Migration minister slams EU for delaying relocation at Lesvos refugee conference
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
Alternate Minister for Migration Policy Yiannis Mouzalas criticized the stance of the European Union on Saturday saying that relocation is increasingly ignored and Greece is being made into a ‘scapegoat’ for the slow progress made in managing the refugee flows.
The minister was speaking at a conference organized by the Athens News Agency – Macedonian Press Agency (ANA-MPA) and the municipality of Lesvos in Mytilene. The aim of the conference, titled “Greece, Europe, the world before the refugee crisis”, was to present not just the refugee issue, but the way it has been handled by the State, local communities, Europe and the media.
“Five months after the first European decisions on registration, relocation, resettlement, today relocation is not heard, resettlement is not heard, we only hear about registration and more intense accusations about our country,” Mouzalas told the conference.
“At the same time, we have borders being closed with fences, restoring of border controls, a huge increase in the efforts to implicate our country. They lie in the best possible way, by being based on a small morsel of truth,” he said.
He admitted the government made mistakes and delayed taking action because of the scale of the problem. “We made mistakes, we were confused, we didn’t know how to work with this new phenomenon; we had delays. But if someone wants xenophobia to prevail and the lack of reason, one has to find a scapegoat and for some people, it is Greece,” he said.
Opening the conference, ANA-MPA president and general director Mihalis Psilos said that one of the reasons for the conference was “an anger; an honest anger that grips every man who watches a country and its people to become an example of humanism”.
“At the same time, some people in the civilized West are waiving a finger in front of us and are burying their head in the sand claiming that Greece is to blame for the problem,” he noted, adding that the media also have a responsibility as most people do not have a daily contact with the refugees. “As ANA-MPA news agency we end with hypocrisy and crocodile tears. We’re part of the people and we’ll continue that way,” he said.
Lesvos mayor Spyros Galinos said on his side that Greeks have been “upholding the ideals of Europe” by supporting thousands of refugees. “When for seven years Greeks are accused of not being able to put forward their own policy, these people who have been brought to their knees with the economic crisis still found the strength to stand up and take it upon itself to deal with a European problem,” he said.
The conference was also attended by military officials and members of NGOs and volunteer groups.