“War clouds are thickening over Larissa”

A protest gathering outside the 110th Fighter Wing in Larissa and a march in the direction of the 1st Army was held yesterday afternoon by members of the Peace Committee, the Labor Center of Larissa and the student youth, on the occasion of the anniversary of the first banned Peace March, on April 21 1963. As the organizers stated “this year marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of the NATO war machine (April 4, 1949), which throughout its history has been responsible for the slaughter of dozens of peoples, it is necessary to strengthen the fight for disengagement even more” .

The keynote address of the event was given by the president of the Larissa Peace Committee, Dimitra Papastergiou, who expressed the concern of fellow citizens about the presence of the NATO Headquarters (and with a drone) in the 110th Fighter Wing and the European Headquarters with the operation “Shield” based in the city us, as a result of which it has become the target of an attack. “The war clouds gathered over Larissa are many and dangerous” he stressed and added that “everyone’s concern increased from the interview of the Minister of National Defense Nikos Dendias that “the government’s intention is to install a dome over the country, in the standards of Israel. This shows that the government is expecting something and is afraid. At a time when many ordinary households are struggling to make ends meet, a large sum of money is being given for NATO expenses. As it has been announced, Greece is the third country in defense expenditure (6.7 billion), after Poland and the USA. Just think that the Hydra frigate in the Red Sea costs half a million every day! All this is paid for by the Greek people, in order to implement the plans of NATO and the European Union. At the same time, Ukraine continues to ask for money for the war with Russia. Even more worrying are the findings of distinguished scientists that the next decade will be critical and dangerous, as there will be an increase in operations for the expansion of countries on the international stage. Therefore, let the NATO bases from the prefectures of Larissa and Magnesia leave our country here and now. We wish all the peoples of the world to maintain relations of friendship and solidarity and to cooperate in matters of culture and others”.
The president of the Labor Center of Larissa, Yiannis Skokas, and a representative of the students also addressed the protest rally, while an anti-war poem was recited by the artist Vassilis Karmiris.
G. Rustas