The fires that broke out yesterday, 23rd July 2018, turned into tragedies in various parts of Greece. There was a conflagration in Attica, as on Monday afternoon there was a great fire in a coastal area of West Attica, while a few hours later a fire started in a coastal area of eastern Attica which expanded. According to the confirmed data, due to the fire in eastern Attica the dead are over 50, the injured are over 150 - many of them seriously injured- while at least 1200 homes and 300 cars have been destroyed

The firefighting forces fought with the flames, but their struggle was uneven since the current government of SYRIZA-ANEL, like all the previous ones, blamed the weather, without having any substantial organization, infrastructure and means. As it is pointed out in the comment of the Press Office of the CC of the KKE: "The fires that destroy forests and rural land as well as residences, once again highlight the lack of fire protection measures, the inadequacy of forest protection and forest fire-fighting infrastructures and the shortages in means and personnel. The KKE demands from the government of SYRIZA-ANEL, from all responsible state and local authorities, to take all the necessary measures right now in order to effectively deal with the fires that are in progress." .

It should be noted that the KKE last May, with a special event on fire safety and forest protection and also with a question in Parliament, had highlighted the implications of the policy that serves capitalist profit and the sharpening problems in the field of fire protection and forest firefighting and had demanded immediate measures to be taken.

At this event, the General Secretary of the CC of the KKE, Dimitris Koutsoumpas, among other things had mentioned the responsibilities of the SYRIZA - ANEL government and its predecessors and had stressed that these were to be identified in issues such as the maintenance of the entire anti-forest legal framework, the lack of preventive interventions in forest ecosystems, the underfunding of the Fire Brigade, the universal absence of proper infrastructure, material etc. He also pointed out that firefighters do not have the appropriate personal protective equipment, nor even a second uniform to wear.

"All of this results in serious obstacles in terms of dealing with fires, the loss of human lives, the burning of whole forests and prpertis, because - they say - there is no money, while, literally, 4 billion euros are spent on NATO's military expenditure and billions of debts are being given to the big capital", noted the GS of the CC of the KKE.

The Party Organization of Attica, the Communists in areas hit by fires were at the forefront and supported the efforts of the residents by giving valuable help to rescue people and protect their homes.

MPs and other cadres of the KKE are visiting the affected areas and the party is intervening to immediately secure accommodation, clothing, food, medicines and the direct compensation to the victims.

24.07.2018