As the Greek parliament began its debate on an immigration bill, 56 civil society organizations have issued a joint statement on the bill, accusing it of criminalizing their activities.
A plenary debate has begun in the Greek parliament on a draft law proposed by the Ministry of Immigration, which dozens of NGOs have accused of “targeting” their work and criminalizing solidarity in the country.
The draft law, which aims to promote policies of legal migration and counter migrant trafficking, calls for the aggravating circumstance to be added for those belonging to an NGO if they were to be found guilty of specific crimes.
Details on the bill under debate
The draft law would introduce a minimum sentence of ten years in prison and a fine of 50,000 euros for any employee of an NGO on the official registry of the immigration ministry found guilty of aiding and abetting any irregular entry or exit from the country of a migrant.
The draft law would also make the transportation of an undocumented migrant a felony punishable by imprisonment of ten years and a minimum fine of 60,000 euros. The registration on the ministry’s NGO Registry is a requirement for any organisation wanting to work in reception facilities and other places on the country’s islands.
NGOs say measures meant to ‘intimidate’ them
In the statement, the 56 civil society organizations — including Doctors Without Borders (MSF), the Greek Refugees Council, and Intersos Hellas — called for the withdrawal of the draft law, claiming that the “provisions are intended to intimidate us”.
“After five years of continuous recommendations by the European Union, the Council of Europe, and the UN to lift arbitrary restrictions on the operation of civil society organizations supporting refugees and migrants, the Ministry continues to target organizations it considers troublesome for the sole reason that they are doing their job,” the signatories added.
In responding to the accusations, Immigration Minister Thanos Plevris claimed that the ministry is not criminalizing civil society organizations, but only those “traffickers of clandestine migrants,” according to the ANA-MPA news agency. [via ANSA]
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Same on the members of Parlament
Of course, the draft law has nothing to do with promoting legal migration: that is achieved ONLY by offering easier migration channels. This is nothing other than extreme right nastiness — directed at immigrants and NGOs supporting immigrants.
We can see the result of this approach in the USA today — criminal activity by state authorities, a collapse of the rule of law, and citizens in fear of the State. Nazification, no less.
I think that in the case of the USA it is more a case of “…criminal activity by FEDERAL authorities, a collapse of the rule of law, and citizens in fear of the FEDERAL ADMINISTRATION. Nazification,” Mostly States are opposing the federal actions.
Yes, thank you for the correction. I meant to say “federal state” as opposed to “State state”. US English is very confusing, and it is important to note that the US States are generally behaving legally and correctly. It is the political and financial backers of Trump and the lunatic himself (along with his disgusting family) who are the problem.
I hope Greece is very careful with immigration, and pressure from NGOs. As a UK citizen, I can see how mass immigration has absolutely destroyed many cities in the UK. In many of which, the ethnic British are in a minority. These include the capital London, and large cities Birmingham, Leicester and others, not to mention many small towns such as Rochdale (famous for the grooming gangs). The birth rate in Britain as a whole is close to only 50% ethnic British, and decreasing fast. We have been very cowardly towards the influence of NGOs, it has cost us dearly, and there is no way back.
UK had a colonialism policy, Greece did not
Daryl: I suggest you learn some British history. Almost all of the “immigrants” in the cities you mention are from countries in the former British Empire. Until 1967 they all possessed full British citizenship, and were legally British. Since then, UK governments have reduced their full citizenships to lower status UK citizenships — requiring them to have a visa to enter the UK. But they are part of the history of Great Britain, and the price that the UK should pay for centuries of military occupation and exploitation of foreign countries which became British colonies.
And as far as refugees are concerned, there are two issues. The first is that genuine refugees are frequently from countries that are either at war or impoverished by British foreign policy. The UK has a legal and moral imperative to accept refugees. For the last 45 years, the only way to get refugee status (in all of Europe) is to arrive illegally and claim asylum. This was the choice of governments, and still is their choice, that you cannot apply for refugee status abroad and have to physically arrive (illegally). The second issue concerns the British colonial citizens who arrive illegally because the cost and difficulty of getting a UK visa is a horrendous joke. Again, this is the result of British government policy. You obviously want people to arrive illegally, by making it impossible for anyone other than the stinking rich to travel legally.
And as far as the low birth rate in the UK is concerned, this is shared by all the developed world. It means that you need immigrants, especially to do all the low-pay dirty jobs that Brits refuse to do. As the indigenous population ages, the need for immigrant healthworkers, carers for the elderly and many other jobs is increasing: again, all of Europe is the same. You need to deal with reality, instead of spouting far right propaganda and nonsense.