Galery

1

Anastasia Balezdrova

The conflict between the government and farmers is exacerbating each passing day. They have rejected the proposals of the Minister for Rural Development and they may resort to more drastic protests. The government is firm that it had offered the best it could within the narrow budget constraints.

The clash has become political after the radical left SYRIZA and the Communist Party, which has always had a strong influence among farmers, have stood firmly on their side.

Commentators describe the delicate balance in the relationship between the farmers and the government as a "cat-and-mouse game". They have been on dozens of road junctions with their tractors for a week now without blocking the roads so far.

GRReporter contacted the chairman of one of the independent unions of farmers in Serres, Yiannis Tourtouras, who explains why the protests continue.

"The government has not resolved our problems. None of us is able to start sowing. The main problem is the fuel price. It is not possible for us to have a production at the price of 1.40 euro per litre.

We are not opposed to accounting books, but we think that they cannot be applied to all. It is unreasonable for a farmer who cultivates 20 acres of land to keep accounting books, because they alone will cost between 600 and 700 euro".

Among other problems, he mentioned the common agricultural policy of the European Union and the prices of fertilizers and other materials used by farmers. "How is it possible for the same fertilizer to cost 28 euro in Greece and 17 euro in Bulgaria?" said the indignant farmer.

Yiannis Tourtouras said that he and his colleagues from the region of Serres would participate in the general meeting of farmers organized in the village of Nikea by farmers from Thessaly. "We will decide at it whether and how to continue our protests", he said.

"The intention of all of us is not to create problems for others. We do not want to resort to extreme protest measures. As you can see, we have been on the roads for a week already but we have not blocked the traffic anywhere. We do not want to create additional difficulties for anyone in such hard economic times. Therefore, the government needs to show a different face and resolve our longstanding problems".

However, he does not exclude the possibilitt of their tractors ending up on the roadway and blocking the road to and from the Promachonas – Kulata border crossing point. "If the position for violent protests prevails in the vote of the general meeting, we will respect the opinion of the majority".

The government is awaiting the decision of the meeting in Thessaly. Indicative of the tense atmosphere is the fact that Prime Minister Antonis Samaras is in constant contact with Athens from Brussels, where he is attending the crucial summit of the European Union.

PASOK leader Evangelos Venizelos has also urged the farmers to consider a dialogue.

The government staff on the other hand, notes that SYRIZA and the Communist Party will benefit from the current conflict at the most. Just a few days ago, Alexis Tsipras spoke to farmers in the Orhomenos blockade near Athens and Aleka Papariga visited the "centre" of all farmers’ protest in Larissa. The leader of Independent Greeks Panos Kamenos expressed his support to the farmers too.

The cabinet is worried that the opposition will try to extend the protests because it thinks it wins political points. Nobody in the government knows what will happen next week. However, the message is this: "The citizens will assess the position and actions of farmers’ union leaders".

It is not yet clear who will win. As Yiannis Tourtouras notes, "We have nothing more to say at present. Things are changing each hour. Our actions will become clear on Sunday".