In March, a group of medium and small businessmen plus some Athens residents sued the mayor of Athens, Mr. Kaklamanis, who is responsible for the policing of the city, alleging misconduct for his refusal to tackle the serious problem of street vendors, many of them illegal immigrants, selling counterfeit goods. It is estimated that counterfeit vendors cost the Greek state over five billion Euros annually, and their activities have caused many companies to make redundancies or even close.
A few days before the merchants went to court, the mayor had stated that
"I prefer to let these people earn 40-50 Euros instead of hunting them and leading them to becoming thieves."
After the suit had been lodged, we created a Paremporio! (Stop!) group on Facebook and a Greek-language blog so that people concerned about this issue could make contact and initiate activities to support our legal action and increase publicity.
A few days before the merchants went to court, the mayor had stated that
"I prefer to let these people earn 40-50 Euros instead of hunting them and leading them to becoming thieves."
After the suit had been lodged, we created a Paremporio! (Stop!) group on Facebook and a Greek-language blog so that people concerned about this issue could make contact and initiate activities to support our legal action and increase publicity.
