Speeches by the Minister of National Defence Mr. Frangoulis Frangos, of the outgoing political leadership and the Chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff, during the handover ceremony of the Ministry of National Defence.
D. AVRAMOPOULOS:Mister Minister, Chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff, mister Ministers, first of all I would like to welcome to the Ministry an acquaintance of yours.
As I said earlier to the General, I didn’t wish him “welcome” but “welcome back”. Just few months ago, he was here with his quality, Chief of the Hellenic Army General Staff, where he had made a successful course in the Armed Forces.
Today, the country calls him again to a highly sensitive mission, at his post as Minister of National Defence.
Along with the welcome, please allow me to tell you that I feel very touched since, after six months while I was originally destined to be with you for three months, and having lived with you some of the most beautiful and important times in my life, I would also like to thank you.
I would like to thank the political leadership who, despite the fact that we come from different political wings, we presented examples on how the much desired for our people national understanding can be achieved. And I personally refer to Yiannis Ragoussis and Kostas Spiliopoulos. Indeed, we had an excellent cooperation.
I will especially refer to the leadership of the Armed Forces, the Chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff General Kostarakos, the Chief of the Hellenic Army General Staff Lieutenant General Kostas Ziazias, the Chief of the Hellenic Navy General Staff Vice Admiral Kosmas Christidis but also Antonis Tsantirakis, the Chief of the Hellenic Air Force General Staff.
All this time, we did more than just coexist. We cooperated and we can say that we leave behind useful results.
It is bliss for the country’s Armed Forces that their leaders are great people, good patriots, excellent officers.
From the first moment I assumed my duties, I knew that I too would have to respond to a great honour but also a big challenge. And I had told you back then that I felt – and now I can positively say that I really am – a member of this great family of the Armed Forces and of course of the great mission they accomplish for the country’s course, perspective and destiny; An unbroken continuity, incident upon the country’s historical course.
Despite the fact that we had to face an ominous financial circumstance, in the spirit of excellent cooperation we managed to maintain high the spirit and effectiveness of the country’s Armed Forces.
I closely observed the enthusiasm of the Armed Forces’ personnel, the civilian personnel, the soldiers, seamen and airmen.
Within this period I visited almost the entire country, from the great Units until our frontier islands, Farmakonissi, Agathonissi, the island of Rho, Stronghili, and I cannot hide that I returned feeling more Greek each time.
I was saying and I repeat with every chance that despite all what happens to the Hellenic society, where an entire people is struggling, is in pain, is suffering, here, another Greece exists; Greece of duty, of honour, of values.
And if, besides their main mission, the Armed Forces contribute to the constructing of a new Greece, this happens because they send out a message of security, stability, pride and worthiness.
An oasis of stability, a milestone of security within this general fluidity. However, at the same time, a source from where we too, the political and military leadership, can draw strength.
During these six months, since November 2011, we managed to keep, despite all the pressure exerted, many of the rights vested for the Armed Forces and I assure you that this was not at all easy.
We stroke a red line, General and Minister. I had said and I repeat at all tones that no derogation to anything concerning the effectiveness and spirit of the Armed Forces will be made.
I also closely lived the difficulties of the personnel in the Armed Forces, as I said earlier, under the pressure of the financial circumstance. They already feel at home, in their family.
What I wanted, and what we managed to do in cooperation with everyone, is to maintain above all the dignity and the quality of life of our cadres.
We avoided any unreasonable new equipment and we preferred the scrupulous maintenance of our great infrastructure, many of which my dear Minister, bear your own signature.
We maintained and shielded the effectiveness of the Armed Forces. And we passed this message to Hellenic society, but also to the entire world, the international organisation and wherever we sat.
At the same time, we began all the necessary actions in order to exploit all our operational or not military camps and we submitted 137 proposals for the investment of the funds by the NSRF. Such actions were imperative, in order to relieve our beleaguered economy and of course to promote our defence policy.
At this point allow me to underline what I used to say at any chance, within or outside the country. Thanks to its Armed Forces, Greece – despite the financial circumstance – maintains one of the most reliable defence systems worldwide and is an actor for the stability and security in the broader area, besides their important mission, which is to ensure the country’s integrity and independence.
Given the new geopolitical and geostrategic data that have been formed, Greece is present and you carry a message of our flag’s prestige.
In this way, we safeguarded our country’s authority and prestige during a period when all the things happening here have unfortunately devitalised it. We shall continue on that course.
With all those things we have conquered, nothing has been offered to us, we shall keep Greece within this family of developed countries. And this is its role, through the Armed Forces. We owe it to the following generations, we owe it to our children. Above all, we owe it to our country.
