One day after Greece's prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, raised the question of WWII German reparations saying that his country has never been fully compensated by Germany, the Greek Justice Minister said today he is ready to authorise confiscation of German assets in Greece in implementation of an old Supreme Court decision for the compensation for victims of Nazi atrocities.
The Greek parliament approved yesterday for the restoration of a Committee for claiming compensation for the damage Greece sustained during WWII, including war reparations, the return of the loan that Nazi Germany forced the Greek State to provide it and the stealing of Greek art and archaeological treasures.
Speaking before the vote, Tsiprastold parliament that Greece will honour its obligations to bailout creditors, including Germany, but won't "abandon its irrevocable demands" for World War II reparations.
"We are not giving lessons in morality, but we will not accept lessons in morality either,"Tsiprassaid
"We are prepared to offer every political and legal assistance to ensure that this committee's efforts bear fruit," he said.
Speaking before yesterday's Parliament vote, Justice Minister Nikos Paraskevopoulos referred to a Supreme Court decision allowing the families of victims of Distomo, a Greek village razed to the ground during the Nazi occupation, to seize German assets in Greece.
“I am ready to authorise execution of this decision”, said Paraskevopoulos, adding that the timing will depend “on the complexity of the situation and it's national repercussions”.
Today, speaking to Ant1 TV, Paraskevopoulos said: “According to the law, in order for the Supreme Court decision to be implemented, it must be authorised by the Justice Minister. I believe that this authorisation must be given and I am ready to give it”.
http://www.neurope.eu/article/greece-revives-ww2-german-reparations