Greece has long been Europe's main entry point for illegal immigrants
from Asia and Africa seeking a better life in the West. But its severe
economic problems and high unemployment are making the problem worse
than ever. Around 6,000 people were detained over the weekend in
Athens in a massive operation named after the ancient Greek god of
hospitality, Zeus Xenios. Officers across the city stopped mostly
African and Asian people in the street for identification checks. Most
were only briefly detained, but about 1,600 were arrested for illegally
entering Greece and sent to holding centres pending deportation.
Left-wing
opposition parties criticised the crackdown, while the Office of the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees voiced concern that
migrants from war-torn countries and genuine asylum-seekers could be
denied the right of protection. Some 100,000 illegal immigrants
are estimated to slip into Greece every year, mostly from neighbouring
Turkey, and up to a million are believed to live in Greece, which has an
official population of about 10 million. The uncontrolled influx,
which coincided with a recent rise in crime, contributed to the sharp
rise of an extreme-right political party which uses aggressive rhetoric
against immigrants. Once beyond the pale of Greek politics, the extreme
right Golden Dawn gained nearly 7% of the vote in parliamentary
elections six weeks ago. Mainstream parties also pledged to curtail
immigrant flows.
Public Order Minister Nikos Dendias said the
rounding-up of illegal immigrants would continue, arguing that their
unchecked entry brought Greece "to the brink of collapse." "The country
is being lost," he said. "What is happening now is (Greece's) greatest
invasion ever. Since the Dorian invasion some 3,000 years ago, the
country has never received such a flow of immigration." Ancient
tradition linked the invasion of Greek-speaking Dorian tribes with the
end of the heroic Mycenaean age, although historians believe that the
Mycenaean palatial civilisation was brought down by financial and social
unrest.
Mr Dendias said arrested immigrants will be temporarily
held at police academy buildings in northern Greece, which are closed
for the summer, and at a detention centre outside Athens. He claimed
that by the end of the year Greece will be able to detain up to 10,000
people.
Source: Press Association