With these thoughts, my dear Minister, I would like to welcome you to this familiar place, among the members of your broad family, since I guess that this is what you feel.
I would like to wish with all my heart good luck in your mission. I hope that everyone will know what I said back then and I repeated today, and at least it will be in my thoughts for my next steps, that you should consider me a part of this family.
Thank you and let me invite Mister Ragoussis to take the floor.
G. RAGOUSSIS: Thank you very much dear Minister, dear Dimitris.
I believe that all of you that have been present at a series of equivalent circumstances, where the baton, the state baton, is passed from one political leadership to the other, you have many special moments to remember from this place.
I guess you understand that this same thing is happening to all those who were sometime called to assume the duty but also the responsibility to be members of a political leadership at such a critical, for our national issues yet not only, Ministry.
Allow me to say, for the sake of history, since it is there that it will matter, that as Dimitris just said, I share the same strong feeling, like I guess has happened at most cases, with people that have left from this Ministry, but I want to make two conclusions before welcoming the new Minister.
The first conclusion concerns the Armed Forces. I am now one of the Greek politicians, but mainly one of the Greek citizens, that can – by experience – admit, countersign, absolutely agree that thanks to the absolutely capable leadership of the Armed Forces, as at least I got to know it during these months, the Chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff, as well as the Chiefs of the Army, the Navy and the Air Force;
Thanks to the cadres but also the entire personnel serving in the country’s Armed Forces, at military level, but also as I would like to stress out, at administrative and political level, Greece can feel very proud of its Armed Forces, who preserve its integrity and serve the Hellenic people.
And let me tell you that, having the experience of Public Administration as former Minister of Interior, I would like to make particular reference to the military, as well as the civilian personnel, for the high level public administration that we can see in this Ministry, wherever this may be, in the central General Staffs, but also in the decentralised forms and commands.
The second conclusion for Greece today, and allow me to say that it is not less important, is that here a success was made; thanks to Dimitris Avramopoulos, thanks to Kostas Spiliopoulos, I would also like to add thanks to the former Alternate Minister of National Defence, a critical bet was won. I would like to say, my dear ones, that it was not an easy bet and I would like to repeat the same and respective conclusion presented by Dimitris Avramopoulos.
There also were some hard times, when the partisan reflexes that remind us of other eras, were tested; that, under different circumstances, in other times, such circumstances would have given –I am sorry to say– to our dear journalists some cover stories from this Ministry, concerning conflicts, confrontations and disagreements.
I believe that we managed to overcome all those hard times and various disagreements, in a spirit of consensus and desire for understanding and agreement, as we ought to do, especially – and I want to stress that out – in the current situation in Greece. I sincerely say that we can leave this Ministry feeling proud for the fact that this bet to achieve cooperation and understanding in this sensitive field was won and – allow me to say – this is the heritage we wish to leave to the following political leaderships.
From what we can see, the Hellenic people desire that the future leaderships have cooperative characteristics, for the cooperation between politicians that come from various political wings.
I would also like to wish to the new Minister of National Defence, success in his – admittedly – hard duties during this particularly sensitive and hard period we will live until the election, until the newer judgment of the Hellenic people.
I would like to say that I feel the need to make a wish; the country’s financial crisis, which has appeared during the past 2,5 years, is unfortunately combined to a political crisis. This is why the country will go to elections, just after the elections of May 6th.
Whenever the financial crisis in Greece was combined to a political crisis, the country paid it with its national issues. The wish I would like to make is leaving this Ministry is that finally prudence and national responsibility will prevail; that the volatility, the political volatility, wherever it may come from, will stop and that everyone will do their best so as not to make the political crisis which has embraced the financial crisis, a national crisis.
D. AVRAMOPOULOS: Thank you very much mister Ragoussis. Mister Spiliopoulos please.
K. SPILIOPOULOS: Thank you mister Minister, mister Avramopoulos. I would also like to welcome in the Ministry the new Minister, mister Frangos Frangoulis, within an unfavourable financial and political circumstance for our country.
Your presence here is a guarantee that the Armed Forces will accomplish, as they did until today, their duty during the hard times our country is experiencing.
I know the Minister, mister Frangos Frangoulis, since we coexisted for some time here in the Ministry. I know that he is a competent and clever man and that he is also an expert, as he was the Chief of the Hellenic Army General Staff. Thus, I believe that his presence here will be an excellent, yet political now, presence in the Ministry of National Defence.
Today, that we leave the Ministry, I would like to thank first of all the minister, mister Avramopoulos, for the sincere cooperation we had. For the trust he showed me, which I believe was productive. Because together, we were able to resolve many of the lingering unresolved problems we found.
