Responding to questions regarding the next steps the Government has planned on the issue of the WWII reparations from Germany, the Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sia Anagnostopulou, stressed that a Note Verbale would be drawn up soon, while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is forming a committee consisting of experts, legal experts, historians and representatives from associations and unions of martyred villages to review the legal arguments safeguarding the country. Asked whether Greece is willing to refer the issue to the International Court of Justice in The Hague, the Alternate Minister answered, “On conditions, and provided this is permitted by the international law, everything is on the table.”Specifically, with regard to the accusations made by the President of the Independent Greeks (ANEL), Panos Kammenos, against the former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nikos Kotzias, she said, “On the part of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr Kotzias is not under investigation for anything. The things Mr Kammenos is accusing Mr Kotzias of are non-existent.” Lastly, asked to comment on the SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance configuration, she noted, “We are still at the start of a very interesting process. I do not want to say what the conclusion will be, because it is a matter of consultations, discussions and decisions of bodies, people and movements participating in the Progressive Alliance as well as in SYRIZA. The front being formed here in Greece, but also in Europe, has immense value in these times.” “A Note Verbale will be drawn up in the immediate future. The questions that will be posed by the Greek side have already been posed by the Prime Minister to the Hellenic Parliament Plenary. The first is about the occupation loan, the second about the reparations for the major destruction to the country’s infrastructure and the third about the damages to the victims of atrocities, such as the martyred villages. The Greek government will raise these issues and will ask the German side to recognise these three points. Of course, the issue of the archaeological treasures stolen from the country will also be brought forward. We will take one step at a time. The first step is the note verbale, to address the German side in the most official manner. The second step is for the country to use the international law as a weapon. We will wait and see what Germany's response will be, because when a note verbale is sent, the other side is obliged to answer one way or another. The answer will be of significance. The occupation loan, which was mandatory, has not been completely settled. The Nazi occupation forces in Greece imposed and took from the country’s Central Bank an amount they knew was a loan and had to be repaid sometime. It was never repaid, though, apart from two or three instalments. Then, however, they started taking gold from the country, which led to the results we all know: extreme hunger and people dying of hunger. It was a loan that does not fall under any international law. It does not fall under the law of war, which provides for an amount to support the occupation forces in the country. Instead, they used the money and the gold they took to support their army in multiple fronts. So, it was an enforced loan that destroyed the country; a loan that was never repaid.The note verbale is the country’s first official step and we are awaiting the response of the German side. Meanwhile, we are forming a committee at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs consisting of experts, legal experts, historians and representatives from associations and unions of martyred villages and towns. The committee is being formed to review all the prospects on an international level, based on the international law in international courts. It is being formed to review the legal arguments safeguarding the country, while we are also proceeding with making the matter public both on a European and an international level. In other countries, but mainly in Germany, what happened to Greece during the Nazi occupation remains unknown.” Asked whether Greece is willing to refer the issue to the International Court of Justice in The Hague, the Alternate Minister answered, “On conditions, and provided this is permitted by the international law, everything is on the table.” Referring to the stance of all the governments, she noted, “The issue commenced in 1990 and in 1995 we made the first note verbale. Since then we have done a lot, but none of the governments have waived their claims. Never has a Greek government considered the subject closed.”Summing up on what the government is seeking with its actions, Ms Sia Anagnostopoulou said, “We have collected all the material documenting Greece’s claims. We do not want to spread hate among the German and the Greek people. We do not want to incriminate the German people. But what needs to be done on a European level is that if the people cannot see the specific past or the specific ideas that brought Greece, but also Europe, to its knees, we will not be able to move forward and the monsters will keep coming back. The responsibility of Germans towards History is not a tool to punish them, but a tool of self-knowledge and solidarity.”
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