The Greek government tries to whitewash its illegal actions of the night of June 11th by way of a “novelty”. The Ministry of Finance has been turned into a media owner and manager. A decision, signed by the FinMin Director General of Financial Management, estimates the labour cost budget for the Public Broadcaster to function, followed by an announcement of vacancies by ERT special manager, Ghikas Manalis.

Five hundred eighty nine persons: journalists, technicians and administrative personnel, are called by the aforementioned announcement, to apply for a broadcaster (DT possibly?), that has been set up by a consortium of private companies, subject to the Ministry of Finance.

The state of becoming of the country’s broadcaster reverts to what it was forty years ago. Information, culture and entertainment for the public will depend strictly on the government. Following the model of… Syrian state broadcaster, the Greek government creates an impromptu similar broadcaster; not a public one, but one subject to the government.

In a second phase, the government’s “Public Broadcaster” headquarters were moved from a private production studio to premises belonging to the state, namely to the Press General Secretariat buildings, that were used by a group of private companies to broadcast a signal on the public frequencies. This shall be followed by a move to ERT Katechaki premises that had been “captured” by the state since June 11^th. Thus, the government seems ready to blackmail ERT employees and the Greek society in general. This will lead to an escalation of actions against the public commodity of access to information and culture.

The Greek government rushes to wrap up the issue of ERT with an invitation of application for hiring, based on an off-the-cuff organization chart described as “extremely urgent”.

Itisan invitation of application full of generalizations and grey areas that offend ERT employees. The government seems to be in an extreme hurry to create a sense of conflict among ERT employees who have been under hard pressure but do not cave in.

It is a true shame for the proponents of dialogue. It is a true shame for those who waved asideERT employees’ initiative for the matter to be resolved, through legally and institutionally documented proposals.

The masks are off. Resolution of the matter has never been the question. The only thing the Greek government has been really aiming at was to stop ERT from broadcasting radio and television programme, offering information via Internet as well as culture to the whole of Greek society; and all this, only in order to get back at ERT employees.

ERTemployeesexpress their determination to continue producing a full radio and television programme keeping up the standards of a public broadcaster, along with their intention to continue a substantial and not a “pretence” dialogue on the matter.

POSPERT - ERT JOURNALISTS