Three years ago, the Ministry of Education, with Minister Prodromos Prodromou at the helm, ordered an investigation against a teacher for drawings he made in his spare time (the case of George Gavriel).
At that time, DIKO, both through the president’s Twitter account and through a party statement, expressed the opinion that “the prosecution of Gavriel sends completely wrong, undemocratic, and anti-European messages to society at large, and the government must immediately withdraw the charges.”
Strongly disagreeing with this view was the MP and spokesperson (at the time) of the party, Pavlos Mylonas, who resigned from his position.
Although the resignation letter was written in June, it was activated on the day the party took a stand against the prosecution of Gavriel. When asked by journalists whether his move was connected to this event, he replied that “clearly the stance of the party leadership influenced his final decision, as he cannot represent the president and the collective organs of DIKO with the position they expressed on the issue.”
Previously, both he and Chrysanthos Savvides (also a DIKO MP) had strongly expressed the belief that the teacher should be prosecuted.
Yesterday, when it became known that an investigation had been ordered against a teacher who showed a video during class featuring a Greek Orthodox priest explaining his views and the Church’s position against same-sex marriage, Pavlos Mylonas sent a letter to the Minister of Education, stating at the same time that “this fascist mentality of imposing education on children by MPs or organized groups that do not respect opposing views cannot continue.”
One teacher was painting at his home and publicizing his work and had to be prosecuted. The other presented a video with a metropolitan explaining his opposition to marriage and adoption between homosexuals, but this contributes to critical thinking.
Of course, it helps in a discussion, if another opinion is presented, if the goal is to see the issue from all sides.
“The scientific community cannot be silenced, nor can the democratic principle of freedom of expression, information, and education of our children, depending on who repeatedly shouts or threatens on specific issues,” said Pavlos Mylonas, a statement we could endorse if there was consistency in this position.
Children cannot be perceived as endangered by what their teacher draws at home, yet, what another teacher presents in the classroom is to be viewed simply as educational.