Greece Insists on Building Fence Along Border With Turkey

The Greek government is standing firm by the idea of building along the border with Turkey a fence of 12.5 kilometers that would control the immigration from Turkey to Greece, in spite of growing criticism from the international community.

The Citizen Protection Ministry has informed on Tuesday that the fence will be three meters tall and will be finished in April by the Evros River and the town of Orestiada.

Greek officials have said that this is the weakest point by which the immigrants cross into Greece and consequently into the European Union.

The plan is the result of some sort of compromise, since initially the fence was supposed to be 206-kilometer long, which would have practically build a wall between Greece and Turkey.

Greek media ridiculed the 12.5 km wall, saying it would only be a front covering the real problems Greece has with immigration.

European authorities recommended that the asylum policies be improved in stead of building this fence.

Opposition leaders said that the best course of action would be to help illegal immigrants get to Central Europe, where most of them are headed anyway.

Christos Papoutsis, Citizen Protection Minister, said that the accusations against Greece are unsubstantial since under Schengen agreement the country is required to make sure the common borders of the Union are secured.

33,000 illegal immigrants from Turkey to Greece were detected in the six months through the end of November 2010. Most of them were from Afghanistan, Somalia, Algeria, Pakistan and Iraq. 200 refugees are presumed to have passed through this border each day.

European teams have been patrolling the border since November. It is the first time that a RaBIT (Rapid Border Intervention Team) was deployed along the border of the European Union.

The building of the fence sends out a distressing sign especially since Greece and Turkey have not been known to be at best terms, though both countries are members of some international bodies.

Turkey is a country that aspires to become a member of the European Union. It is expected that Greece may oppose Turkish plans over some ancient questions unresolved between the two countries.

In 2008, Greece blocked the admittance of Macedonia to NATO, during the NATO Summit in Bucharest, Romania, because the country’s name is similar to the one of a Greek province.

The building of the fence may also mean, or be construed as, that Turkish efforts to become a member of EU should also intensify, since the country is seen as a source of illegal immigration.