A total of 50 photo-reporters and activists were released by the FYROM authorities at 2 o’ clock in the morning after each paid 260 euro fine for illegally entering the country. 30 reporters covering the exodus of the refugees and unknown number of activists who were helping them were arrested on Sunday by the FYROM authorities. In addition, the photo-reporters and activists are banned form entering FYROM for 6 months.
Refugees & activists help a man on wheelchair to cross the river.
Some 700 refugees who had managed to cross to FYROM were transported in covered trucks to what authorities called “temporary refugees camps” they are to be deported to Greece. However, FYROM has to submit application to Athens for the return of the refugees. According to Greek media, it is not clear whether Athens will accept all the applications for deportation.
Giorgos Kyritsis, representative of the Greek Coordination body for Refugees told media this morning that “there is no agreement between Greece and FYROM for the re-admission of refugees and migrants.”
The big puzzle of the day is: who encouraged refugees to cross the river, who wrote and distributed the flyer that carries the “signature” Kommando Norbert Blum in German! Among other false claims, the flyer was claiming that the “river was dry” and that “Germany was awaiting for them.”
While hardly anyone believes that former German politician Norbert Bluem is the initiator of the action, the 80-year old conservative politician from Merkel’s party CDU was on Saturday in Idomeni refugee camp and even spent the cold and rainy night in a tent to demonstrate the plight of refugees after the Balkan Route was closed.
Former German Labour Minister Norbert Blum (80) described the miserable conditions in the Greek refugee camp Idomeni as “attack on humanity.” “This kind of brutality is unworthy of European culture,” he said on Saturday while visiting the camp a reporter for the news agency dpa. “It is a disgrace to civilization.”
The flyer in Arabic calling refugees to cross to FYROM contains also a handwritten route drawing. Signature in red as marked by Bild newspaper.
“Investigators believe the flyer calling refugees to cross to FYROM may be the work of migrant smugglers, relief workers playing a shady role or activists who want to challenge closed-border policies,” CNN Greece said.
The mass exodus on Sunday has another impact and thus a diplomatic one: FYROM Foreign Minister implied this morning that the action was “planned and organized” by Athens.
Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras called the mass exodus as “unacceptable action” and “criminal behavior” putting at risk the lives especially of the children and elderly. He appealed at refugees to move from Idomeni to the organized camps set by the Greek army.
PS some media hint that “activists” were behind the mass exodus and most probably “German activists.” Fact is that many activists helped the refugees to cross the river and “some people” had tied a rope between the two river beds to facilitate the crossing.
It’s not saying that the “German borders are open” but instead it’s saying that “Germany still accepts applications for Asylum” and even racist Vienna who started this mess and now killed another three refugees still “accepts” 3.200 to leave Austria to Germany daily; this 3.200 is an Austrian-Bavarian attempt to blackmail Germany to decide against her constitution and to define a maximum number.
Given that the situation in Budapest at the train stations and the march of the refugees out of Hungary reminded many Germans of 1989 and the beginning of the end of GDR it makes much more sense for refugees to camp at the German embassies and consulates to get registered there.
This accusations against Athens show also that the only reason why Fyrom is keeping the borders closed is dirty nationalist porn-addiction to read “Macedonia” instead of “Yugoslavia” each and every day in the headlines.