Letter signed - among others - by the Minister of Rural Development of SYRIZA - P.S., Stavros Arachovitis and addressed to the Ministry of Culture and Sports, highlights the responsibilities of Minister Lina Mendoni on the issue of wind turbines of Mani.
The signatories state:
With a ministerial decision signed on 2/4/2021 Ms. Mendoni took care to abolish the restrictive condition of non-visibility of wind turbines in Mani, which had been adopted by the Minister of Culture of the Government SY.RIZ.A. Mr. Lydia Koniordou. Thus, Mrs. Mendoni gave the green light for the immediate installation of new wind turbines, 120 meters high, in the entire peninsula of Mani, which will now be visible from the protected settlements of Special State Protection and classified as newer monuments by the Ministry of Culture.
With a question submitted today by the Ministers of Culture Sia Anagnostopoulou, Environment and Energy Socrates Famelos and Rural Development Stavros Arachovitis and signed by 29 more MPs of SYRIZA.-PS. we ask for answers to the rationale and the necessity of this decision that leads to the degradation of Mani.
We have no illusions, of course. Mrs Mendoni makes sure that her daily decisions confirm that she is an unprecedented threat to the protection of the cultural heritage of this country. The fact that she is rebuilding again, this time in Mani, is for one purpose only: To serve all kinds of sponsors and financial interests, which is a central political choice of the government of the Southwest and personally of Mr. This is the main objective of the government's main policy of the Greek government and personally of Mr. Mitsotakis.
But the hubris that is the quintessence of Ms Mendoni's decisions hurts and does not leave the Greek people and the residents of Mani indifferent as they think.
Below is the full text of the Question:
Athens, 13 April 2021
QUESTION
To the Minister of Culture and Sports
Subject: “HCulture Minister removes restrictive condition on the non-visibility of wind turbines in the protected settlements of the Mani region’’
With a series of destructive actions and decisions, the current leadership of the Ministry of Culture is systematically deconstructing the cultural capital of this country. This is evidenced by the criminal interventions and the extensive layers of cement on the Rock of the Acropolis, as evidenced by the launching of the cutting off from its natural position, an important piece of the ancient city of Thessaloniki at the Venizelos Metro Station under construction, despite the strong reactions of the local community, the domestic and international scientific community. This is proven by the failure to protect the land and sea archaeological site of Ampelakia and Kynosura Salamina. It is ultimately demonstrated by the overall policy of Mrs Mendoni for culture. Unfortunately, however, the Minister, with her familiar obsessive and inflexible attitude, has recently proceeded to her next (A)cultural action-intervention, which threatens once again the protection of the cultural heritage of this place.
Specifically, with a ministerial decision signed on 2/4/2021, it removes the restrictive condition on the non-visibility of wind turbines, regarding the potential impact of the construction and operation of the project, mainly on the settlements Areopolis, Koita, Mina and Vathia in Mani, which had adopted the decision of 3.2.2017 of the Minister of Culture Mrs. Lydia Koniordou and the amendment act of the Minister of Culture No. οικ.37467/6.9.2017. Minister of Environment, which adopted a project-specific Environmental Impact Study of February 2016 and in particular the relevant condition No. 38.3 of Section B ’Construction Phase’ of the same and which was approved by the Central Council of Modern Monuments with its opinion of 15.12.2016.
After the «request for treatment» filed by the companies concerned for the removal of the condition of visibility, with its decision it gives in and gives the green light for the immediate installation of new wind turbines, 120 meters high, in the entire peninsula of Mani so that they are visible from the protected settlements of Special State Protection and classified as newer monuments by the Ministry of Culture.It is interesting to note that the grounds of the decision specify that the removal of the condition of visibility of the installations is made in the light of the fact that «the wind turbine installations visible from the settlements of Areopolis and Koita [...] do not cause visual disturbance to the settlements and monuments protected by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism».
Because the continuous protection and preservation of cultural heritage is a moral obligation and the basic mission of the Ministry of Culture,
Because under the ministry of Mrs. Lina Mendoni is a criminal devaluation of culture, which is expressed, among other things, through a number of negative examples of political choices to serve self-interest, which ultimately degrade our cultural heritage,
Because the market and destructive way in which historical monuments, archaeological sites and protected settlements of Special State Protection are treated by the leadership of the Ministry of Culture, undermines the credibility of the country and makes it accountable to the international community
Will the Minister responsible answer the following questions:
Why did it choose to overturn the established framework for the protection of the archaeological and natural environment and the licensing of the project and to modify, by its decision, the terms of the project, degrading the protected settlements of Mani?;
The questioning MPs
Anagnostopoulou Athanasia (Sia)
Arachovitis Stavros
Famellos Socrates
Athanasiou Athanasios
Alexiadis Tryfon
Vardakis Socrates
Vassilikos Vassilis
Yannoulis Christos
Giolas Giannis
Higoumenidis Nikolaos
Dionysis Kalamatianos
Karasarlidou Euphrosyne (Froso)
Kasimatis Irini (Nina)
Katrougalos George
Malama Sunday
Constantine Markou
Alexandros Meikopoulos
Michaelides Andreas
Mouzalas Yannis
Moraitis Athanasios
Ekaterini Notopoulou
Perch Theopisti
Poulou Panagiota
Ragousis Yannis
Panagiotis Skourletis
Panos Skouroliakos
Betty Scoofa
Christos Spirtzis
Tzoufi Meropi
Filis Nikolaos
Hatzigiannakis Miltiadis
Christidou Rallia
