Gatherings law exists to be enforced, says minister
Referring to the new law on public gatherings that was enforced during Friday’s student march in central Athens, Citizens’ Protection Minister Panagiotis Theodorikakos said on Saturday that “there is no problem with those who want to demonstrate, on the condition that their actions do not disrupt the operation of the city.”
“Laws exist to be enforced,” he said, adding that Friday’s gathering was a small one and limited to the space it needed.
“There is no ban, there is no problem with people wanting to demonstrate. We are a democratic country. The police just have to take care of the law, which means that the operation of the city cannot be disrupted,” he said.
Democracy, Theodorikakos insisted, needs order and security, because these are the guarantors of freedom. “Society is a whole, not just some people, and we must take care of the whole of society,” he noted.
