Letter to the President of the Hellenic Parliament

Search by topic / by country

Site Map

Contact

Letter to the President of the Hellenic Parliament

5 December 2015 by Sofia Sakorafa

Sofia Sakorafa, Zoe Konstantopoulou, Eric Toussaint lors de la conférence de presse d’annonce de la création de la commission pour la vérité sur la dette (au parlement grec le 17 mars 2015)

What follows is the English version of a letter Sofia Sakorafa (MEP) sent to the new president of the Greek Parliament, Nikos Voutsis, who has put an end to the works of the Truth Committee on the Greek public debt. As early as 2011, Sofia Sakorafa, whilst an MP, participated in a committee of citizens’ to audit the Greek debt In March 2015, she joined the audit committee created by the President of the Greek Parliament and was charged with its relations with the European Parliament and other national parliaments. Sofia Sakorafa left Syriza After Alexis Tsipras’ government capitulated in July 2015. She remains an independent MEP.

Dear Sir, Mr President,

On 17 November 2015, I received a registered letter dated 12 November, bearing your signature and informing me that the Committee for the Truth on Greek Public Debt had been annulled.

In your letter you do not even mention the Committee’s name! This is understandable. When trying to get the Greek people to ‘forget’ the issue of debt legitimacy and to believe that the third Memorandum, even more draconian than the previous two, is the only possible solution, the truth may indeed frighten, and even the mere word ‘truth’.

Dear Sir, Mr President,

It is unthinkable that the President of the Greek Parliament, who used to entertain left-wing opinions, should annul the Committee for the Truth on Greek Public Debt.

It is outrageous that the Hellenic Parliament should once again become the place where scandals, irregularities, barbaric political decisions, submissive agreements and leonine contracts are whitewashed, and that all this should be sanctioned by the President of this Assembly.

Mr President, I fear there is nothing more to be said. You merely carried out orders. This was why you were chosen to preside over this Assembly, in the first place.

The political responsibility for this decision squarely falls on our Prime Minister, Alexis Tsipras.

Mr Tsipras, who along with the President of the Republic, attended the Committee’s opening session on 4 April 2015.

Mr Tsipras, who firmly assured me, in person, that the Committee would be allowed to complete its investigations unfettered.
Mr Tsipras carries full political responsibility for the refusal to shed light on policies enforced through corruption and leonine contracts that have brought us to an impasse.

Mr Tsipras carries full political responsibility for declining to use a tool to renegotiate the debt which has not only been accepted and approved, but recommended by EU regulations.

It is clear that your decision to annul the Committee for the Truth on Greek Public Debt will in no way affect our determination in continuing the struggle for truth or the efficiency of our investigations: we are convinced that truth will be the catalyst for deep-seated political change.

Sofia Sakorafa