Kikilias to Velopoulos: “He must take back what he said about the Coast Guard and Turkish fishing vessels”

Minister of Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy Vassilis Kikilias called on Greek Solution leader Kyriakos Velopoulos to retract his claim that Coast Guard vessels hide when Turkish fishing boats approach the Greek islands, during today’s plenary debate in Parliament on the Ministry’s bill.

Responding to the Greek Solution leader’s remarks, Mr Kikilias stressed that they insulted the men and women of the Hellenic Coast Guard, who operate every day in particularly difficult conditions to protect maritime borders and save lives.

“He should come back to the chamber, withdraw that statement and take it back,” he said, calling on Mr Velopoulos, during his visits to the country’s islands and ports, to meet Coast Guard personnel and tell them in person what he had said from the floor of Parliament.

The Minister defended the Coast Guard’s work, noting that its personnel face daily battles at sea, often in adverse weather conditions and at risk to their own lives. He stressed that the Coast Guard had rescued thousands of people while also carrying out vital work to protect the country’s maritime borders.

“To hear the leader of a political party that claims to represent the patriotic camp say that our Coast Guard personnel are hiding — people who have been trained, who have sworn an oath on the Gospel and the Greek flag, who wear the Greek flag and national emblem on their uniforms and battle at sea — is something I will not accept,” he said. He added that he rejected such remarks politically and that they did no credit to the person making them.

The Minister made particular reference to the difficulties Coast Guard personnel face in carrying out their duties, noting that they operate day and night in adverse weather conditions to rescue people in danger at sea. He said they were often called upon to deal with extremely dangerous situations, only to subsequently face even legal proceedings over the operations in which they had taken part.

Mr Kikilias also referred to criticism of the Coast Guard from European quarters, stressing that he defended its personnel’s work against bureaucrats and technocrats in Brussels who, as he put it, “wag their finger” at the Hellenic Coast Guard, despite its longstanding contribution to saving lives and protecting Greek and European maritime borders.

Finally, on the conduct of political debate, he voiced his opposition to the constant pursuit of attention-grabbing statements in Parliament, arguing that this practice alienated citizens from political dialogue.

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