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In the reports made by Zakynthos Member of Parliament Dionysis Aktypis in his speech in Parliament, at the end of last month, about the way SYRIZA acted as a government in 2017 in the fires that broke out on our island, both during the extinguishing operation and then, for the compensation of those affected, the new announcement of the Residents of the Mountain Region of Zakynthos focuses.
As they note in the announcement they issued “…we are sorry that what he said is inaccurate in relation to the events of 2017. We will not stop our struggle to take back our villages. Not even an acre to the Fraudsters, who sold us out in 2014 and even burnt us, in 2017! We are not afraid of conflict with them and we want this message to reach everywhere!”
In more detail, they state:
At the end of July, Mr. Aktypis, in the context of a debate in Parliament on the new bill of the Ministry of Citizen Protection on police training, made reference to the fires that broke out in Zakynthos, in the summer of 2017. This issue is very sensitive for us Zakynthians, as it is directly linked to the Zakynthos Scandal. That is why we insist on this with our present announcement.
First of all, we appreciate the report of Mr. Aktypis, in his attempt to highlight components of the Scandal. However, we will try to be more accurate and not selective regarding the events of that period of 2017. All Zakynthians know that the fire was not just one, the devastation was not limited to the boundaries of a single village and the fire that burnt from one end of Anafonitria to the other, was not simple. We understand that the MP from Zakynthos in his speech used an example from Zakynthos to support some of his political arguments, but words were used that distorted reality.
We do not know if Mr. Kontonis, on the occasion of the dozens of simultaneous fires, spoke with Mr. Tsipras then, or if he spoke with Erdogan or the Emir of Qatar. We know that it is not an exaggeration to claim that almost all the media had reported on the issue that summer of 17. Here are just a few articles:
– News247.gr under the title Zakynthos of 100 fires
– Protothema.gr with the title Zakynthos: Three new fire outbreaks at a distance of one kilometer – The arsonists not found!
– Protothema.gr with the title Zakynthos: Helicopter spotted arsonists – Big operation to arrest them
– Newsit.gr with the title Fire in Zakynthos: Houses and shops are burning – Panic in Anafonitria with explosions and people running
– Cnn.gr with the title Zakynthos: 30 fires in one month – The scenarios of an organized disaster plan
– Thetoc.gr with the title The mafia of arsonists: 82 fires in Zakynthos in summer
– Iefimerida.gr with the title Mountainous Zakynthos on fire – New fire in progress near Navagio
– Naftemporiki.gr with the title Zakynthos: Over 10 active fire fronts
– LiFO.gr under the title New fire in Zakynthos near the monastery of Ag. Georgiou Krimnon – The fire in Orthonies has been brought under partial control
– Alfavita.gr with the title Are the fires in Zakynthos an arson plan?
– Ertnews.gr with the title The Regional Office of Zakynthos for the tragic account of the fires
– Tovima.gr with the title Zakynthos: The secrets of the “invisible arsonists” and their principals
The titles and reporting of the above articles are all revealing and outline an organized plan of arson, with the main target being the mountains of the island. None of the many dozen fires of that period were simple. Anafonitria, indeed, was targeted and burnt from end to end, as well as many other large areas, apart from that, in surrounding villages. Saint Dionysios helped and we did not have any serious damage to our homes.
What and who does this plan of simultaneous arson serve in Zakynthos in 2017? The answer was then given by Mr. Andrianos Gourbatsis, Lieutenant General – Deputy Chief of Staff, e.a., Legal Specialist Investigator – Forensic Expert for the Investigation of Arson Crimes.
In ecopress, on August 28, 2017, we read his personal assessment of that period in Zakynthos. “…a large number of intentional fires in the Ionian Islands have as the (psychological) motivation of their perpetrators profit / benefit and in particular the encroachment of forest lands with the aim of acquiring or increasing the property of the perpetrators.”. He explains the legal way in which either the natural or the moral perpetrators of the arsonists benefit in order to get to the essence of the issue: “Due to the end of English rule, the public lands in the Ionian Islands were not transferred to the Greek State, resulting in legal disputes (conflict) with private individuals over the ownership status of contested lands are almost always resolved in favor of the private individuals.”
Immediately after, his report reminds us of the purchase and sale of the Mountains: “One such civil dispute – the most recent – concerning the purchase and sale of a disputed area of 15,000 acres, which is in fact located in the area where the most recent fire which was caused, on Saturday, August 26th, 2017, in the area of Anafonitria and was already raging on Sunday, August 27th, 2017 in the wider area of Ano Volimo, Volimo, Maries etc. areas in the NW section of Zakynthos, where the most attractive touristic coast of the Mediterranean “The Shipwreck of Zakynthos” is located, At the Court of First Instance in Zakynthos, lawsuits started on February 17th, 2017 and continued on April 5th, 2017 the hearing of the lawsuit filed by the Diocese of Zakynthos together with the Holy Monastery of Agios Georgios Krimnos, for the annulment of the relevant contract drawn up for the specific sale. The issuance of the relevant decision is already expected. However, additional intervention in this trial was exercised by the Greek State, the Municipality, the Region and some residents. The seller of the above area is a private individual while the buyer is a real estate company of a Qatari investment entity. So the question is reasonably raised: Is the incident of the above-mentioned fire in the area of the above-mentioned judicially contested forest area coincidental or does it have something to do with this case?”
In fact, in the Free Press, on September 27th, 2017, we read at the beginning of the article: “A petition against all those responsible for the consecutive fires in Zakynthos which, among other things, are disrupting its activity, was filed with the Supreme Court’s prosecution by the company” PIMANA S.A.”, a subsidiary of AL RAYYAN, a state investment company of Qatar.”
Below in the same article it becomes clear that the company “PIMANA S.A.”, a subsidiary of the Al Rayyan Group, which is 100% owned by the State of Qatar, has purchased since 2014, an area of 14,250 acres in the north-west of the island with the aim of using it for tourism .
All this was not said by Mr. Aktypis… and we are sorry that what he said is inaccurate in relation to the events of 2017.
We will not stop our struggle to take back our villages. Not even an acre to the Fraudsters, who sold us out in 2014 and even burnt us, in 2017! We are not afraid of conflict with them and we want this message to reach everywhere!
Residents of the mountain communities of Zakynthos.”
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Source in Greek:- https://www.imerazante.gr
Main Feature photos:-navagiogate.com
