Gold for Silence? Rhodope-Evros Committee Slams Institutions Over Mining Company Donations"

The Rhodope-Evros Anti-Gold Committee has harshly criticized institutional representatives in the region, calling for the immediate rejection of donations received from the “Thrace Gold Mines” company.

In a new statement issued yesterday, the Committee described these donations as “humiliating” and publicly called on institutions such as Democritus University of Thrace, the University Hospital of Alexandroupoli, and the Alexandroupoli Police Department which accepted the donations to return them.

“We must show the children and the younger generation of this land that not everything is for sale,” the statement undirlined. 

The Committee specifically urged Democritus University to take a clear stance regarding the acceptance of a 50-seat transport bus donated by the company.

Anestis Stratiadis, one of the founding members of the Committee, stated during a radio program on ERT hosted by Vasiliki Machaira that such donations are intended to alter the long-standing opposition of the local population, which has consistently said “NO” to gold mining for the past 30 years. “This stance has been repeatedly confirmed by municipal, prefectural, and later regional councils,” he noted.

The Committee reiterated its call for a firm position against the planned gold mining projects in Perama Hill (Evros) and Sapes (Rhodope), underlining that this demand reflects the consistent and collective will of the local community over the past three decades. 

At the same time, it expressed appreciation for the institutions that refused financial support from the company.

In closing, the Committee urged the Greek government not to take actions that could provoke public backlash.

It also called on institutional representatives, local authorities, political parties, associations, and citizens to maintain a united front of resistance against gold mining plans and to reinforce the common struggle for their definitive cancellation.