Ex-PM Karamanlis calls for full disclosure in wiretap probe

Former prime minister Kostas Karamanlis on Wednesday said that an ongoing probe into the National Intelligence Service’s (EYP) wiretaps of political officials and journalists must lead to clarification about “who ordered such a thing and why.”

Speaking to conservative New Democracy officials at an event in Crete commemorating politician Yiannis Kefaloyannis on the 10th anniversary of his death, Karamanlis said that in “situations like this, catharsis can only come when there is full clarity.

“Clarity and transparency are, after all, fundamental to a lawful and orderly public life, even more so when issues arise like a phone tap on a political leader, journalist or any citizen,” he said.

Karamanlis, who served as the conservative party’s premier in 2004-2009, also hinted that confidentiality cannot be invoked in a probe of this caliber, saying that “it comes second to the need for catharsis in public life.”

“Everything needs to be brought to light,” he said, going on to call for cross-party cooperation in reforming the institutional framework governing the lifting of privacy protection and the “overall operation of the secret services.”