‘We do not accept lessons in humanity from anyone. We will continue to defend our borders,’ Kikilias said, adopting a confrontational tone as he rejected criticism of the government and the Coast Guard.
Addressing opposition MPs, the minister sought to justify his two-day absence from parliament after the shipwreck, stating: ‘Ask whatever you want, but it needs due attention, because national issues are light years more important.’ He claimed that any public briefing during that time would have risked being incomplete.
Kikilias proceeded to fully endorse the Coast Guard’s official announcement, effectively pre-empting the outcome of ongoing investigations. He asserted that the incident was caused by the actions of the smuggler, claiming that there had been ‘a sudden change of course with a dangerous manoeuvre’ by the migrants’ vessel, which led to the collision.
‘The picture we have is that there was a sudden change of course with a dangerous manoeuvre of the smuggler’s vessel, which caused the collision with the Coast Guard vessel, and that rescue operations began from the very start, with the participation of all available forces in the area,’ he said.
At the same time, the minister insisted that he was not prejudging the outcome of the internal administrative investigation or the judicial inquiry, stating: ‘I am not going to prejudge any outcome of the EDE, for which material is being collected from every source, let alone the judicial investigation.’ This assertion came despite his repeated adoption of the Coast Guard’s version of events.
Kikilias also accused the opposition of overstepping its role, arguing that ‘the only ones responsible are the judicial authorities and not those who pretend to be judges against the judicial authorities’. He called on opposition parties to respect the investigative process and to refrain from what he described as ‘offensive’ and ‘unfamiliar’ characterisations of Coast Guard officers.
‘National issues are light years more important than the party,’ he said, adding: ‘We do not accept lessons in patriotism or humanity from anyone.’
He concluded by reiterating the government’s emphasis on border enforcement, stating: ‘We have a duty to guard maritime borders. Obviously we have maritime borders. We are a country, not a free space.’
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