Greece condemns Macedonian use of force to stop migrants crossing border

Police action on unarmed people ‘unworthy of a European nation’ says Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras
The Wall Street Journal

By NEKTARIA STAMOULI
April 11, 2016 11:08 a.m. ET


ATHENS–Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras Monday accused Macedonia of “shameful” actions, after Macedonian police used tear gas, stun grenades and rubber bullets in attempt to prevent migrants crossing the border between the two countries Sunday.

Macedonia’s police action against “people who did not constitute a threat and were not armed and were attacked with chemicals, [rubber] bullets is unworthy of a European nation,” the Greek Prime Minister said in a press conference with his Portuguese counterpart António Costa, who is currently visiting Athens.



“It’s a great shame for the European society and a country that wants to be part of it," Mr. Tsipras added. He also called on the United Nations refugee organization, the UNHCR, to condemn the Macedonian police handling of the situation.

Migrants and refugees clashed Sunday with Macedonian police who were trying to thwart their efforts to scale the fence separating Greece from its northern neighbor in the border town of Idomeni.

Volunteer doctors treated some 300 people mainly with respiratory problems. Macedonia said 23 security officers were injured by stones thrown by refugees. Greek police did not intervene.

Macedonia’s foreign ministry asked Greece to fully engage its police forces to “dissuade violent rioting of migrants and illegal border crossing from Greek into Macedonian territory.”

The clashes began soon after some 500 of the more than 11,000 migrants stranded at a camp on the Greek side of the border gathered close to the fence after hearing rumors that the crossing was about to be opened.

A delegation of five migrants asked Macedonian police whether the border was about to open. When the police said no, more than a hundred migrants, including several children, tried to scale the fence.

Greek Citizen Protection Minister Nikos Toskas also condemned the use of force by Macedonian police earlier Monday.

“The migrants who were beaten yesterday are the jihadis of tomorrow,” he told local Skai TV.

He said that if the Greek police had intervened, it “would have provoked an even greater reaction.”

The clashes have become a frequent symptom of the growing frustration as a large bottleneck of migrants and refugees has formed in Greece. Some 53,000 people are now estimated to be stranded there after countries along the Balkan route taken to Germany and other EU countries, closed off their borders to refugees and migrants.

Last month, three Afghan migrants drowned in a river while trying to cross from Greece into Macedonia, after rumors of the borders’ opening were again spread in the camp.

Write to Nektaria Stamouli at nektaria.stamouli@wsj.com