CIDOB Opinion 632 from September 2020 discusses the treatment of refugees by the Greek government and the international community's response to the situation. The report highlights several key points:
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Refugee Abandonment: Greek authorities have been abandoning tens of refugees at sea on floating tents, expecting Turkish coast guards to return them. This practice violates international law and has been carried out without allowing these individuals to go through asylum procedures.
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Illegality and Impunity: The Greek state has lost its sense of shame regarding the brutal and impune handling of the situation. The report mentions that the frontier has been openly defied, and the strategies used include externalizing border control, delegating maritime rescue operations to neighboring countries, and deploying police and military forces to prevent arrivals.
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Pact with Turkey: The EU-Turkey pact, signed in March 2016, aimed to return irregular migrants to Turkey but faced difficulties due to limitations set by national and international laws and judicial systems. This led to strategies focusing on preventing arrivals rather than returning migrants.
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Externalization and Internalization of Exceptional Spaces: The report discusses the externalization of border control, where neighboring countries like Turkey take responsibility for controlling borders. It also mentions the internalization of exceptional spaces within countries, where rights violations can be attributed to issues like incapacity, inefficiency, or lack of resources.
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Recent Developments: The Greek government has stopped hiding behind subterfuges and has become more open about its actions. In February, the Greek army brutally responded to individuals attempting to cross the border near the Evros river. Later, Athens suspended asylum rights. This action turned migrants into easily "detachable" and "deportable objects."
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Systematic Denunciation: Despite numerous reports and denunciations of rights abuses, the Greek government's actions appear to prioritize state sovereignty over individual rights. There seems to be a shift towards justifying the prioritization of state control over life rights, which raises concerns about the morality and legality of the situation.
The report concludes that the disregard for fundamental rights and the prioritization of state sovereignty over individual rights indicate a significant concern, especially considering the lack of acknowledgment of these practices' illegality and immorality. The report suggests that this reflects a growing trend of iliberalism in so-called liberal democracies.
