Mitsotakis hails Thrace as model of coexistence
In the wake of Friday's deadly terror attacks at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, New Democracy leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis described the province of Thrace in northeastern Greece as a symbol of peaceful coexistence between Christians and Muslims.
During a tour of the region on Friday with stops in Rodopi and Xanthi, which have a Muslim minority, Mitsotakis said the achievement of two religious groups living side by side must be carefully safeguarded.
Addressing a wide range of issues, the conservative leader also took the opportunity to lambaste Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras for praising the “failed socialist models of Latin America” on Friday in the presence of visiting Bolivian President Evo Morales.
He asked why it is that Greece is the only European Union country that backs the Venezuelan government. This, he added, only isolates Greece at a time when it needs to build alliances in Europe.
The conservative leader also took issue with Education Minister Costas Gavroglou over his recent disagreement with the dean of the University of Macedonia, who refused a request for the teaching of the “Macedonian language.”
Mitsotakis said Gavroglou’s stance was a result of the Prespes accord, which New Democracy has rejected, and an indication of the government’s intention.
Moreover, in the wake of the decision by the House of Commons in London to approve an extension of the Brexit date to June 30, he also called on the government to secure the voting rights of Greek residing in the UK ahead of European Parliament elections in May.
ND claims that, on the pretext of Brexit, the government “has decided not to allow Greeks living in the UK to vote in their country of residence, as they are entitled by law in the forthcoming European elections.”
