The latest reports show that Greek government denied allegations of its coastguard deliberately attempted to sink Syrian refugee vessel. They were then taken back to the Turkish port city of Didim, the starting point for many trying to cross the Aegean into Europe.
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Falling apart: numerous boats used by Greek-bound migrants are barely seaworthy.
The Turkish daily, Hurriyet, reported that officials said Greek commander Athanasios Athanasopulos was “shocked” upon seeing the footage, and vowed to take action.
After piercing the dinghy, the Greek crew left the refugees to drown as their boat started to sink.
Later in the footage, the boat can be seen half sunk, with its desperate passengers scrambling to stay afloat.
In a message to his Greek counterpart, Commander Rear Admiral Hakan Ustem of the Turkish coastguard said: “We would be very pleased if you order your team to refrain from such acts”.
“The Headquarters of the Hellenic Coast Guard categorically denies reports in the foreign press and altered audiovisual material on a foreign website, according to which a vessel of the Hellenic Coast Guard is allegedly attempting to sink a boat with refugees”, read the statement. Athanasopoulos was accompanying Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, who was in Turkey to attend a friendly soccer game between the two countries and discuss the migrant crisis plaguing the Mediterranean.
About midway through the clip, the scene shifts to a black-and-white view before cutting to a subsequent shot of the raft approaching the Turkish coast guard vessel.
This is not the first time that Greece has been accused of trying to sink inflatable rafts carrying refugees.
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The Syriza government could open the Greek-Turkish border fence, built with European Union aid in 2013, thus stopping the unsafe sea crossings and allowing refugees to take a safe overland path to the EU.
