URGENT: Beaches of Kythera at immediate risk!

In a sudden and totaly unexpected development, the Mayor and municipality of Kythera have tabled a proposal for the municipal meeting of Monday April 11th by which they propose to auction off the great majority of accessible beaches on the island to individuals wishing to install refreshment stands, recliners and parasols. The full list of fifteen beaches includes a number of remote and hitherto unspoiled locations such as Fournoi and Kombonada. If carried out, this will be an act of criminal folly, destructive both of the environment and of the increasingly fragile tourist economy – it’s unlikely many tourists come to Kythera to enjoy the amenities of a second-rate Mykonos, with it beaches transformed to 24-hour disco sessions.

Nor will this action help the municipal finance, since the income derived will be close to insignificant. The truth is that this is a purely political manoeuvre, by which the ruling party hopes to expand its patronage, since every licensee will in future be beholden to them.

These are the beaches which the municipality proposes to make available to “development”:

Melidoni
Chalkos
Fyri Ammos
Lykodimou
Paliopolis
Kapsali
Agia Pelagia
Plateia Ammos
Kombonada
Fournoi
Palaiopolis Lake
Kaladi
Neos Kosmos (Agia Pelagia)
Diakofti

An online petition is being organised and details will be posted very shortly. In the meantime, it is absolutely essential that as many people as possible email or fax the mayor, Theodore Koukoulis, expressing revulsion at this proposal and protesting in the strongest possible terms, stressing above all the economic damage that will result from it.

To contact the municipality:
Tel.: +30 27360.31213
fax: +30 27360.31919
e-mail: [email protected]
URL: http://www.kythira.g