Warnings of 24-hour strikes at state broadcaster ERT as lobbyists highlight 'attack on democracy and press freedom'
A work stoppage at Greek state television interrupted broadcasts on Tuesday morning as the conflict between the government and the press about the reporting of the economic crisis spilled on to the screen.
Instead of a chat show at 6am, viewers saw only an announcement by the journalists' union about the action. The stoppage was called over the suspension of the show's two presenters for remarks seen as critical of a minister by the management at the state broadcaster, ERT.
The union warned that if the suspension wasnot rescinded immediately "employees will proceed with continuous 24-hour strikes and other actions to preserve the prestige of ERT … which the management is undermining".
The tension between government and journalists has been raised by the fast-track prosecution of a magazine editor for publishing a "rich-list" of 2,000 Greeks with Swiss bank accounts, whom the finance ministry has so far failed to investigate.
The editor, Kostas Vaxevanis, was arrested on Sunday and put on trial on Monday, in a highly unusual course of events in Greece's normally slow moving judiciary. He wrote on the Guardian's website on Tuesday: "In Ancient Greek mythology, justice is presented as blind. In modern Greece, it is merely winking and nodding."
He said the leaked Swiss bank account list was highly revealing. "Publishers, businessmen, shipowners, the entire system of power is shown to have transferred money abroad. And this is information from only one bank. Meanwhile in Greece people are going through dumpsters for food," he wrote.
The free press advocacy group Article 19 said the developments represented "a direct attack on democracy which must not be tolerated".
The group said on its website: "It is not an appropriate response for a democratic European government to limit press freedom in order to protect political power."
Meanwhile, the Athens Bar Association questioned the government's priorities in so speedily pursuing a journalist while having failed to launch a comprehensive investigation of tax evasion in the two years that the finance minister had had the list.
"These choices send a message to society that democratic institutions in Greece, or whatever remains of them, are applied now to protect the system in power," the association said.
The argument over press freedom comes against a backdrop of continuing political turmoil, with the partners in the coalition government unable to agree on an austerity package to secure new international lending.
The prime minister, Antonis Samaras, was forced to postpone a vote on the package until next week, warning of chaos if a deal were not reached.
Nick Malkoutzis, deputy editor of the Ekathimerini English language newspaper, said: "This coalition government is an unusual construct that is trying to maintain a precarious balance between satisfying lenders and convincing its own followers. And anything that is potentially inflammatory is seen as a threat to that balance.
"What you're seeing at the moment is a political establishment that has been falling apart over the last few years, and it's not clear what will replace it. And in that gap you are getting knee-jerk reactions and the state not acting as the state should."
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