Two ferries carrying more than 120 migrants returned to Turkey from the Greek island of Lesbos on Friday, in the second round of arrivals under an European Union deal with Ankara to stem mass migration to Europe across the Aegean Sea.
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The ferry left the port of Mytilene on Friday morning, with a second boat expected to leave later, state television reported.
“Greece has temporarily suspended the return of migrants to Turkey under the Turkey+to+Exchange+First+Migrants+Under+Agreement” EU-Turkey agreement due to a surge in the number of asylum applications.
(Vatican Radio) Greek authorities are encountering mounting problems in their drive to clear the migrant-clogged port of Piraeus by busing migrants to more secure accommodation. The deal also doesn’t offer protections to non-Syrian migrants, who were also being deported under the deal. Officials have warned that if the EU-Turkey deal is effective in reducing the flow of irregular migrants, those trying to reach Europe may revert to crossing the central Mediterranean.
Around 325 people have now been sent back from the Greek islands under the accord, which the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) has condemned and rights advocates say may violate global law.
“If they catch me, I’ll throw myself overboard”, she said.
“A setup that is so flawed, rushed and ill-prepared is ripe for mistakes, trampling the rights and well-being of some of the most vulnerable people”. Escorted by uniformed officials, they walked one by one down a gangplank lined on both sides by police officers, into the control of the Turkish immigration authorities.
In return, the European Union is taking in thousands of Syrian refugees directly from Turkey, and giving Turkey money, early visa-free travel and progress in talks over its European Union membership. According to the Daily Sabah from Turkey, the batch of migrants will be transferred to a center in the northwestern province of Kirklareli. The first groups of people were returned to Turkey earlier this week following the implementation of the controversial deal. On April 1, Amnesty also reported that Turkey is “rounding up and expelling” large groups of Syrian refugees, sending them back to their war-torn country. This agreement clearly has problematic elements that make it hard to ensure these rights; however, it remains to be seen how the deal will affect the situation of the refugees in the long-term.
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A migrant girl looks out from a tent at a train station near the makeshift refugee camp at the northern Greek border point of Idomeni, Greece.
