ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The Greek migration minister on Saturday defended his country’s record on pushing migrants back across the border to Turkey, telling Rudaw that Athens welcomes legal migration, but not human smuggling. “We provide legal pathways for people to come, work and live in Greece. We support humanitarian visas and humanitarian corridors for people in need,” Notis Mitarachi told Rudaw’s Znar Shino. He praised his ministry’s efforts that have reduced the migrant flow at their borders by 80 percent since 2019. Greece is considered a gateway to western Europe for migrants passing through Turkey and making their way by land or risky sea journeys that result in tragic images such as the lifeless body of Alan Kurdi, the five-year-old Kurdish child who died after the boat taking his family to Greece overturned in the Aegean Sea in 2015. Alan was found on the coast of Turkey. In 2016, the European Union and Ankara reached a landmark agreement to limit the flow of migrants who use Turkey as a transit point to reach European soil. Under the agreement, irregular migrants attempting to enter Greece would be returned to Turkey and Ankara would take steps to prevent new migratory routes from opening up. In exchange, the EU would agree on the resettlement of Syrian refugees from Turkey, reduce visa restrictions for Turkish citizens, and give Turkey six million euros in aid. Mitarachi said Greece supports the full implementation of this agreement. “Turkey is a safe country and a NATO ally, and member of the Council of Europe, and a signatory of the Geneva Convention,” he said when asked about their migration policy of pushing migrants back to Turkey. “We very much favor the proper and full implementation of the 2016 EU-Turkey joint statement,” he added, emphasizing that Greece sees Turkey as a safe place for migrants and can provide international protection for those in need. Greece has been accused by human rights organizations of assaulting migrants and pushing them back across the border into Turkey. In 2022, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Greek had violated the EU’s human rights convention in its practice of forcing boats of asylum seekers back to Turkey. Mitirachi, who is in the final days of his tenure as minister, said Greece is not against migration, but rather “people making money on human suffering.” Migrants and asylum seekers often pay thousands of dollars to smugglers.
