The police put an end to the Greek national radio

07 November 2013 / 11:11:30 GRReporter

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Photo: To Vima

By order of the prosecutor the riot forces seized the building of ERT at 4:15 am today. The building is located on Mesogeion Avenue in Athens, the two lanes of which, from the central part of the city and to it, are currently closed.

The prosecutor is in the courtyard and the operation continues. The police used tear gas to enter the building of the national radio and, a little later, forced all the people inside to leave. Experts are making an inventory of the property and documents of the Greek national radio ERT. Currently, the police are not allowing anyone to enter the building. The head of the trade union of the employees of the radio station, Panagiotis Kalfayiannis, and three union activists had been taken to the general directorate of the Greek police as announced by their lawyer Dimitris Perpataris but were later released by order of the Minister of Public Order, Nikos Dendias.

Union activists from different unions and journalistic organizations are in front of the building of ERT, insisting on allowing their representatives to be present while the inventory list of the public radio is being made but, so far, the prosecutor has not issued such a permit. Employees and trade unionists are urging the citizens to go in front of the building of the radio and to protest against the police operation.

Dimitris Stratoulis, a deputy from SYRIZA, defined the intervention of the riot forces as "illegal and subversive", stating before Skai TV that it was "a black operation in a black night". Representatives of the largest opposition party are currently outside the building of ERT and insist on receiving an official explanation regarding the intervention of the riot forces.

Before Skai TV again, Deputy Minister Pantelis Capsis, who is responsible for the national television and radio broadcaster, admitted that he was unaware of the police operation which is entirely under the control of the Ministry of Public Order. He recalled that the union of journalists had occupied the building since May, when the government had decided to close the state broadcaster ERT. He had repeatedly urged the occupiers to leave the building because they were putting under question the ability of the state media to cover the Greek Presidency of the European Union, starting on 1 January 2014.