At the Presidential Palace on Friday morning, the Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis was welcomed by the President of the Republic, Katerina Sakellaropoulou, with the two of them talking mainly about the evolution of the pandemic in our country and the urgent need to vaccinate the population.
Mr. Mitsotakis, in fact, through the dialogue he had with Ms. Sakellaropoulou responded to the vaccinators, citing paragraph 4 of article 25 of the Constitution, stating that "the State has the right to demand from all citizens the fulfillment of the social and national solidarity ". This reference was made by the Prime Minister because the vaccinators, a few times, talk about unconstitutionality regarding the mandatory vaccinations.
What paragraph 4 of Article 25 states
CONSTITUTION MEPOS DEYTEPO - Individual and social rights
Article 25: (Principle of the rule of law, protection of fundamental rights)
** 1. The human rights as an individual and as a member of society as a whole and the principle of the social rule of law are guaranteed by the State. All state bodies are obliged to ensure their unhindered and effective exercise. These rights also apply to the relationships between individuals to which they are accustomed. Any restrictions that may be imposed on these rights under the Constitution must be provided for either directly by the Constitution or by law, provided that there is a reservation in favor of it and that the principle of proportionality is respected.
2. The recognition and protection of fundamental and inalienable human rights by the State aims at the realization of social progress in freedom and justice.
3. The abusive exercise of a right is not allowed.
4. The State has the right to demand from all citizens the fulfillment of the debt of social and national solidarity.
Sakellaropoulou: "I appeal to those who do not want to be vaccinated to listen to those who became ill"
Η President of the Republic For her part, she appealed to the unvaccinated, saying that if they are not convinced by experts and scientists about the need for their vaccination, let them listen to those who became ill and passed the coronavirus with difficult symptoms.
The dialogue of Mr. Mitsotakis with Mrs. Sakellaropoulou in detail:
Mitsotakis: I first wanted to inform you about developments on the pandemic front. As you know yesterday, we overcame the 10.000.000 vaccination barrier. The "Freedom" operation is proceeding as we had planned. But it is now absolutely certain that the Delta mutation is forcing us to step up our efforts to persuade our fellow citizens, who may still be suspicious, that they need to be vaccinated. That is where we will focus all our efforts. It is an effort, which can not be limited to the central message which has been systematically and methodically transmitted by the Government and the experts for many months. Local authorities should also come into play, we should go door-to-door to convince our suspicious fellow citizens that they should take this step. Today, the relevant announcements were made by the Ministry of Health, in order to give additional incentives to both family doctors and pharmacists, in order for them to make appointments and convince our fellow citizens that they must take this step.
You also know that yesterday the order was passed in Parliament on the obligation of vaccinations for health care workers, but also for those who work in the extremely sensitive area of support for our elderly fellow citizens, in nursing homes. I consider this provision to be correct and appropriate. We followed all the recommendations of the Bioethics Committee. It is the last stage, the last possibility we have at our disposal. I hope we do not have to apply it in practice and all health professionals, except those who have a very serious medical reason certified, rush to be vaccinated.
And as we celebrate the restoration of democracy tomorrow, I wanted to recall an article in our Charter, which we often neglect. It is Article 25, paragraph 4 and I even want to read it to be absolutely accurate. In our Constitution we provide that the State has the right to demand from all citizens the fulfillment of the debt of social and national solidarity. I think this article is more relevant today than ever. This is what we demand from our fellow citizens. The debt of social and national solidarity. Tackling the pandemic is the battle of our generation. We will win it. But we must win it by taking on the responsibility of all citizens towards themselves, their families and society as a whole.
I would also like today, 23 July, to remember, Madam President, the victims of the untold tragedy in Mati. 3 years ago we mourned over a hundred dead. A tragedy that stigmatized the country and hurt us deeply. And I see as a minimum indication of an obligation to our citizens who lost their lives that we have to do two things.
The first is to move quickly so that Mati, as we were committed, can be rebuilt, urbanized properly and transformed from a virtually anarchic settlement into a well-structured and secure modern state. I have brought you here our presentation on the special plan for the fire-affected areas of the municipalities of Nea Makri and Rafina. A very important work which was done in full consultation with all stakeholders. So the special urban plan is ready, as is the forecast for where we will build the houses and with the very kind contribution of the Republic of Cyprus, where they will host our fellow citizens who were left homeless, as a result of this great tragedy.
The second thing we have to do, it has already been launched, is the largest Civil Protection program in the history of the Greek nation. Natural disasters are here and will be here and will intensify, unfortunately, as a result of climate change. We have developed a comprehensive Civil Protection program, which invests substantially in our infrastructure, but also in our human resources, so that as much as possible and as much as possible and as far as we can, we can face the consequences of natural disasters and of course where this is possible, to prevent them.
K. Sakellaropoulou: Mr President, the enormous effort in our country and around the world to tackle the pandemic continues. Unfortunately, we have not yet been able to control it completely. Thanks to science, we have had the vaccine at our disposal for several months now, and thanks to the vaccination program, millions of our fellow citizens, as you have already mentioned, have been vaccinated. Unfortunately, the Delta mutation is highly contagious and seems to be prevalent at this time. And as it is a holiday season, when we all have a human tendency to relax, it is important to continue to be very careful so that we can return safely. Science has concluded that the only way to get rid of the pandemic nightmare, the only safe solution, is vaccination. And it is characteristic that the largest percentage of those who are hospitalized at the moment are unvaccinated, and among them many young people. So the vaccination effort must be intensified, we must all show the highest possible sense of responsibility. When it comes to a purely scientific issue, such as the issue of vaccination, the adoption of views based on unscientific assessments and theories not only endangers the lives of those who embrace them, but also of all of us. That is why I want to emphasize once again that the Constitution does not recognize anyone's right, in the context of his own freedom, to endanger the life and health of his fellow human beings. Because the rights recognized by the Constitution recognize them not only because we are individual bearers of human value, which of course applies, but it also recognizes them because we are part of society as a whole. And as part of society as a whole, precisely because we have the obligation of solidarity, that is, to take care of public health and the lives of our fellow human beings, we are obliged to accept restrictions on our own rights. The virus strikes society as a whole. And society collectively must defend itself against it. Each of us, with our attitude, will be a model of behavior on which we will build social solidarity. Here I would like to appeal to those who are still reluctant to be vaccinated: if they are not convinced by the word of scientists, if we are not persuaded by all of us who urge them to be vaccinated, let them hear those who got sick, those who lost loved ones, and think again , because we really all have a responsibility to society as a whole.
On the subject of the tragedy in Mati you are referring to, indeed none of us can forget the pain for the human lives that were lost, as well as the dignity and patience shown by the people who survived. Now we are three years later and it is very important to make the arrangement that will settle the settlement, so that people can recover, to find their normal life again. And of course the judicial investigation, where necessary, must proceed in depth, reliably and as quickly as possible. It is an opportunity, and we hope to achieve it. We see that with climate change no country is safe anymore, unpredictable natural disasters are constantly happening, and it is very important to organize the Civil Protection of the country on this occasion.
We will say some things tomorrow about the great and important anniversary for the country, because the anniversary for the Republic is not only to look to the past and what we have achieved, but also to look forward to the future.
Source: Protothema.gr