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| Idomeni: Greek riot police move in to clear refugee camp | Idomeni: Greek riot police move in to clear refugee camp |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Greek police are attempting to clear Europe’s largest informal refugee camp, south of the Greek-Macedonian border, at which thousands of refugees have been stranded for months. | Greek police are attempting to clear Europe’s largest informal refugee camp, south of the Greek-Macedonian border, at which thousands of refugees have been stranded for months. |
| Journalists and activists were barred from entry, but witnesses said about 400 riot police entered the camp at dawn on Tuesday to order the approximately 8,500 camp residents to leave. Many left voluntarily in government buses, and by mid-morning no violence had been reported. | Journalists and activists were barred from entry, but witnesses said about 400 riot police entered the camp at dawn on Tuesday to order the approximately 8,500 camp residents to leave. Many left voluntarily in government buses, and by mid-morning no violence had been reported. |
| Related: The refugee children of Idomeni: alone, far from home but clinging to hope | Related: The refugee children of Idomeni: alone, far from home but clinging to hope |
| Idomeni was the informal crossing point through which hundreds of thousands of refugees entered Macedonia in 2015. Refugees started camping there when the Macedonian government began shutting the border to certain nationalities last November. Once the border shut entirely in March, the site became a full-scale camp, and an emblem of Europe’s failure to manage the refugee crisis. | Idomeni was the informal crossing point through which hundreds of thousands of refugees entered Macedonia in 2015. Refugees started camping there when the Macedonian government began shutting the border to certain nationalities last November. Once the border shut entirely in March, the site became a full-scale camp, and an emblem of Europe’s failure to manage the refugee crisis. |
| The Greek authorities have tried for weeks to transfer people from Idomeni to formal camps north and northwest of Thessaloniki in former factories and warehouses. Greece’ migration spokesman Giorgos Kyritsis said that, though rudimentary, they had electricity, running water, telephones, shower and toilet facilities. | |
| “Seven of the shelters are in industrial buildings and two are open-air tent sites,” he added. “Tents and office-style cubicles will be used for the privacy of families. Some will have air-conditioning and food will be provided.” | |
| Many refugees, however, have been reluctant to leave because some still hope that the border will reopen; others intend to cross with the help of smugglers; and still more are frightened of being locked inside hurriedly finished government-run centres. | |
| Under an EU agreement made last summer, the refugees are technically meant to be relocated to other countries in Europe – but so far the EU’s members have failed to live up to their promise. | Under an EU agreement made last summer, the refugees are technically meant to be relocated to other countries in Europe – but so far the EU’s members have failed to live up to their promise. |
| Kyritsis, said he expected the evacuation to last “no more than a week”. Refugees, many holed up in Idomeni since March, were eager to leave, he said. | |
| “Most have understood the borders are not opening and realise the conditions in these shelters are going to be better,” Kyritsis told the Guardian. “They know that where they are being sent is going to be organised, that asylum requests and relocation [procedures] will be speeded up, that their papers will be renewed, that conditions will be much better.” | “Most have understood the borders are not opening and realise the conditions in these shelters are going to be better,” Kyritsis told the Guardian. “They know that where they are being sent is going to be organised, that asylum requests and relocation [procedures] will be speeded up, that their papers will be renewed, that conditions will be much better.” |
| He also said that media had been banned from entering the area to ensure the evacuation was not held up. “The citizens protection [public order] ministry felt that if cameras were in the middle it would delay people gathering their things,” he said. | He also said that media had been banned from entering the area to ensure the evacuation was not held up. “The citizens protection [public order] ministry felt that if cameras were in the middle it would delay people gathering their things,” he said. |
| Vasilis Tsartsanis, a Greek activist who has been working in the area since refugees starting passing through in higher numbers in late 2014, said he doubted a full evacuation could be carried out without force. “It may look like they’re going for an evacuation, but I don’t know how they’re going to do it,” he said. “They may be trying to use fear to make refugees leave. But I don’t know who’s going to put his head [on the line] and order an evacuation [by force].” | Vasilis Tsartsanis, a Greek activist who has been working in the area since refugees starting passing through in higher numbers in late 2014, said he doubted a full evacuation could be carried out without force. “It may look like they’re going for an evacuation, but I don’t know how they’re going to do it,” he said. “They may be trying to use fear to make refugees leave. But I don’t know who’s going to put his head [on the line] and order an evacuation [by force].” |
