In the jungle
Intrepid journalist Makis Triantafyllopoulos may have been banned from mentioning the name of PASOK candidate Stavros Vrentzos – who has sued the reporter for airing allegations that he was a torturer for the junta – but nothing holds a good journalist down. Triantafyllopoulos did not count on the reaction of Vrentzos’s lawyer, however, who early last Friday morning jumped over the gates of Alter television channel and interrupted his «Jungle» show where Vrentzos’s alleged activities were being debated… In the event of such a clash of the titans, we feel obliged to take sides. But if we choose the lawyer we are enemies of freedom of the press, and if we choose the journalist we are encouraging violation of the law. If we support Vrentzos, we are supporting the junta torturers. If we are against him we are enemies of PASOK. If we propose letting bygones be bygones, we have a lack of democratic sensitivity. Above all, we should support the truth. But the critical issue here is not whether a particular MP has an irreproachable past or otherwise. Democracy today is not at risk from those who tolerated the junta, but rather from our own passivity, the doublespeak used by political leaders, and the passion for money and power. And although Triantafyllopoulos is an undaunted and experienced reporter, his revelations are often presented in a pompous and self-glorifying way which detracts from their actual substance…
