JUNE 6, 2012
On Wednesday June 6th 2012, the Hellenic Council of State (Symvoulio tis Epikrateias) held the trial for the claims of citizens and groups from Halkidiki against the decision to grant approval for the environmental terms of the investment of HELLAS GOLD (ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΟΣ ΧΡΥΣΟΣ ΑΕ). The HCS, the Supreme Administrative Court of Greece, examined the people’s demand that the mining project in Halkidiki be immediately canceled, based on serious challenges to the legality of the decision of the ‘Ministry of the Environment, Energy and Climate Change’ to sign the permission for the Company’s environmental study.
The legal representatives of the two sides (Ministry and people of Halkidiki) developed their arguments at the hearing, while the Company, with a heavy entourage of lawyers, made a long intervention. Both sides presented their documents, while the Court decided upon a period of a month, until the 5th of July 2012, for additional documents to be submitted.
Outside the Court building, and until the end of the trial, dozens of people and citizens’ initiatives from Halkidiki, especially Meghali Panaghia and Ierissos, who had travelled to Athens overnight, held a protest against the destructive mega-project, with the support of people of solidarity from the larger region of Attica.
some pictures from the protest gathering:
http://attiki-forum.blogspot.com
http://library-attiki-forum.blogspot.com/2012/04/blog-post_8263.html