With the roll-call vote – requested by the Communist Party – a 24-hour period of tension both inside and outside Parliament concludes today, featuring heated debate, reactions and counter-accusations over the government’s amendment regarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. This legislative regulation henceforth prohibits the use or occupation of the site’s surface for any purpose beyond visiting the Memorial and highlighting its significance, any alteration of the space, and conducting any public outdoor gatherings, including spontaneous and emergency outdoor public assemblies.
The amendment – which Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis characterized as a regulation of national responsibility and democratic sensitivity – divides practical responsibility between Nikos Dendias and Michalis Chrysochoidis, regulating competencies as follows: The Ministry of National Defense takes all necessary measures for the maintenance, care and enhancement of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the aforementioned space, either through its own means or by awarding relevant contracts. The Greek Police is responsible for maintaining public order.
Unknown Soldier amendment: Dendias’ absence and statement and opposition comments
The Minister of National Defense, Nikos Dendias, one of seven co-signing the amendment, did not attend Parliament yesterday, while through a statement he appears to distance himself from the central government line on this contentious issue. Opposition parties attempted to highlight this in Parliament, with government officials subsequently commenting that “we have on one hand New Democracy, which came to Parliament cohesively with seven co-responsible ministries (Defense, Citizen Protection, Justice, Economy, Interior, Culture and Environment) practically showing their stance by co-signing the relevant amendment, and on the other hand opposition parties engaging in an artificial attempt to divide society, when the prime minister positioned himself unitedly and restored the notion of sanctity and respect to the space.”
The same officials emphasize the substance of Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ position and the answers he gave to opposition parties, while noting that once it becomes state law, those with relevant authority will do whatever the specific provision requires to safeguard its implementation. They point out that what truly concerns society is each party’s stance separately on a specific question: Should or shouldn’t the sacred memorial of the Unknown Soldier be protected?
“No government rift exists”
“No government rift exists,” was the position within Parliament’s Plenary by Notis Mitarachi, parliamentary representative of the ruling party, who in the same statement said the Ministry of National Defense will do what’s necessary to protect the memorial.
The government estimates that Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who took the floor to explain and defend the amendment, delivered a values-based speech that restored sanctity and proper respect to the Unknown Soldier site – a unifying speech, as he addressed all citizens, contrary to the divisive rhetoric of opposition parties.
The basic message Kyriakos Mitsotakis wanted to convey through his speech was that this is sacred ground that belongs to no government, no party, no organization, no person – but is a place of coexistence and memory for those who fell for their homeland. That the Memorial is not a bulletin board for posting demands, however respectable they may be, but a cenotaph for unknown heroes and a historic space that will be disconnected from Syntagma Square, where gatherings are freely permitted.
