DM: Contractor for Cleaning of Tomb of the Unknown Soldier Site

The defense ministry on Thursday evening announced that it will hire a private contractor for the upkeep of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier monument and the commons area in front of Parliament, a day after a controversial amendment was ratified to transfer jurisdiction of the site to the former.

Just as importantly, a ban on protests and activism at the revered site was stipulated in the two-article legislation, despite stepped up criticism and opposition by other parties in Parliament.

The ministry announcement also came hours after DM Nikos Dendias met with Athens Mayor Haris Doukas, whose statement of “responsibility for the monument (now) belongs exclusively to the government” indicated an unwillingness by the municipality’s leadership to assume cleaning chores at the site.

A ministry announcement later in the evening, however, maintained that “under Article 102 of the Constitution and by law, responsibility for cleaning (the site) lies exclusively with the local authorities, and in particular, the municipality of Athens is responsible for the Monument to the Unknown Soldier.”

The latter was a more-or-less direct “dig” at Doukas, who is a PASOK party member.

“The Ministry of National Defense cannot allow the degradation of the place of remembrance and honor for those who fought for the Nation and the Fatherland,” the announcement read, before adding:

“Following the public statement by the Mayor of Athens that, in his opinion, ‘responsibility for the Monument lies solely with the government,’ the Ministry of National Defense cannot allow the degradation of this place of remembrance and honor for those who fought for the Nation and the Fatherland. Therefore, it will proceed to assign the cleaning of the site to a third party for as long as necessary.”