December 5, 1959
ILIAS ILIOU: The deputy for the United Democratic Left (EDA) Ilias Iliou said in Parliament that the full text of a recent speech by Soviet Prime Minister Nikita Khrushchev in Budapest contained no allegations whatsoever against Greece, its people or its government. It simply referred to the historical fact of the foreign intervention in 1944 as an example of interference by imperialist forces in the domestic affairs of other countries. He said the reference to the events of 1944 was not aimed at initiating a new policy vis-a-vis Greece but rather to reject allegations made against the Soviet Union in relation to the events that took place in Hungary in 1956. «It was not an official speech, but an address to workers in a Hungarian factory. It is not appropriate to turn this chamber into a courtroom to try the leader of a foreign superpower. That leads us to the conclusion that there are forces in this country that see the coming detente as a threat to political interests and privileges,» Iliou said. EDA believes that the government is using Khrushchev’s statement as an excuse to launch a new campaign against it.
