Are you kidding me? Just 36 hours after the EU-Turkey deal that goes in effect today and some international media launched a Blame Greece campaign again. In a report by Agence France Press re-posted by The Guardian, the title is as big as possible.
Greece delays sending refugees back to Turkey under EU deal
Greece will not be able to start sending refugees back to Turkey from Sunday, the government said, as the country struggles to implement a key deal aimed at easing Europe’s migrant crisis.
Under the agreement clinched between Brussels and Anakara last week, migrants who reach the Greek islands will be deported back to Turkey. For every Syrian returned, the EU will resettle one from a Turkish refugee camp.
The deal aims to strangle the main route used by migrants travelling to the EU and discourage people smugglers, but it has faced criticism from rights groups and thousands took to the streets of Europe in protest.
Greek premier Alexis Tsipras told his ministers on Saturday afternoon to be ready to begin deporting people the following day, as agreed, but officials said afterwards they needed more time to prepare.
“The agreement to send back new arrivals on the islands should, according to the text, enter into force on March 20,” the government coordinator for migration policy spokesman Giorgos Kyritsis said.
“But a plan like this cannot be put in place in only 24 hours.” (full article)
I suppose the AFP and Guardian did not take notice that the process of sending backs is due to start beginning of next months, so around 4. April 2016 due to the huge logistics needed for the asylum procedures .
If you ask me, criticism should be directed first of all to Turkey that does fairly little to stem the refugees flow. At least 800 refugees and migrants arrived this morning to Greece with boats form the Turkish coast.
Did anyone honestly expect anything else?
The EU is now locking for scapegoats since the EU is walking a tightrope between claiming high and loud that it respects international and humanitarian law and that it will accept refugees in Europe – albeit one;y the “good” ones (whatever that means) – and making sure as few refugees as possible make it to Europe.
So somebody has to be blamed for the mass of refugees stuck at the borders.
There’s no way the EU is going to blame Turkey since Turkey has them over a barrel. They can turn on and off the flow of refugees at will. So, the Europeans have to mind them.
So once again, the Greeks are the fall guys. Depending on the flavor of the day, they either don’t stem the flow of refugees; don’t send them back; don’t register them; don’t cooperate with the EU and Turkey; don’t treat the refugee with dignity; are lying and cheating; cynically use the crisis, etc.
The EU in its current form is so rotten and so corrupt I no longer feel like defending it when friends from around the world express their astonishment at what’s going on.
I agree totally . But I should also add that it was very clear from the outset that putting in place lawful procedures in order to deport rejected asylum seekers would take months. Moreover, Greece does not have an asylum law that allows fast track procedures (e.g. for Pakistanis) which could then allow them to be sent back to Turkey. Maybe.
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The malakas Tsipras chose to announce this as a success story for his own incompetent negotiations, and that the changes would take effect on Sunday. What do you expect the world’s press to say, when nothing at all happens on Sunday? Or the next days…
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This is as much incompetent Greek politicians as it is malevolent EU behaviour.
Turkey is not only paralysed from all these bombs but also busy with security, a “Je suis…” campaign would be helpful.
NATO-chieftain Klein was reporting in an interview that his boats are only able to look for boats between Turkey and Lesbos and that they already there have a problem to guarantee anything.
Why a 10m tall fence has not been built yet around the islands?
it has
Only invaders are allowed to build such fences against indigenous, f.i. the Illegal States of America against the Maya who wanna visit their brothers and sisters in California just like they do since thousands of years, until stinking white men came with their stinking Asian god and stinking European laws.