Athens News Agency: News in English, 09-08-25

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From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] First measures for wildfire relief cited

[02] PASOK spokesman on wildfires

[03] ��� on wildfires

[01] First measures for wildfire relief cited

Environment, Town Planning and Public Works Minister George Souflias said after the meeting that the measures for those affected are similar to those taken in the wake of wildfires in the western Peloponnese in 2007.

Referring to the environmental destruction, he said an effort is required by all, coordination, planning, immediate and speedy initiatives, patience as well as years.

Souflias announced that planning will be carried out and very soon the implementation of flood-protection and corrosion-protection measures, as well as the creation of fire-protection zones and the construction of roads through forests to enable access to all regions to be easy.

He stressed that the countryside will be linked by satellite for the monitoring of land to be reforested, like in the case of Mount Parnitha, and the region will also be placed under surveillance in this way.

"We shall get to work immediately. All services and officials must coordinate themselves and I believe that with the help of all we shall be able to confront this great ecological disaster that has taken place to a considerable degree," he said.

[02] PASOK spokesman on wildfires

The spokesman added that over the past 3-4 days over 20,000 hectares of forest land have been burnt, while in the Attica prefecture over the last 30 years 30,000 hectares have been burnt and stressed, that the questions arising are "who is to blame, what happened."

Asked what the party's position will be "since unauthorised buildings were also burnt in the wildfires," the spokesman referred to the press conference to be given on Wednesday, on the issue of wildfires, pointing out that "this issue requires appropriate handling" and that the handling of the issue must be governed by the principle that unauthorised buldings are illegal.

"The minds of all turn there, economic motives are big, (however) I would not wish to state a clear position on this," Papaconstantinou said, asked about the possibility of arson, something that "other parties have adopted including KKE."

[03] ��� on wildfires

Papariga, moreover, again charged an organised arson plan was at hand, part of efforts by what she called "economic interests" to appropriate major tracts of land and to change land use laws, all aimed at generating profit.

She also again emphasised her party's radical position of, namely, "social property", i.e. the right of every worker to a first residence and even a vacation home beyond the "regime of buying and selling land".

Finally, she said it was incomprehensible that large swaths of forestland are owned by monasteries in the country.

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