“Save Papoura,” read the banners as citizens, local officials, and community groups gathered outside the Chamber of Heraklion during a Ministry of Culture conference. Their message was simple: the hill must be protected, and the radar must move.
The protest drew the mayor of Minoa Pediada, Vassilis Kegeroglou, deputy mayors, council members, the presidents of Kastelli, Arkalochori, and Thrapsano, members of the Committee for the Rescue of Papoura, and dozens of residents. One notable absence was Deputy Minister of Culture Iason Fotilas, who had been scheduled to attend but did not appear.
MayorKegeroglou’ss words carried both pride and frustration:
“The admiration one feels when standing before a 5,000-year-old monument, the aura it radiates, should influence decisions taken in closed offices with hidden motives. The unexplained insistence of the Ministry of Infrastructure to support, without evidence, a weak claim — and to present it to archaeologists as the only feasible solution, that the radars must be installed at this point — creates a serious problem. This is the agenda of the Ministry of Culture. The restriction of the researchers by the ministry’s leadership has produced an ugly result.”
He reminded everyone of the massive rally at the Nikos Kazantzakis Garden Theater and of the declaration now co-signed by the Regional Council of Crete:
“After the large gathering at the Nikos Kazantzakis Garden Theater, we are moving forward on the basis of the declaration also signed by the Regional Council of Crete. It states that Papoura Hill must be declared an archaeological monument and that the radars must be relocated. Mr. Tachiaos avoids answering the question people are asking: if it were not Papoura Hill, would the airport not be built?”
The mayor emphasized that already 180 organizations have signed the declaration for the rescue of Papoura, and that the monument has even been proposed for a European award:
“I want to see how Minister Mendoni will react when she receives the award.”
No Compromise
Kegeroglou closed with determination:
“The Municipality, the local community, and all who stand with us in this struggle, what we jointly sign in our declaration ends with this: this fight concerns the history of our land, its present, and its future. We have only one option — to achieve the salvation of the Papoura monument at all costs. We will not bow to any agenda. The monument will be saved, and the radars will be placed in a suitable location. We are certain that, in the end, someone among those making decisions will realize it. But they cannot realize it too late. Here and now, they must see reality and make the right decisions. Congratulations to everyone who has worked for our cause.”
The banners, the speeches, and the crowd all underscored one thing: Papoura Hill is not just soil and stone. It is a monument, and the community will not accept radar towers where history has already built its foundations.
Iorgos wrote this article with assistance from Arthur (ChatGPT). For more, visit Argophilia: https://www.argophilia.com