The general secretary of the Central Committee of the KKE Dimitris Koutsoubas continues his tour in Crete. During this visit, today Saturday 17 February 2024, the block of farmers in the Great Fields of Chania. D. Koutsoubas was welcomed by Manousos Stavrianoudakis, president of the United Federation of Agricultural Associations of Chania.

The CEO of his KE KKE in his meeting with the farmers he made the following statement:

“Your fight is fair, you have fair demands, everywhere in all the blocs, all over Greece where I have traveled and met them, the demands are right, you have to go all the way. You must know that the government is already squeezed by your struggles throughout Greece and you must squeeze it even more.

The descent and with tractor on Tuesday in Athens which will take place from all regions, from all blocs in Greece, is a significant escalation. We support it and in fact the people of Athens, labor unions, associations, workers, employees, scientists, professionals, students will be on the side of the farmers, they will be in a demonstration, in a big rally at the Constitution to support this fight. Because they are essentially requests for your very life, for your survival. The cost of production has reached the heights, your traders sell supplies at very expensive prices and raise the cost and then at the same time buy the products at very degrading prices as a result of which the Greek farmer, the breeder cannot even support his family , but not in general to be able to do his cultivation or live from animal husbandry.

And at the same time, you know very well, that they give tax-free oil to shipowners who don’t know what they have and, on the other hand, they don’t give farmers this fair request. Villages where the 7 minutes per kilowatt hour you are asking for the electricity should have been done yesterday and not what Mr. Mitsotakis is giving, who started with slander about your struggle, then reached threats and repression and then started distributing some meters mockery, because it is a mockery. What he is saying now and what he told the farmers’ delegation in Maximou, that he is giving 82 million, this is half of what you were getting until 2016 and in installments. At a time when precision has soared, when inflation is galloping and farmers are constantly losing their income, they can’t stay on their land, they can’t cultivate, the farmer can’t be able to raise his livestock let’s say , apart from the rest of the problems, as for example in the olive we have this year.

Also, natural disasters have occurred and the farmer loses, while infrastructure projects are not carried out and ELGA does not compensate 100% of the damage as it should. These are the issues, we will put them in the Parliament, we will shout again, we also put them in the European Parliament, we will mainly be with you on the streets of the struggle.

Because if the young man can’t, if he can’t produce, have his crop, his field or his livestock unit, how will a family live?”

For their part, the farmers thanked D. Koutsoumba for supporting their just demands. They pointed out that “the KKE is the only party in the Parliament that has not voted for the Common Agricultural Policy and had even informed that it is extricating the small- and medium-sized farmer and breeder from his village.”

Finally, the farmers pointed out that “they will escalate their struggle and that they are also planning to go up to Athens by participating in the pan-Hellenic rally on February 20, together with farmers from all over Greece”.