Ministry issues ultimatum for squatters to evacuate buildings
The Citizens’ Protection Ministry on Wednesday called on squatters to evacuate any state- or privately owned building within two weeks as the government steps up its efforts to clear old buildings in central Athens of illegal occupants.
According to a press release issued by the ministry, occupied buildings that are housing refugees and migrants will be contacted by the ministry’s relevant service in order for the migrants to transferred to camps on the mainland.
The ministry also said that if the buildings in question are privately owned, squatters should contact the legal owners and agree to a leasing arrangement.
Authorities have cleared several occupied buildings in recent months including four in the anarchist stronghold of Exarchia in downtown Athens, the focus of the conservative government’s law and order crackdown.
Many of the occupied buildings in Exarchia have hosted migrants that have been reluctant to move to state camps on the islands and mainland.
Some of the squats are likely to be more of a challenge than others to clear. The Vox building in Exarchia Square, which serves as the informal headquarters of the Rouvikonas anarchist group, is a case in point.
