Shock and a host of negative comments have caused the photos circulating from the Carnival in Moraitika Corfu, where protesters chose to use a caricature of the leader of the opposition, Stefanos Kasselakis, as a Carnival in a show of homophobia.
Specifically, they had placed in place of the face a photograph of Kasselakis with his lips brightly painted, wearing women’s underwear and with his legs open, while a broom supported the caricature and the crowd danced in a circle around it.
A day after the incident, the co-organizer of the Carnival, the local PTA, condemned this image, with its members stating that they were unaware of the use of this particular caricature and that if they had known, they would not have participated.
In addition, the mayor of South Corfu, Vassilis Himariotis, in a statement condemned the choice of the carnival figure, stressing that homophobic and racist attitudes cannot be tolerated.
The member of the Board of the local cultural association of Moraitika that organized the carnival, Petros Kosmas, in a post on his personal Facebook account after declaring shame, differentiated himself from this choice and said that he will bring the issue to the Board for collective decisions to be taken.
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The mayor of South Corfu, Vassilis Himariotis, in a statement to CorfuPress.com said on the issue:
“In satyra everything is allowed. In the words of the press release, “All is allowed except of one: the insult to the personality of each of our fellow human beings, the mockery of their sexual orientation, racism. This is not satire. At a time when, throughout Greece, violent, racist attitudes are finding more and more imitators, especially among the younger generation, our children, we must all be careful about the examples we set ourselves.
I strongly condemn the choice of the carnival figure at Sunday’s carnival event in Moraitika and the way in which SYRIZA President was portrayed. I hope that such attitudes and practices will become a thing of the past in our region.
