospect of recourse to international justice.
Certainly, we should not and must not pre-empt the content of the opinion, which will be decisive in determining our next moves.
At this point I would like to remind you that the findings, the report, was forwarded to the Foreign Ministry classified as secret. Mr. Tsipras, this classification was given by those handling this case, whom you very correctly praised a short while ago for their work. And they classified it as secret – they were not instructed to do so – for a very simple reason.
The content of these findings includes data that should be protected in every way from possible exploitation that might damage the political, diplomatic and legal handling of the data. As we speak, the State Legal Service is carrying out the legal processing, evaluation and documentation of the contents of this confidential report and, by extension, the claims of the Greek state. So that is where we stand right now.
Ladies and Gentlemen Colleagues,
I now come to the second case I mentioned earlier, which is political will. The political will of the government was expressed in a clear and categorical manner by its actions – actions that, for the first time in the whole of the post-war era, lay the foundations for the definitive settlement of the matter. It is a decision of political and national responsibility – you said this too, earlier – and it comes to express the Greek people as a whole.
This is the path we have chosen, and we will exhaust every potential that exists for leading us to results, regardless of how long it takes or how much effort is required, even above and beyond the current state of affairs.
The fact that this expresses the Greek people as a whole brings us to the third matter, which is national consensus. That is why we mustn’t allow there to be stances and conduct that will weaken the necessary unified national position and line. And there is no room for extremist or divisive rhetoric. And this was very rightly noted earlier by all the previous speakers. The contribution of everyone – without exception – with arguments, positions and proposals can lead to the necessary synthesis, the necessary result, which in turn will be the foundation on which we rest our case politically and nationally.
At this point I would like to honor all those – politicians and citizens alike, above and beyond capacities and parties – who kept this issue alive and never stopped fighting for its definitive settlement. There are many of those among us here today: Mr. Glezos, Mr. Linaios, distinguished Professors. But allow me to say that many of them are no longer with us, because they passed away before this time came. So it is worth turning our minds today to all those who kept this issue alive, making it possible today – in the name of their efforts, as well, and in the name of the great struggle of the Greek people – to reopen this issue.
Ladies and Gentlemen MPs,
A few days ago, when this issue surfaced, I said that the fact that our generations did not live through what previous generations of Europeans lived through does not mean that we have not learned our lessons from history. What Europe is living through today is a new form of war – only this war does not destroy buildings and may not leave behind dead, but it murders the dreams and achievements of the post-war generation. Our common acquis is and remains the European structure. It is our decision to strengthen this structure even further in the face of all forms of crisis and threat, and this is to the benefit of Greece, to the benefit of our nation and our people – and it is to the benefit of all the peoples of Europe.
I said earlier that the German and Greek peoples co-exist, cooperate and move ahead together within the united Europe. Two peoples who are discovering one another more and more, with hundreds of thousands of Greeks living and active in Germany, with two generations of young Greeks who were born, studied and are working there, as well as hundreds of thousands of Germans who visit our country every year in a hospitable and friendly environment. This is how we will continue, also strengthening our relations in sectors where our common interests overlap and coexist.
But these are two separate matters. The definitive settlement of this longstanding, pending issue will not touch the core of the relations between the two peoples and our two countries. And it is certain that communication and understanding will be added to the process that is chosen.
My Dear Colleagues,
We have a duty to show everyone that Greece is unified as it pursues its rights; that on this path and in the face of this issue, there are no greater or lesser patriots. Claiming our rights is the common will of all of us. Today’s debate in Parliament must produce a message of unity and a common course in the face of our common purpose. Our government brought this issue once more to the fore and we aren’t claiming to be the first, just as you rightly said earlier that you are not claiming to be the first, either. Our thoughts, our actions, express the Greek people as a whole. The government has now opened the way to bringing this issue to its final resolution. I am certain that, with the assistance and support of all the political forces, the desire and expectations of the Greek people will be expressed authentically and our homeland will be vindicated, because vindication, as Manolis Glezos has so rightly said, is above all moral.
Thank you.
April 24, 2013