“We need to talk about how we will shield the country”, said the president of PASOK-KINAL, Nikos Androulakis, referring to the phenomena of natural disasters, during his visit this morning to Aetochori Evros, which was affected by the fire.

Mr. Androulakis is visiting Palaia Evrou, which has also been affected by the fire, and will then go to the coordinator of the fire department and civil protection in Alexandroupoli.

“The Greek people are experiencing a tragedy,” said Mr. Androulakis and continued: “Hundreds of thousands of acres have been burned, human lives are being lost, the country is in a state of fire. We saw the evacuation of important infrastructures of the state, such as the Alexandroupolis hospital, a few weeks ago we had ammunition explosions in a camp in Aghialos. All these events prove daily that security and political protection is the “Waterloo” of the current government».

Mr. Androulakis said that he sent a letter to the president of the Parliament today, so that the issue of fires and ways of dealing with them, based on the new data created by climate change, could be discussed.

“It is unthinkable to respond to these tragic conditions faced by the Greek people with conspiracy theories, with alleged statements by the responsible minister, that for two years now there has been no clarification of responsibilities by the ministry and the local government and of course we must talk about the substance on how we will shield the country, based on best prevention practices and civil protection plans,” Androulakis said and added:

“It is not possible to leave the Greek people in a tragic situation, to burn our forests, to undermine their quality of life and to do very little. That’s why today I sent a letter to the president of the Parliament, so that there could be a pre-day debate on the subject of the fires. We have a duty to address this phenomenon based on the current conditions of climate change. All parties must make decisions, without populism, without wishful thinking. It’s a matter of national security, it’s a top issue that concerns the Greek people.”

Mr. Androulakis was in favor of compensation for fire victims and others affected by natural disasters.

“We stand by every family, every Greek woman and every Greek man, who has been affected by natural disasters and we have a duty to compensate them, as a state. We will always use the voice of reason to deal with these major issues concerning the Greek people. It is not a field of confrontation, it is a field of national reconciliation and we must rise to the occasion”, he pointed out.

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