ANKARA 

A deputy speaker of Greece’s parliament has advocated “the necessity of spying on” the country’s Muslim Turkish-origin deputies, local media reported Thursday.

Charalambos Athanasiou, who is also a former justice minister and currently a deputy from the ruling conservative Nea Dimokratia (ND) party, was referring to the three Muslim Turkish-origin deputies, who all hail from the country’s Western Thrace region, as potential agents of Türkiye, according to the Left.Gr news outlet, which cited an interview he gave Wednesday to the StoNisi news channel.

“Let’s suppose that a member of parliament who has a religious orientation completely different from Orthodox Christians gives information to a neighboring country -- Türkiye -- about where irregular immigrants can come in,” he said, adding that national intelligence would have to take precautions in such a scenario, according to the outlet.

Asked whether the deputies can be monitored, Athanasiou replied: "If the procedure provided for by the legislator is followed, of course.”

His remarks caused an uproar, particularly from the country’s leftist opposition parties.

The main opposition party SYRIZA-PS, stressed in a statement that Athanasiou essentially claims that those who are not Orthodox Christians are national threats.

“However, in reality, Charalambos Athanasiou said unequivocally what (Prime Minister Kyriakos) Mitsotakis hinted at in a speech, attempting to cover up the dangerous actions of his government with references to national security and ‘dark forces,’” the statement said.

Calling on the prime minister to dismiss Athanasiou, the party argued that Mitsotakis will have shown that he is consenting with his comments.

The PASOK-KINAL party also said in its statement that Athanasiou’s remarks plunge Greece into intolerance and create a severe national rift by claiming the minority deputies can potentially betray national interests.

“We demand immediate intervention against the deputy parliamentary speaker by explicitly condemning the unacceptable, divisive statement by Athanasiou,” it added.

The Greek Communist Party (KKE) noted that Athanasiou proved that the term “national security” has become a band-aid that everyone and everything can fit in in order to legitimize and facilitate unacceptable practices of monitoring and eavesdropping.

Burhan Baran, a Turkish-origin deputy with the PASOK-KINAL, also condemned Athanasiou’s remarks.

Referring to the minority deputies of parliament as potential suspects of national treason and therefore saying it would be "legitimate" to monitor them cultivates a spirit of dogmatism and intolerance, Baran stressed.