The farmers are preparing for their march to Athens tomorrow. In Afidnes, police cars will be waiting for the tractors to accompany them to the capital, in order to limit traffic problems. According to the planning of the traffic police, the tractors will move in one lane. The farmers say that the number of tractors in Athens will be in the triple digits, that the demonstration will be peaceful and at the same time will demonstrate their anger and determination to have immediate solutions to their demands.
Today Monday Start the convoys of vehicles from Thessaly to the Castle of Boeotia where they will merge. Gradually they will be reinforced in volume by the blockades.
From the Platykampos blockade they will initially move through the old Larissa-Volos highway to Stefanovikio. Then, via the E.O. to Almyros, to move all together to their final destination for the evening.
From the E65 blockade in Karditsa-Farsala respectively, they will join the tractors from Megalochori Trikala to move towards Lamia and finally to Kastro in Boeotia.
On Tuesday morning, the convoy of tractors, machines, buses and other vehicles will set off for the centre of Athens, on a route of about 110 km.
Their route through the urban fabric is estimated to be via Athens Avenue, Karaiskakis Square and Omonia Square, in order to «ascend» Stadiou to Syntagma.
Also, buses are expected to drop off a significant number of people in the area of OAKA, in order to then reach the centre with the trains of the HSEAP.
Preparations for the mass participation in the rally are feverish, including by the farmers in Crete.
The farmer from the Platykampos blockade, Chr. Sidiropoulos, said, among other things, on ERT's «Connections» show that the implementation of the new CAP is a national issue and that what was voted in the EU must be reversed. Speaking about Thessaly and compensation, he stressed that it is not an economic cost that we caused. «The disasters that we have in Thessaly are about 180,000 acres that are still in water and there are another 300,000 acres that are unsuitable for cultivation», he stressed, adding that no one will be hindered and no roads will be closed. He spoke of a coordinated and careful descent and said that we will be in Syntagma on Tuesday afternoon and on Wednesday morning - possibly at 10:00 - we will leave to return to Thessaly and Central Greece.
In the meantime, road blockades continue for a few hours. Farmers at the customs blockade of Victory in Florina will close the border for trucks carrying goods today, Monday 19 February from 12 to three in the afternoon. Farmers say they are determined to escalate their mobilisation on Tuesday with the closure of the border for cars as well, when the big rally will take place in Athens with the descent of tractors to Syntagma.
New blockades were introduced on the Egnatia road, the farmers in Chalkidiki and Imathia. Specifically, yesterday at 18.30 in the afternoon olive growers of Halkidiki blocked the Egnatia road on both sides, at the height of the junction of Moudania, while in Imathia blockade of the Egnatia road was shortly before 19.00 in the afternoon, with a blockade of farmers at the junction of Neseli. The farmers held a protest on foot.
Today the farmers of Halkidiki are expected to intensify their mobilizations, while the farmers are in a flurry of preparations for the transfer of their tractors to Athens, many of which are expected to be loaded on trucks
«The government's priority is to reward and support consistent and real producers, but taking into account the fiscal strengths» - the Prime Minister's message to farmers, in the context of the weekly review of the government's work.
«We are proving in practice that we are indeed a government of all Greeks, which cares not only for the many, but also for the few - especially for the most vulnerable such as children - by giving rights, justice and freedom to a portion of our fellow citizens who until now have been deprived of them. (...) Rewarding and supporting the wise and genuine producers who fight every day in the field is a priority for us. Because in this way we support the primary sector from the field to the shelf and the consumer with better prices (...) The problems are many and complex. Of course we will continue to stand firmly by them, but always taking into account the country's fiscal strength. We cannot jeopardise what we have achieved,» Mitsotakis said.
