10,000 strong anti-mining protest shakes Thessaloniki 2013

Around 10,000 people protested in Greece’s second largest city, Thessaloniki, on Saturday, against the continued development of a gold mine nearby.

In video courtesy of www.thesstoday.gr, protesters are seen carrying banners showing their disdain with the mining project. Thessaloniki is located around 125 km from the Skouries mine near the town of Ierissos.

The Skouries gold mine project is being developed by Hellas Gold, 95% of which is owned by the Canadian mining group Eldorado Gold Corporation, the world’s ninth largest producer. The remaining 5 % of the mine is owned by Greek magnate George Bobolas through his construction company AKTOR. Bobolas is also a media tycoon with a significant share of the Greek TV and radio market, as well as major newspapers in the country.

Residents of the Chalkidiki area, which accommodates many Thessaloniki inhabitants during the summer, say the open mine pit will threaten their tourism industry and the region’s environmental stability. The forest that surrounds Ierissos is a rare surviving part of the European primordial forests. Residents believe the mining site is likely to pollute the peninsula with mercury, arsenic and cyanide in the form of dust and acid rains.

Demonstrators were also protesting against the violent force used by the Greek riot police (MAT) and its anti-terrorism special force (EKAM), as police clashed violently with Ierissos’s residents on Thursday. Security forces were searching for suspects of an arson attack that took place at the Skouries mine in February, when around 40 masked individuals raided the mine facilities, torching machinery, vehicles and containers used as offices.

During the clashes, clouds of chemical smoke filled the area around Ierissos and residents claim that irritant aerosol weapons were fired at the school affecting a number of children. In the operation four people were arrested and charged with illegal possession of weapons and fireworks. Their trial has been set for March 20.