The Mayor made a statement launching arrows in various directions

The his version of events presents with a text - statement of 1100 words the Mayor of Kythira Efstratios Charhalakis, who remains for the 4th day in Antikythera, away from the facts and the people on the front line, on the issue of the management of illegal immigrants who landed in Kythera from 17 August 2022. His statement comes shortly after communication - response of volunteers, regarding the management of the Municipal Camping. 

In his text it is striking that he turns to against citizens, probably(?) residents of Capsali without naming them(?), whom accuses them of hypocrisy while accusing them of not having their own private property(!) to house the migrants.

Then he seems to be annoyed by the wave of support and recognition of citizens and volunteers towards the Deputy Mayor Yannis Katsanevakis that is publicly recorded on the island, on social media, but also in the reports of the Greek media, commenting that the Deputy Mayor for Civil Protection shall act on the instructions of his/her political superior, that is to say, of the Mayor.

Read below the full and particularly interesting statement of Mayor of Kythera Efstratios Harhalakis.

Statement by the Mayor of Kythera Efstratios Harhalakis

Early this morning, after a coordinated operation of the Greek Police, the Coast Guard and the Municipality of Kythera, the almost 250 illegally entered our country migrants, who arrived on our island within a few hours on August 17th, in three different incidents, departed from Kythera to the organized structures. I would like to thank the Deputy Minister of Shipping Mr. Kostas Katsafados, the leadership of the L.S. and the EL.AS. and every authority involved, for their cooperation. From the very first moment I was in open line with all the above and with the Deputy Minister of Immigration Mrs. Sofia Voultepsi..

From the first moment that the Municipality of Kythera was informed about these incidents (dawn of 17 August), the responsible Deputy Mayor Mr. Ioannis Katsanevakis along with the 3 contract employees of Civil Protection, acting on the explicit instructions and orders of the Mayor (and not privately as some have deliberately and misleadingly spread), was at the scene of the incidents, provided the necessary assistance to the competent authorities and coordinated the large wave of volunteers who were mobilized after a relevant announcement of our Municipality (17-08-2022). At this point it should be noted that the present Municipal Authority, from 2014 to date, has managed more than 50 similar incidents, some of them in Antikythera during the winter, without EVER having a shortfall in water or food supply, either from the Municipality's own resources (when possible), or with the mobilization of volunteers and private entities. Moreover, even the mobilisation and coordination of volunteers, in similar incidents, fall within the broader concept of municipal social actions and, to date, in the case of our Municipality, has proven to be effective.

Moreover, citizens should be aware that according to article 38 of Law 4939/2022, refugees and migrants «shall be taken immediately, under the responsibility of the police or port authorities in charge, to a Reception and Identification Centre or a Closed Controlled Facility. The transfer may also be carried out at the request of the Reception and Identification Service in the event that the competent police or port authorities are unable to carry out the transfer or in order to ensure the rapid and appropriate transfer of persons belonging to vulnerable groups». Therefore, the municipalities have no responsibility whatsoever in the issue of the transfer of refugees to a closed structure, as this issue is related to specific bureaucratic procedures (arrest of traffickers, non-prosecution of migrants, etc.) in which the municipalities are not involved.

Regarding the stay and overnight stay of migrants in Municipality buildings, we have consistently stressed that our Municipality does NOT have such buildings, and will NOT house migrants in schools, especially when the school year starts in a few days. On this issue we are absolute. After all, when in January 2019, the then Government had abandoned for 4 days in the freezing cold, rain and cold nearly 70 migrants, including young children and a pregnant woman, who were roughly housed in the Diakofti port building, and despite our constant appeals for their immediate transfer to the mainland first and foremost to protect their lives, the then detainees were enjoying their New Year's holidays in the winter resorts, forcing our Municipality to submit a complaint to the Prosecutor of the Supreme Court Ms. Xeni Demetriou, exposing with objective arguments that our island does NOT have the ability to manage such incidents. In the face of this abandonment, none of the media, which today are cutting and presenting unspeakable lies, dared to write the slightest thing, obviously because the then Government was friendly to them. The ultimate in hypocrisy.

But those who consider volunteers and humanitarians only those who advertise their humanitarianism and post photos of the events are also hypocrites. Humanists are those who help their fellow human beings without drumbeats and selfies, without heavy-handed ideological but completely meaningless statements, without logical leaps and without treating the plight of migrants as a prime opportunity to exercise opposition by railing against local authorities and demonstrating their tragic political poverty and isolation. Humanists are those who are pushing in every direction for the immediate departure of migrants to an organised structure, with the aim of protecting their lives. Humanists are not those who state in the media that they are «outraged» but do not have a single square meter of the hundreds they own in Chora and Capsule to temporarily house these people, even the women and children. HUMANITARIANS are the dozens of our fellow citizens who mobilized either on their own or at the call of the Municipality and brought water, clothes and food without asking or seeking to have their name on the internet or posting a photo with a migrant as proof of their humanitarianism. WE ARE SINCERELY GRATEFUL TO THEM.

That is what our Church also says: “Neither do we purge ourselves in alms and charities of the mourning, NOT by trumpeting, NOT by publishing our good news, NOT by the left knowing the work of the right, NOT by the cynostasy scattering the fruit of alms, but by the hidden things in secret’ (Idiom of the Apostles of the side sound of the first Sunday of Lent).

We as the Municipal Authority will NOT allow Kythera to become a repository of souls. We will NOT allow the political exploitation and instrumentalization of such events. We will NOT allow the speculation and lies that some people like to tell by profession.
Those who congratulate Yiannis Katsanevakis but blame the Mayor/Municipality, are hypocrites and are acting out of malice. Because they knowingly conceal the fact that Mr. Katsanevakis does not represent himself, nor is he a simple private volunteer, but is the competent Deputy Mayor of the Municipality of Kythera, who for 3 days, along with other Deputy Mayors and employees, is on the front line providing the maximum possible based on the instructions of the authorities. He is the person appointed/elected by the Mayor to manage these incidents, based on the responsibilities of the Municipality and the instructions of his political boss. Obvious to the many and thoughtful, but concealed by the few and opinionated.

With the strength of our pure, genuine volunteers, we will continue to act effectively and for the benefit of our island, whether some like it or not. Those who instrumentalize immigration for their own political gain already find the vast majority of the local community against them.

Finally: I return the ridiculous accusations that «I am on holiday in Antikythera». Despite the fact that I do not intend to ask anyone's permission to visit my place of origin and the second island of our Municipality (which some agents and elected officials have NEVER visited), I inform the late commentators that I have personally and against infinite difficulties and adversities undertaken the coordination for the organization of this year's celebration of St. Myronos, in an admittedly exemplary way for a small island, a fact that can be confirmed by the dozens of Kytherians who visited Antikythera a few days ago. So I don't take a holiday. But even if I did, I wasn't going to ask anyone's permission. Period.