Twelve farmers who cultivate 187 acres of grain and sunflower in the Greek-Turkish border area, are awaiting compensation. They will be given this in the near future, said the Greek Minister of Defence.
The "collateral losses" of the battle effectively carried out three months ago by the armed and security forces in Evros to repel Turkey's asymmetric invasion attempt by using thousands of illegal immigrants, include the destruction of farms in Kastanies. Twelve landowners or tenants of agricultural land, with a total area of 187 acres on the Greek-Turkish border, saw their crops destroyed. In the near future, they are expected to receive compensation from the army, as stated by the Minister of National Defence, Nikos Panagiotopoulos, answering a a question from Christos Dermentzopoulos, an MP from Evros.
"The intention of the Military Service is to pay the compensation to the owners of the rural areas of Kastanies in the Prefecture of Evros and as soon as possible. For this reason all the necessary actions have already been initiated," said Panagiotopoulos.
The head of the local community of Kastanies, Stavros Tziamalidis told ethnos.gr, that 187 acres of agricultural land in the first zone near the fence of the Greek-Turkish border were sown with wheat, barley and sunflower.
"The fields were plowed and some were sown. Heavy army vehicles entered, trenches were dug, gravel was dumped, and chemicals were dropped. The land there may take another three years to re-produce," he said, adding that "of course people did not object. They were actions taken for the defence of the country and whenever necessary they are there to help. They listened with satisfaction that the compensations will be given quickly, because they have lost their income."
The amount of lost income was estimated at €150 to €200 per acre and the total amount of compensation has been estimated at €37,000.
In his question to the Minister of Defence, Dermentzopoulos stated that the effectiveness with which the Greek government faced the violent attempt to breach the Greek borders (which began on February 28), was recognised by the vast majority of Greek society, while at the same time strengthened the sense of security for the inhabitants of Evros.