I would also like to thank the leadership, the Chief of the HNDGS, the Chiefs of the Army, the Navy and the Air force; All the Officers, the Ambassador, the Director General of RAE and the civilian personnel for our excellent and efficient cooperation.
I am leaving feeling completely satisfied, since I believe that we managed to take important action. I leave feeling satisfied because my soul is in peace; because I believe that I made my duty in the best possible way to the country and to the Ministry of National Defence.
I would like to thank you all for a good cooperation and to wish to the new Minister good luck, strength and success. Since the success here in the Ministry of National Defence is very important for our country, our people, our nation.
Thank you very much.
D. AVRAMOPOULOS: Thank you mister Spiliopoulos. Before I pass the floor to the new Minister, I would like to make a brief reference.
I would like to make a special reference to the Spokespersons in our Ministry. Now that this era reaches its end, I can tell them that in many things I agree with them, in many others I do not. Yet, I can assure you of one thing; They are all patriots.
Mister Minister, please.
F. FRANGOS: Minister of National Defence, Mister Dimitris Avramopoulos, Alternate Minister of National Defence mister Yiannis Ragoussis, Deputy Minister of National Defence mister Kostas Spiliopoulos, it is a great honour for me to be here in this Hall and to have by my side the competent military leadership, the Chief of the HNDGS, the Chief of HAGS, the Chief of HNGS and the Chief of HAFGS, who I know that for the time you coexisted were the best supporters for the accomplishment of your mission.
I would also like to thank the President of the Hellenic Republic and the Prime Minister of this caretaker Government, for the honour they bestowed me since, as you know, today according to the commands of our constitution, a caretaker Government took its oaths, so that the country will be led to the elections with security and peace. After the outcome of these elections and the formation of a government, a political Government will be made up, to which I will hand over the duties I assume for this period of time.
I realise that the time is very brief, however the responsibility is very high, and I also realise, according to what was said by the Ministers, that the spirit of cooperation, the mutual understanding of the problems and their confrontation in the best possible way can only have positive outcome.
And when this cooperation is successful, the only thing that is sure is that despite the unfavourable financial circumstance that can have many different consequences and that has already affected society, there is one outcome it should never bring. The one also pointed out by the three Ministers. To have slippage to matters of national sovereignty, something we will never be forgiven for, neither by the current generations nor by the past and future ones.
Having realised this mission, I invite you to cooperate and continue the work of our predecessors with much love, accord and mutual respect.
I am really thankful for the honour I was bestowed, mister Minister, and for the fact that the entire military leadership was present, as well as you three Ministers, expressing a broad range of our political spectrum. I do not believe that we experience a political crisis, but that we just live a very unfavourable financial circumstance, since your example has shown that such things can be overcome and the breakthrough can be achieved.
Thank you very much.
D. AVRAMOPOULOS: Thank you all once again. Thank you. I invite the Chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff to say something on behalf of the military leadership, if he wishes so.
M. KOSTARAKOS: Minister, Alternate Minister, Deputy Minister, General, Chief and now Minister, on behalf of the military leadership and the entire Armed Forces, I would like to thank the departing political leadership of the Ministry, for the particularly significant work offered.
It was only for six months but since at the end of our operations we always have a debriefing and a review, I would like to be more specific.
In order to follow an ascending way of the leadership, I would like to thank the deputy Minister for the exquisite work offered, as far as the Army Share Fund is concerned. We solved a problem lingering since decades, which appeared to be unresolved and without his personal contribution and pressure, this wouldn’t have been done.
I would like to thank the Alternate Minister for the care he showed to the personnel, for his ministerial decisions and for all those that are changed by them; we are trying to transform a system service-centred to man-centred. All decisions taken were very significant.
Finally, I would like to thank the Minister for his absolutely successful leadership, command and directives given during this semester. We managed to promote various issues, despite the short period and probably limited mandate; issues that were hard to be promoted for very long.
We also managed to promote what we wanted. That is our strength where this was necessary, yet to also preserve for our personnel the level of life they need to have in order to achieve their mission.
Mister Minister, on behalf of the entire personnel, we thank you for the honour you made us to be the political head of the Armed Forces for this semester. Significant and exceptional steps were made, which you will remember and which are the outcome of your touch in this period.
Thank you very much. Gentlemen, we thank you, as well as the personnel which accompanied you, very much.
To the Minister I would like to wish the best of luck in his new duties. I have no doubts whatsoever that all what he said will be executed. I have served under his orders for long periods, for many years.
I am certain that everything will be done so as to safeguard national integrity, as well as the continuity and the well-being, the effectiveness and the operational readiness of the Armed Forces.
Good luck in your task and all of us, the Armed Forces, will assist you for this period.
