Protesters gather in front of the Greek parliament yesterday during a demonstration against a Canadian gold mining investment in the northeastern region of Halkidiki.
ATHENS: Thousands of Greek protesters yesterday rallied against a Canadian gold mining project under way in the northeastern region of Halkidiki, which locals say will cause irreversible damage to the environment.
About 2,000 people took part in the march in Athens and another 1,500 in Greece’s second-largest city Thessaloniki. Carrying banners against the project run by Hellenic Gold, a subsidiary of Canadian firm Eldorado Gold, the demonstrators chanted: “We want forests, land and water, not a grave made out of gold.”
“Fields full of cyanide and arsenic, that is what remains from gold” was another slogan.
They also called for the release of two people who were arrested earlier this week in connection with a sabotage attack carried out on the mining work site two months ago.
Citizens’ groups have been trying to halt the project since 2011, when the Greek government gave Hellenic Gold permission to dig in the region.
While the investment is expected to create hundreds of jobs in the recession-hit country—where the unemployment rate has topped 27 percent—opponents say it will drain and contaminate local water reserves and fill the air with hazardous chemicals including lead, cadmium, arsenic and mercury.
AFP
