M. Voridis: The TurkAegean mark characterizes services and not dominance

A trademark characterizes services and has nothing to do with sovereignty, the Minister of the Interior, Makis Voridis, pointed out in the Parliament, commenting on the opposition’s criticism of the government’s handling of the issue of the “turkaegean” trademark.

Populism and toxicity in the opposition must also have a limit, said Mr. Voridis, referring to the criticism against the Minister of Development. Do you want the minister to come down and exercise pre-examination on trademarks? asked Mr. Voridis, noting that the responsible employee will be checked.

Referring to the relevant political debate, he said that the Turks talking about sovereignty, “they say it knowing that they are saying nonsense. Should I hear this from Greeks? Well, no! A trademark is a mark that characterizes services. It has nothing to do with does anything with dominance [..] I hope we understand that the legal objections and the legal actions that will be taken, their object will not be sovereignty, but the provisions of the Trademark Act, which say that you cannot use broader geographical terms to describe goods and services” he pointed out Mr. Voridis.

Placed in the Public Administration committee of the Parliament on his ministry’s bill, which includes, among other things, electoral procedure provisions and regulations for Self-Government, Mr. Voridis referred to the “thoughts” that are being created for early elections. There are indeed provisions, following a proposal by the competent section of the Supreme Court, for the better implementation of the electoral process. I am not entering into this discussion. The prime minister’s position is clear. He is the only one who can call early elections, Mr. Voridis said. He wondered, however, if the opposition wants the elections or if they are deeply worried about them. Otherwise, what is this talk about whether we escape, or whether the coming winter is easy or hard? said Mr. Voridis.

Regarding the issue of article 44 of the bill, with which the opposition factions will no longer be able to raise urgent issues before the agenda, at the meetings of the municipal councils, Mr. Voridis assured that he does not intend to silence anyone, as the opposition claims , “but it is not my intention to leave a situation, which is a trivialization of the process in the municipal councils”. Using a provision that allows opposition leaders to ask for urgent issues to be discussed, from the war in Ukraine to the Sandinistas and the government’s education policy, cannot remain as it is, Mr. Voridis and continued: I take your comments into account, but let’s agree that a way must be found so that the municipal councils do not do revolutionary gymnastics and activism without meaning, but can do their job, preserve their prestige and at the same time protect the rights of the opposition.

On the part of SYRIZA, the rapporteur of the minority, Dionysis Kalamatianos, said that with article 44 a right of the minority factions has been taken away for a long time and it should be withdrawn: “You are silencing the minorities even more [..] Even the KEDE, which in its majority consists of mayors close to the ND, expressed its strong dissatisfaction,” said Mr. Kalamatianos. Regarding the issue of the term “turkaegean” he said that “it is a huge failure of the government” and it must apologize. Your inactivity, your indolence, your incompetence are seriously harming the country and our interests,” said the SYRIZA MP, while regarding the electoral provisions of the bill, he underlined that “Mr. Mitsotakis is being dragged into elections, because extremely difficult ones are coming again days, and the country’s future looks ominous”. In turn, SYRIZA MP K. Zachariadis said “that in an island municipality of a region of the eastern Aegean, you want to shut down the microphone to the opposition, so that it cannot download a resolution to denounce you (for example) for the case of ‘turkaegean'”.

The MP of PASOK-Movement of Change, Evangelia Liakoulis, requested the withdrawal of article 44, even calling on the government to answer who is the one who requested and was inspired by this article. PASOK, emphasized Ms. Liakoulis, will never consent to a bill that abolishes democratic dialogue in municipal councils and the inalienable right of the opposition to highlight urgent local social issues. Referring to the provisions of the bill concerning party finances and the electoral process, Ms. Liakoulis said that they give “the opening kick of the pre-election period”. He even said characteristically: “As much as we appreciate the information that elections are coming, it does the country no good to bring down the pencils of the cabinet as a whole, which we meet in confrontations in the mountains.”

The KKE leader, Manolis Syntyhakis, also called for the immediate withdrawal of Article 44: “This is an emblematic type of anti-democratic and authoritarian provision, which the government must withdraw now. It should not even be included in the discussion process,” said Mr. Syntyhakis underlining that “the government is trying to impose grave silence on the municipal councils.”

Hellenic Solution buyer A. Mylonakis spoke of the government’s pre-election warm-up. You are bringing an electoral bill, amid rumors of early elections, said Mr. Mylonakis and added: In a period when you are making mistakes, one after the other, you are only thinking about the future of ND. It is the prime minister’s prerogative to hold elections before the difficult winter catches up with him, said the Hellenic Solution MP. On the issue of the trademark, he wondered “if it is possible for Greece to hang from an employee… And what is the Greek, our Greek commissioner doing?” asked Mr. Mylonakis.

Finally, the buyer of MeRA25, Maria Apatzidis, said that the bill strengthens the pre-election scenarios, while regarding article 44 she said that it is an unprecedented provision, which caused a wave of reactions from self-governing bodies and the opposition.-

SOURCE: ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