Old Town Permanent Residents΄ Association - incident at Old Palace unacceptable

An announcement was issued by the Old Town Permanent Residents΄ Association regarding the incident at the Palace. It states the following:

"The recent and unacceptable incident that took place at the Old Palace, beyond being an offence to our cultural heritage, once again raises both general and specific issues that should have been resolved long ago, and on which the Association of Permanent Residents has already made relevant interventions.

It is well known that the area in front of the Palace has become problematic due to the daily gathering of groups of young people until late at night, whose music and noise prevent local residents from finding peace, both in winter and summer. The use of this space for a photo shoot, as happened, for the purpose it was done, and with the unbelievable excuses that followed, was unacceptable and unjustifiable from every perspective.

The issue of showcasing and safeguarding the monuments of our town is more relevant than ever, and the responsible authorities must provide solutions as soon as possible. Since the time of the pandemic, and despite strong interventions by the Association to the authorities, we have witnessed an unbelievable tug-of-war of blame-shifting among the involved institutions and services. The only solution proposed by the officials was to assign the supervision of the area to a private security company, without ever specifying how this would actually be implemented.

At the same time, explanations are owed for the unacceptable state that has prevailed for many years in the western wing of the Palace.

Unfortunately, the condition of the monuments mirrors the continuously deteriorating state of the town, and there appears to be no sign of reversal."

For the Board of Directors of the Association

ELENI KORONAKI