Marinakis on beaches: Laws will be upheld, inspections preceded publicity

"The implementation of the law is above all and on this there will be no shortcuts of any kind," government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis stressed on Thursday regarding the protest movement that has arisen against the excessive commercial exploitation of beaches, known as the "beach-towel movement". Speaking on the programme "Proini Enimerosi" on SKAI television, he said the issue that had arisen was one of respecting the law and the terms for the concession contracts for specific spaces.

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A second issue, he added, was "that civil society often highlights issues much more quickly and speeds up the resolution of processes, which the government has, however, already begun."

Regarding the incidents on the island of Paros and other Greek islands and the demands of protestors, he noted that "we can say that what they demand we have an obligation to ensure, namely that there is adherence to what has been agreed."

He also pointed out, however, that the government has not waited for the protests to begin inspections or to impose fines and other more serious penalties, including demolitions. He said that inspections on the beach of Santa Maria that hit the headlines were carried out on July 21 and 24 and a number of violations were found, while the beach now presented a very different picture following the protests.

Marinakis said the citizens' movement had helped to quickly highlight the problem and the state's intervention had been immediate, while he also noted that similarly swift and decisive government action had been taken on the islands of Mykonos, Serifos and Rhodes in similar cases.