Varoufakis blames ‘hired thugs’ for assault
Former finance minister Yanis Varoufakis has blamed “hired thugs” for the assault on him on in an Athens restaurant in which his nose was fractured.
“They were not anarchists, leftists, communists or members of any movement,” Varoufakis said in a tweet.
“Thugs for hire they were (and looked it), who clumsily invoked the lie that I sold out to the troika. We shall not let them divide us. Onwards!” he continued.
The assault happened in the Yiantes restaurant on Valtetsiou St., in the central Exarchia district, where Varoufakis was dining with members of his DiEM25 party from all over Europe, his party said.
“A small group of thugs stormed the place shouting aggressively, falsely accusing him of signing off on Greece’s bailouts with the troika. Varoufakis stood up to talk to them but they immediately responded with violence, savagely beating him while filming the scene,” a DiEM25 statement read.
MeRA25, the Greek wing of DiEM25, described it as a “brazen fascist attack.”
Varoufakis expressed his thanks for the treatment he received in hospital.
“Thank U to our Greek NHS staff for treating me. Thank U all for your solidarity. Let us please stay focused: We are mourning the 57 victims of rail privatisation. We support the spontaneous youth rallies, the greatest hope that Greece can change. See you at the demonstrations.”
Officials and politicians from across the political spectrum condemned the assault, led by President Katerina Sakellaropoulou, who said “violence has no place in our democracy” and that it is “the responsibility of all to guard our political culture.”
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras, PASOK spokesperson Dimitris Manzos, Communist Party parliamentary spokesperson Nikos Karathanasopoulos and Hellenic Solution leader Kyriakos Velopoulos also condemned the incident.
Citizen Protection Minister Takis Theodorikakos, who spoke with Varoufakis on the phone, said police would take all measures to identify and arrest the perpetrators.
He noted that the MeRA25 leader, “at his own initiative, was not accompanied by his personal police detail” while at the restaurant.
