Proto Thema media outlet reports that the Greek government has unleashed a viscous attack on both international (Financial Times, Guardian) and Greek media for being critical of its policies, adopting the doctrine of “anyone against us is our enemy”.
In what seems to be an all out attack on media, domestic and foreign, the SYRIZA-led government has adopted an aggressive stance, to the point of using coarse language, like in the case against Proto Thema, revealing its intents on any critical publications.
Over recent days, international economic newspaper “Financial Times” came under fire by the Greek government for publishing an article questioning whether the government respects the independence of domestic financial institutions in the country in relation to the disagreements between the government and the country’s central banker and governor of the Central bank of Greece, Yiannis Stournaras.
Proto Thema also found itself in the government’s “crosshairs” for the revelations regarding Minister Olga Gerovasili who was involved in a case of conflict of interest and violation of the Greek constitution, as it was revealed she had been a shareholder in a medical services company in business with the state while simultaneously holding an PM seat.
The Greek government continued its tactics, reminiscent of authoritarian-style regimes of older days, by alleging the recent article published by British media outlet “Guardian” under the title ‘’Patients Who Should Live are Dying: Greece’s Public Health Meltdown’’, which outlined the atrocious conditions in the Greek public hospitals, was more or less a fabricated piece of reporting, despite the fact that the article covered the period of 2011 and 2012 when SYRIZA was not in power.
Undermining Greece’s Health Tourism
At the same time, the Athens Medical Association (ISA) is calling on the government to boost efforts to put the Greek public health system in order, following Guardian’s report noting that “the new year got off to an ominous start for the National Healthcare Service (ESY) with its collapse being condemned not only by Greek media but by international outlets revealing that the “EU’s most chaotic state is in the midst of a public health meltdown.”
The ISA statement comments that the situation is a result of “bailout policies as well as the inability on the part of health ministry leadership to establish a sustainable health policy’’ while, recently, the Association’s head had stressed that only after much-needed reforms are implemented, they will lead to the establishment of Greece as a popular medical tourism destination.
Nevertheless, in the culmination of its conspiracy theories against the press, the government released a non-paper alleging that reports of a rise in social security contributions was an “attempt to terrorise the citizens”.
Source: protothema.gr
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