Merchant Marine Minister Militadis Varvitsiotis responded to international criticism of Greek authorities following a deadly boat accident involving refugees in the east Aegean Sea earlier in the week.
The refugee boat capsized off the island of Farmakonisi on Monday while being towed by a Greek coastguard vessel. The bodies of a woman and a child were found near the Turkish coast, but another 10 people are missing and presumed dead. Sixteen people were rescued and were transferred to Piraeus.
One of the survivors was reported on Thursday as saying that members of the coast guard pushed people back into water as they tried to climb aboard. The report could not be independently verified.
The incident has prompted criticism from the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) which quoted survivors as saying that several migrants fell off the boat as it was being towed, at high speed, toward the Turkish coast. The UNHCR has called for an inquiry into the circumstances of the tragedy.
Amnesty International also urged the Greek government to conduct a thorough investigation of the circumstances which led to deaths in the Aegean Sea.
The Council of Europe’s commissioner for human rights, Nils Muiznieks, said that he was “shocked and distressed” and called on Greek authorities to “put an end to the illegal practice of collective expulsions and effectively investigate all such cases.”
Speaking to Skai Media on Thursday, Varvitsiotis rejected allegations that the Greek coast guard was towing the boat toward the Turkish coast. He said panicking refugees caused the boat to capsize themselves.
“Muiznieks and several others want to create a political issue in Greece,” said the conservative minister, while he also stressed that the Greek coast guard so far has rescued 3,500 people at sea.
“Such issues should not become the subject of petty [political] exploitation,” said Mr Varvitsiotis adding that neither PASOK nor SYRIZA have so far asked to be briefed on the incident.
Greece is a major gateway for refugees trying to make their way illegally from Africa and the Middle East into the European Union. Since August 2012, at least 136 refugees, the majority of whom were Syrian and Afghan, lost their lives in at least twelve known incidents attempting to reach Greece by boat from Turkey, according to Amnesty International.
Sources: ekathimerini, enetenglish
