No more expulsions!: Greeks protest expulsion of migrants

Hundreds of people protested in Athens on Sunday against what they say are expulsions of migrants and refugees at the border with Turkey.

The protesters shouted “No more expulsions! No more border violence!” and they carried a raft like those used by migrants crossing from Turkey by sea.

• “Spiritual fathers” in Orthodox Greece preach against coronavirus vaccination
• Greece records exceptional snowfall and cold; there are hundreds of motorists blocked
• Greece does not close bars but bans music due to the increase in coronavirus cases

On Saturday there was a similar protest in Istanbul, organized by Turkish humanitarian groups, towards the Greek consulate, to protest against the recent death of 19 migrants at the border.

One of the leaders of that march denounced that the Greek forces took the migrants’ clothes and left them abandoned until they died of cold. Greek authorities insist that the deceased migrants never reached the border.

Turkey frequently accuses Greece of expelling migrants, who come by land or sea near the Greek Aegean Islands. Greece rejects the accusations and says that its forces have greatly improved surveillance and patrols on land and sea borders, reducing the arrival of migrants.

“The tragic incident on the Turkish border underscores the importance of combating illegal immigration and smuggling networks that put people in harm’s way to make money,” said Notis Mitarachi, Greece’s immigration minister.

He also urged Turkey to fulfill its obligations to the European Union and prevent migrants from crossing the border.

Greece denounces that Turkey is manipulating the migrant tragedy for its own political ends and raising tensions on the border as it did in March 2020, when it actively encouraged thousands of migrants to try to cross into Greece.

Migrants sometimes manage to cross by land, but arrivals in Greece by sea have dropped to almost zero. Migrants, and smugglers, have lately attempted a longer journey, from Turkey to Italy, which has sometimes been deadly.

____________________

• The threats of anti-vaccines to a COVID-19 patient who they accuse of being an actor who faked the disease
• He was kidnapped at 16 and released at 58: the story of the man who spent his entire life in captivity
• Jacinda Ardern postpones her wedding due to coronavirus outbreak in New Zealand
• Woman refused to wear a mask on Miami-London flight; the pilot’s response will surprise you
• They run over a reporter in full live broadcast: “my whole life passed before my eyes”

Source: Elcomercio

Deshawn