| Médecins Sans Frontières, which has had a presence at Idomeni for more than a year, said that there had been no violence on Tuesday morning. “So far it’s peaceful, and people are just moving,” said Loic Jaeger, the charity’s head of mission in Greece. | Médecins Sans Frontières, which has had a presence at Idomeni for more than a year, said that there had been no violence on Tuesday morning. “So far it’s peaceful, and people are just moving,” said Loic Jaeger, the charity’s head of mission in Greece. |
| Jaeger also argued that the evacuation constituted a failure of European solidarity. “Everyone is very excited about the evacuation – about whether it’s violent or not violent – but that’s not the point,” he said. “The point is that they should be in an apartment somewhere in Europe: there are only 8,000 of them. Why are we putting them in buses to put them in half-finished camps in Greece, when Europe has promised to relocate them?” | Jaeger also argued that the evacuation constituted a failure of European solidarity. “Everyone is very excited about the evacuation – about whether it’s violent or not violent – but that’s not the point,” he said. “The point is that they should be in an apartment somewhere in Europe: there are only 8,000 of them. Why are we putting them in buses to put them in half-finished camps in Greece, when Europe has promised to relocate them?” |
| Elsewhere in Greece, 50,000 refugees have been stuck in limbo since March, when the countries of the Balkans closed a humanitarian corridor that had brought hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers to countries including Germany and Sweden in 2015. | Elsewhere in Greece, 50,000 refugees have been stuck in limbo since March, when the countries of the Balkans closed a humanitarian corridor that had brought hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers to countries including Germany and Sweden in 2015. |
| Thousands are stuck in wretched conditions in detention centres on the Greek islands, where dozens are on hunger strike to protest at their treatment. “This is my seventh day on hunger strike,” said Wassim Omar, a Syrian teacher detained on the island of Chios. “We don’t want to spend our lives here.” | Thousands are stuck in wretched conditions in detention centres on the Greek islands, where dozens are on hunger strike to protest at their treatment. “This is my seventh day on hunger strike,” said Wassim Omar, a Syrian teacher detained on the island of Chios. “We don’t want to spend our lives here.” |
| Some are still attempting to reach Germany with the help of smugglers. “We hear that tomorrow we will all go to camps,” Abdo Raja, a 22-year-old Syrian at Idomeni, told the Associated Press on the eve of Idomeni’s clearance. “I don’t mind, but my aim is not reach the camps but to go Germany.” | Some are still attempting to reach Germany with the help of smugglers. “We hear that tomorrow we will all go to camps,” Abdo Raja, a 22-year-old Syrian at Idomeni, told the Associated Press on the eve of Idomeni’s clearance. “I don’t mind, but my aim is not reach the camps but to go Germany.” |
| The dire humanitarian situation in Greece, coupled with the closure of the border and the threat of deportation back to Turkey, has resulted in the number of refugees arriving in Greece dwindling in recent weeks. But a Greek appeals committee recently decreed that Turkey is not a suitable country for refugees – meaning that refugees could once again have an incentive to sail to Greece from Turkey. | The dire humanitarian situation in Greece, coupled with the closure of the border and the threat of deportation back to Turkey, has resulted in the number of refugees arriving in Greece dwindling in recent weeks. But a Greek appeals committee recently decreed that Turkey is not a suitable country for refugees – meaning that refugees could once again have an incentive to sail to Greece from Turkey. |
| Greece has spent roughly 280 million euro handling the refugee crisis since the start of 2015 – money the debt stricken economy, dependent on emergency bailout loans to keep afloat, has struggled to find. The European Union has reinforced coffers with just under 100 million euro in funding in recent months. | |
| Lack of adequate finances partly explains why Europe’s largest informal refugee camp had been allowed to remain in Idomeni for so long. | |
| “Greek companies and the Greek railway network OSE have lost between six to seven million euros [since March],” said Kyritsis referring to the damage suffered as a result of refugees obstructing the free flow of traffic and exports because of encampment on railway lines. “The money that we have spent has come from national resources in the middle of our own crisis.” | |
| Human rights organisations welcomed the news that asylum procedures would be expedited at the new camps. “The provision of on-site pre-registration for asylum is an important development and a good incentive for refugees to leave Idomeni,” said Panos Navrozidis, the International Rescue Committee’s Country Director in Greece. | |
| “The current asylum process is inadequate and slow. Improved resources are urgently needed to provide refugees safe and legal routes to sanctuary in Europe and to reunite with family members.” | |
| The backlog in asylum procedures meant refugees could be waiting for months until their case was even heard, he said. “This is not acceptable anywhere but particularly not in Europe. Greece must be given the support it needs to move the process along in an efficient and thorough way.” |