ILLEGAL DEPORTATIONS AMID LEGALIZATION

GREEK HELSINKI MONITOR

(Greek National Committee of the International Helsinki Federation)

& MINORITY RIGHTS GROUP - GREECE

(Greek Affiliate of Minority Rights Group International)

P.O. Box 51393, GR-14510 Kifisia, Greece; tel. 30-1-620.01.20; fax: 30-1-807.57.67;

e-mail: office@greekhelsinki.gr      http://www.greekhelsinki.gr/

 

 

PRESS RELEASE

 

29/1/1998

 

TOPIC: ILLEGAL DEPORTATIONS AMID LEGALIZATION

 

The cooperating organizations Greek Helsinki Monitor and Minority Rights Group - Greece denounce the continuation of informal deportations in the area of Ferres in the Evros prefecture. This operation proves that there are sectors within the local police  who are opposed to the implementation of the Ministry of Public Order’s political decisions. A fact which, not only reduces the possibility for refugees to present their personal stories and ask for asylum, but shows a tendency of “autonomy” of local authorities from the political leadership, which is a very real danger for democratic legislation.

 

Besides, it is understood that whatsoever improvements on a legislative level, such as those which will be brought about by the plans under discussion for the presidential decree on the asylum procedures (for example the potential for adequate information for asylum seekers about all their rights) are essentially  invalidated, in reality, if  security forces in that particular border area continue to act in obvious violation of the rights of  persecuted refugees.

 

This practice, combined with the provocative indifference of the European Governments about the waves of Kurdish refugees, leads one to assume that, unfortunately the related  Geneva Convention ends up by being, in practice non-enforceable. This negative scene is strengthened by  the information  that the relevant authorities recommend to potential refugees to follow the well-known registration procedures of economic migrants This will have as a result that he will not be entitled to legal protection as a refugee - even if he has all the attributes of a political refugee - if at some time in the future he is not able to renew his “green card”.

 

 

Also extremely worrying is the phenomenon of the persistence of the enforcement of judicial deportation of immigrants, occurring at a time when immigrants are registering at OAED (Unemployment Agency). This situation deteriorated after the inadmissible legal opinion by a district attorney, in which: “appeal must not prevent the court imposed deportation”. All this clearly shows that the present presidential decrees on the legalization of immigrants have many “loop-holes” which are “exploited” judiciously by those who don’t agree with the ideals of solidarity and the fight against discrimination at the expense of foreigner