Page 8 - ARUBA TODAY

A8 WORLD NEWS
Monday 9 March 2020
Amid tensions, fire damages Greek island refugee center

By DEMETRIS NELLAS unde- Greece also arrested five
fined migrants overnight.
ATHENS (AP) — A fire broke Turkey is accusing Greece
out at a refugee center on of mistreating the migrants.
the Greek island of Lesbos, Many migrants have report-
Greece's firefighting ser- ed crossing into Greece,
vice said Sunday, causing being beaten by Greek
considerable damage to a authorities and summarily
warehouse but no injuries. forced back into Turkey.
It was the second fire at A member of the UNHCR,
an installation built for mi- the United Nations' refugee
grants, after a reception agency in place, acknowl-
center was burned down edged the reports.
by unknown perpetrators "We are aware of reports
last Monday. The ware- of pushbacks and exces-
house, which contained sive use of force along the
furniture and electrical ap- borders We are calling for
pliances, was completely calm, the easing of ten-
destroyed, a firefighting sion and for all efforts to be
spokesman told The Asso- made to avoid any type of
ciated Press on condition violence," said UNHCR of-
of anonymity, because an ficial Margaritis Petritzikis,
investigation into the fire is without getting into specif-
ongoing. A man stands next to a burned installation which built for migrants, on the northeastern Aegean ics.
The blaze at the refugee island of Lesbos, Greece, Sunday, March 8, 2020. Erdogan will travel to Brus-
center came amid a tense Associated Press sels on Monday to meet
standoff between Turkey with European Council
and the European Union tations between them and into Greece. was gratefully accepted President Charles Michel
over who is responsible for the migrants. Cyprus announced Sunday by Greece's Prime Minis- and European Commis-
the millions of migrants and On Saturday, youths threw evening that it will send 22 ter and, therefore, a force sion President Ursula von
refugees on Turkish territory rocks at Greek police and riot policemen, or a "full an- from Cyprus' security forces der Leyen about a 2016
and the thousands who tried to break down a bor- ti-demonstration unit" to the will travel to Greece im- Turkey-EU agreement on
have massed recently at der fence. border to assist Greece. Cy- mediately to defend and containing the refugee
the Greek border. Throughout Sunday, ac- priot government spokes- guard Greece's, and Eu- flows to Europe that has
Thousands of migrants tivity at the Greek-Turkish man Kyriakos Kousios said rope's, borders," the Cyprus now collapsed. Each side
headed for Turkey's land border was reduced com- that a Greek military plane spokesman's earlier state- has blamed the other. A
border with EU member pared to previous days, was on its way to Cyprus to ment said. EU spokesman said the cri-
Greece after Turkish Presi- although there were still at- pick up the reinforcements In Istanbul on Sunday, Erdo- sis in Syria and security and
dent Recep Tayyip Erdo- tempts to breach Greece's later Sunday. gan called on Greece to stability in the region would
gan's government an- border fence, with Greek Earlier Sunday, Kousios open its borders and allow also be discussed.
nounced earlier this month forces pushing back. had released a statement the migrants to move on to The deal called for Turkey
that it would no longer pre- According to police data, saying that the decision other European countries. to halt the flow of Europe-
vent migrants and refugees a total of 745 people were to send the force was an- "These people won't stay bound migrants and refu-
from crossing over into EU prevented from crossing nounced by Cypriot Presi- (in your country), they will gees in exchange for up to
countries. the border and there were dent Nicos Anastassiades move to other European 6 billion euros ($6.7 billion)
Greece has deployed riot two arrests from 6 a.m. to to Greek Prime Minister countries," Erdogan said. in aid for Syrian refugees
police and border guards 6 p.m. Sunday. In total, Kyriakos Mitsotakis during "Why don't you open your on its territory, fast-track EU
to repel people trying to there have been 293 ar- a telephone conversation gates too, let them go to membership and visa-free
enter the country and the rests since 6 a.m. on Feb. the two had Sunday morn- other countries, and rid travel to Europe for Turkish
Greek border area has 29, and 41,060 people pre- ing. yourself of this burden." citizens.
since seen violent confron- vented from crossing over "The president's proposal In a speech marking Inter- "I hope that we will return
national Women's Day, Er- from Brussels with a differ-
North Macedonia police discover dogan asserted that wom- ent result," Erdogan said.
Erdogan has demanded
en and children were bear-
that Europe shoulder more
ing the brunt of the crisis.
56 migrants in truck "Is the West's heart break- of the burden of caring for
ing over all of this? No. Is it refugees, accusing the EU
raising its voice? No," Erdo- of failing to disburse the
SKOPJE, North Macedo- kilometers (100 miles) south key opened its border last gan said. money. He announced
nia (AP) — Police in North of the capital, Skopje, late week to outgoing migrants. The Greek government re- that Turkey, which already
Macedonia discovered Saturday. The truck driver Caretaker Prime Minister leased a video purporting houses more than 3.5 mil-
56 migrants during a rou- was identified as a 46-year- Oliver Spasovski said Sun- to show a Turkish armored lion Syrian refugees, would
tine search of a truck and old Macedonian national. day that North Macedonia vehicle trying to pull down no longer be Europe's
arrested the driver on sus- The migrants, 54 Pakistanis will resist any attempts by part of border fence with gatekeeper.
picion of belonging to a and two Afghans, are ex- migrants to cross the bor- a rope. It claimed the ve- EU foreign ministers have
trafficking ring that brought pected to be transferred der. hicle was partly purchased criticized Turkey, saying it
them in from Greece, au- to a detention center in "We will have zero toler- with EU border funds. The is using the migrants' des-
thorities said Sunday. Gevgelija pending depor- ance and we will not allow Associated Press could not peration "for political pur-
The incident took place tation back to Greece. entry of migrants, because verify the authenticity of poses." EU countries are still
late Saturday in the town North Macedonia has in- this is the policy of all states the video. There was no dealing with the political
of Gevgelija, near the bor- creased patrols on the bor- in the region," Spasovski immediate comment from fallout from a wave of mass
der with Greece, about 160 der with Greece, after Tur- said.q Turkish officials. migration five years ago. q