Anti-landfill protests continue
Residents of Keratea, southeast of the capital, yesterday continued to block the police from accessing a site where a new landfill is to be built for the eighth day in a row following fresh clashes with riot police officers on Saturday night. The scuffle on Saturday led to the arrest of two residents. Another seven demonstrators were arrested following vehement clashes in the area last Thursday that resulted in several injuries. After the scuffles last week, a Lavrio court upheld appeals by residents and local authorities against the construction of a landfill in the area, ordering the temporary suspension of planned excavation works on the site where the facility is to be built. Apparently emboldened by the ruling, protesters pledged to stage fresh action over the Christmas period and into the New Year with some telling television reporters at the site that they would continue their blockade until Easter. Residents complain that the planned landfill will pollute and downgrade their area, and condemn authorities for failing to develop recycling to avoid reliance on the landfilling of garbage.
