NO
Fred og Rettferdighet (FOR) stiller seg fullt og helt bak Yanis Varoufakis, i det vi anser som en politisk motivert rettsforfølgelse fra greske myndigheters side.
At en fremtredende opposisjonspolitiker tiltales for en åpenhjertig personlig uttalelse for 36 år siden, handler ikke om lov og rett — det handler om å tie kritiske stemmer. Vi ser dette mønsteret over hele Europa: statlige institusjoner brukes til å trakassere og utmatte de som utfordrer det politiske og økonomiske etablissementet.
I Hellas har den sittende regjeringen opprettholdt sitt grep om makten ved å inkorporere og styrke ytre høyre-elementer i sin koalisjon. Konsekvensene er synlige: migranter som drukner i Egeerhavet etter statlig inngripen, politibeskyttelse av fascistgrupper, og politisk motiverte rettssaker som denne.
FOR ble grunnlagt på overbevisningen om at fred og rettferdighet er uatskillelige. Vi oppfordrer alle med samvittighet, i Norge og internasjonalt, til å si ifra.
Vi står med Yanis Varoufakis. Vi står mot politisk forfølgelse av dissidenter.
In solidarity with Yanis Varoufakis
Statement of Solidarity with Yanis Varoufakis
Fred og Rettferdighet (FOR) stands in full solidarity with Yanis Varoufakis in the face of what we consider a politically motivated prosecution by the Greek government.
The decision to indict a prominent opposition politician for a decades-old personal admission — made openly in an interview — has nothing to do with the rule of law and everything to do with silencing critical voices. This is not an isolated incident. Across Europe, we are witnessing the systematic use of state institutions to harass, discredit and exhaust those who challenge the political and economic status quo.
In Greece, as Varoufakis himself has described, the governing party has maintained its dominance by absorbing and empowering far-right elements within its coalition — granting them control over migration, health and cultural policy in exchange for political loyalty. The consequences are visible: migrants drowning in the Aegean with state complicity, police protection for fascist groups, and prosecutions like this one.
FOR was founded on the conviction that peace and justice are inseparable. The erosion of political freedom, the criminalisation of dissent, and the normalisation of authoritarian tactics within democratic systems are threats to both. We call on people of good conscience, in Norway and internationally, to speak out.
We stand with Yanis Varoufakis. We stand against the political persecution of dissidents everywhere.
People ask me: “How can they indict you for saying you took an ecstasy pill 36yrs ago in Australia? Are they mad?” No, folks, they are not mad. This has nothing to do with drugs, with the law, with anything related to my actual interview. It is a reflection of what has been happening to politics across the West, with Greek characteristics. Unlike in most other European countries, where new ultra-rightist parties emerged to undermine the traditional centre-right party (e.g., the AfD in Germany, Reform in the UK, Meloni’s Brothers in Italy or Le Pen in France), in Greece the mainstream Tory-equivalent party (New Democracy) remains dominant in the polls and in public discourse. The reason behind their success is that they kept the neofascists in their midst. Indeed, Mitsotakis, the PM, gave them top ministerial posts (e.g., Health, Migration) to keep them sweet. Keen to ensure that things stay this way, and that the neofascists do not form their own party, the PM has cut a deal with them: The PM and his neoliberal mainstream faction monopolise financial deals with the local and global corporate oligarchy, economic policy more generally. In exchange, the PM has handed over to the neofascists the ministries engaged in rightist culture wars (migration, family law, health, the phoney war on drugs etc.). The latter then use their authority to appeal to their electoral base by ensuring that the Greek Coast Guard causes migrants to drown in the Aegean, that the police shield the fascists, and that people like myself are harassed and dragged through the courts. In short, my ridiculous prosecution must be seen within the wider, West-wide, surge of an insidious new form of fascism. In this context, I am honoured by their determination to persecute me – as it grants me the privilege of calling upon people of good conscience, from around the world, to stand together, to oppose them.
Yanis Varoufakis