Athens
10
10
2023
ARCHAEOLOGY / CULTURE

Eviction deadline expiring for Association of Greek Archaeologists

A Ministry of Culture summons ordering the Association of Greek Archaeologists (SEA) to vacate the downtown Athens premises it has occupied for four decades expires on Tuesday, with the association saying it has no intention of moving until its appeal against the eviction has been heard.
Eviction deadline expiring for Association of Greek Archaeologists
A Ministry of Culture summons ordering the Association of Greek Archaeologists (SEA) to vacate the downtown Athens premises it has occupied for four decades expires on Tuesday, with the association saying it has no intention of moving until its appeal against the eviction has been heard.

SEA has appealed to the Council of State, the country’s highest administrative court, against the eviction order, which, according to the Culture Ministry, was prompted by the fact that it hosted an event in the garden of the historic Ermou Street building over the summer that was unrelated to its activities, hence violating the terms of the building’s concession. The event on the deadly migrant shipwreck off the coast of southwestern Greece on June 14 and was organized by an activist group.

In a statement concerning the expiry of the deadline on Tuesday, SEA said it expects the ministry to await the court’s decision before making any moves to have the premises vacated. The ministry, meanwhile, claims that it was never informed of the appeal against the eviction order.

 

In the meantime, if SEA is forcibly evicted, it will need to find not only a new headquarters to host its operations and guest quarters, but also a home for its valuable archive and library. 

 

SEA says that it has supplied the ministry with a detailed report on its housing needs and is supposed to hold a meeting with the ministry’s political leadership on October 30.

tags: Archaeology Greece