"Antisemitism and any form of fascism and racism will not be tolerated in Greece. Our country - and this is a message we must send to the authorities and to everyone, who in general are doing their jobs very well - will not allow racist behaviour," government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis emphatically on Wednesday in an interview with Parapolitika Radio 90.1.

Referring to an incident that occurred at the port of Syros, involving Israeli tourists who were unable to disembark from their cruise ship due to a pro-Palestinian protest, Marinakis said that "every necessary measure must be taken to ensure that in such incidents, citizens are protected, regardless of where they come from, their origin, religion, or anything else." 

"I consider what happened in Syros to be outrageous. There are no words to describe it. It is an incident which, I must say on behalf of the Greek government, is isolated, and the authorities must do everything in their power to ensure that nothing like this ever happens again," Marinakis emphasised.

The government spokesperson stressed that a message must be sent to all countries - to Israel and to the entire world:
"The next time the safety of passengers, or citizens, must be weighed against anything else, safety must come first. I repeat: we protect every protest, every demonstration within the framework of the law. The law is clear. Obviously, protesting is not prohibited - and I repeat - it is both human and self-evident. The authorities must enforce the law. If citizens need to be relocated to a place where they can carry out their demonstration perfectly well, then that must happen. If certain individuals, whose behaviour falls under provisions of the anti-racism law, should be arrested, then they must be arrested. The police have the full support of society - the overwhelming majority of society. They are doing an incredible job - let me not be misunderstood - in many very difficult cases and under very adverse conditions, many times. There is a law, there is a framework, and it must be enforced."

Regarding whether the incident has caused an issue in Greek-Israeli relations, Marinakis emphasised that "there is no issue". 
"It is understandable that such an incident might raise concern, as we are talking about the citizens of a state. Caution is needed regarding the very fine line between a protest and an act directed against any individual, regardless of their origin or religion. The former - a protest - is a democratic action. The latter is an act of absolute fascism. It is the other face of fascism: to target any person because of their origin, preference, religion, or anything else," he added.