Announcement of Press Office Workers ERT

                                                                                                           Thursday 13, June

We are grateful about the hundreds of thousands unemployed, workers, pensioners, students from universities and schools who have responded to the call of the people working in public broadcast media and of the trade unions to protest and struggle for free and public media. The Prime Minister, Antonis Samaras, confessed yesterday the actual reason why he closed down ERT: he is against the trade unions and the way ERT covers current affairs. He has admitted quite clearly that his decision has political motives and targets against the fundamental rights of free expression, information and active trade unions.

We condemn the efforts made by the government spokesman, Simos Kedikoglou, to set up a strikebreakers mechanism inside the Secretariat General of Information and Communication, against the strike decision of the people working in the media. People working in the SGIC have decided anew that they are together with the people of ERT in their struggle against the closing down.  

We condemn the directive of the Ministry of Finance to the private media stations to stop broadcasting the strike programme of ERT. The ministry states that any station that will broadcast anything bearing the sign of ERT SA will face disciplinary actions according to the subject law. 

We demand from the Greek Parliament, where the majority is against the closing down of the ERT that they:

• order the Minister of Public Order and Citizen Protection to hold back any decision about the intervention of police forces in the area and buildings of ERT.
• order the Minister of Finance to take back all that has been told about the protection of the property of ERT. People who work in the ERT guarantee the public property of the Greek people.

We ask from the President of the Republic to demand from the government to respect the Constitution and stop violating fundamental democratic rights. We ask him to guarantee that the police forces will not invade into ERT. 

PRESS AND INFORMATION OFFICE