Anger Over Greek Plan to Sell Weapons to Saudi Arabia

Thanos Dokos, the director of the Athens-based Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy think-tank, said that the deal is not indicative of Greek plans to expand its role in the Middle East.

“It was just an opportunity for the Greek government to sell surplus weaponry and cover financial needs and for the other side [Saudi Arabia] to obtain more weaponry for the war in Yemen,” he told Al Jazeera.

Explaining that the debate is multi-pronged, Dokos said: “The communist party [and other leftists] are delighted to find an opportunity to criticise the government on ethical grounds… and moving forward it will probably be used by the opposition [New Democracy] in its wider criticism of the government.

“The opposition is basically saying ‘you’ve accused of being corrupt in the past, but you are no better yourselves’.”

‘Dark side to these transactions’

Syriza came to power in January 2015 after campaigning on a left-wing programme.

Yet, it became the target of criticism for reneging on pledges to end the country’s austerity measures, fumbling the mass influx of refugees since 2015 and maintaining close military ties with Israel, among other grievances.

Savas Michael-Matsas, leader of the leftwing Revolutionary Workers Party, argued that both the government and the opposition were attempting to “hide the truth”.

“There is always a dark side to these transactions,” he told Al Jazeera. “We are against selling weapons to Saudi Arabia as they kill the Yemeni people and foment war all over the Middle East, whether it’s by the Greek government or the United States.”

Nonetheless, Michael-Matsas argued that New Democracy has focused on the alleged role of a private broker to score political points.

“New Democracy and the rightwing have been involved in a thousand scandals,” he continued.

“It’s important to note that they are not criticising the criminal act of selling arms to a country [Saudi Arabia] which is carrying out a genocidal war in Yemen, preparing for a war in Iran and inciting more war in Lebanon.”

Earlier this month, the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) also decried the deal in a statement. “The KKE firmly opposes agreements of military character that Greek governments sign with countries which participate in interventions against other people, such as the case of Saudi Arabia [in Yemen],” the party said in a statement.

Seraphim Seferiades, a politics professor at Panteion University in Athens, said the Saudi arms deal is only the latest move in a long list of policies former supporters of the Syriza government perceive as betrayals.

“People have stopped measuring the party up to the notion of leftwing government,” he told Al Jazeera. “Despite the fact that Syriza is still employing left-wing rhetoric, they have been doing the exact opposite in reality.”