Athens [Greece], September 1: The enormous scope of the wildfires that have struck Greece this summer can be attributed primarily to global warming, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told parliament in Athens on Thursday.
"The climate crisis is one step ahead of us," Mitsotakis said. The state structures currently in place would have increasing difficulty in combating the fires in the future, he added.
Mitsotakis said the fires had been preceded in July and August by the hottest, driest and windiest summer since recordings began. He paid tribute to firefighters sent from across the European Union to help douse the blazes.
Mitsotakis said that the authorities "and no one else" would investigate reports of arson. Referring to residents of the Evros region along the border with Turkey who blamed migrants for starting fires and acted against them, he said the government would not tolerate vigilantism.
"Our government will not tolerate self-appointed sheriffs," he said.
Mitsotakis pledged unbureaucratic assistance to people who had lost their homes, animals or businesses to the fires. And he defended decisions to evacuate villages and hotels. "People's lives have the highest priority for us," he said in reference to the evacuation of some 20,000 tourists on the island of Rhodes in July.
Fires continued burning for the 13th day in succession in the north-eastern region near the Turkish border.
Source: Qatar Tribune
