PM hails restoration of democracy, slams ‘weakness’ of Hagia Sophia conversion
In a message to mark the restoration of democracy in Greece following a seven-year military dictatorship (1967-1974) Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Friday the country is “celebrating 46 years of undisrupted democracy.”
“If July 24, 1974, signifies the country's transition from the winter of the dictatorship to the spring of parliamentarism, July 24, 2020 signifies its decision to be fruitfully connected with the values of that change, and mark its own, new era,” he said.
In the same message, the prime minister also lamented the reopening on Friday of Hagia Sophia as a mosque.
“What is happening today in Istanbul is not a manifestation of power but a proof of weakness. They certainly do not have the power to overshadow the radiance of a world heritage site. But universal values are tainted. That is why they demand a universal condemnation,” he said.
