Maria Spassova

The ghost of one dvd is walking through the high levels of the legislative, judicial, executive and the fourth power in Greece and causes serious damages. Two suicidal attempts and one prevented suicidal attempt, a resignation of the secretary general of the ministry of culture and one member of parliament who was forced to leave the parliamentary group of New Democracy and is currently staying in the parliament as an independent member. As a final – a lot of work for the investigation and the prosecutors’ office.

Before its ghost the dvd itself walked through the offices of many important people. First it visited the host of the central news of the television channel Mega Olga Tremi and her colleague from the morning show of the same television Dimitris Kamburakis. Both of them had not seen the video, however from their statements on the television I get the impression that they are well informed about its content.

As much as they claim “We are innocent!” I do not believe them. Every decent reporter in America for example (there are also bad ones over there, however I am talking about the good reporters right now) knows that when an extortionist contacts him the first thing he should do is to lock the door of his office in order for the criminal not to be able to run away and then contact the police and his lawyer. If Tremi and Kamburakis had done that they would have saved a lot of trouble to many people including themselves.

However let us go on with the video. Afterwards it visited the owner of the weekly paper “First topic” Temos Anastasiadis, who also didn’t watch the video, however understood right away that he is looking at a gold mine. That he was looking at a mine is a fact, however for the moment it looks more like a ground mine and his head might blow up from the explosion as it seems. Anastasiadis also did not call the police, however he was kind enough to take the video not anywhere else but in the press service of the Prime minister and personally to its director Yannis Adrianos.

Despite of his rich journalistic experience Adrianos also did not watch the video and did not call the police, however he reported to his direct boss – the director of the political office of Karamanlis Yannis Angelou. In the case of Adrianos there is also one little detail. He remains silent. He remains silent when Zahopoulos resigns, remains silent also when he jumps from the fourth floor and in the days afterwards. Only when it becomes clear that the former secretary general will not die and in few weeks will be strong enough to testify facing the investigator, Adrianos testifies voluntarily.

Angelou also claims he has not watched the dvd, however I believe him. As opposed to all the rest of the characters it is not his job and it is not his level to deal with video materials. He just called Zahopoulos and told him that he has to resign. Zahopoulos resigns, however what terrifies him after his meeting with Angelou is that Temos Anastasiadis has a copy of the critical dvd. Why is this a scary news?

Temos is the owner of “First topic” along together with Makis Triandafilopoulos, a host of the television shows “Yellow press” and “Jungle” and a pioneer of the candid camera in the Greek journalism. Triandafilopoulos has made not one or two otherwise respected citizens of the republic cry. He had placed cameras in other people’s bedrooms and has transmitted the picture.

For Zahopoulos the possibility of a compromising video to be shown by Makis is more than real.

That is why he asks his close friend the director Georgios Milonas to check what the intentions of Makis are. Minutes before he jumps from the 4^th floor, Milonas calls him and tells him that Triandafilopoulos has no intention of broadcasting the video. What made Zahopoulos jump anyways I still do not know. Not just me, but also the Greek justice will not know that until the moment when Zahopoulos himself decides to talk.

Until then the important thing is that along with the suicidal attempt of the secretary general the outrageous dvd is in the hands of the police. Where it belonged right after its presentation before Olga Tremi. No matter if she watched the original or not.

Journalists are not investigators and they are not prosecutors and do not issue sentences. Their role in life is different. They are intermediaries between what is individually important what is important to the society. Their role is to judge what is important for the society, which we all have to know and they have to explain to us why we have to know that. It is their fault when they make us know things that do not matter, it is their fault when they keep some truths to themselves, which we should know. The private life of Hristos Zahopoulos does not deserve the public attention, which was given to him in the past two months.

However the journalists besides professionals are also citizens. Each citizen who became witness of a crime has to inform the police. Regardless if his or her name is Olga Tremi, Temos Anastasiadis or Makis Triandafilopoulos. The more famous is the citizen the less excuses he or she can find. The “Zahopoulos” case to Greece is nothing else but a matter of journalistic ethics. If it was in place, then the dvd would not have been walking among the souls of the Greeks and it would have been in its place right away. And its place is in a file of the investigator.