March 2, 2020
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s has opened his country’s borders with Europe making good on a longstanding threat to flood the continent with 3.6 million Syrian migrants.
In RAIR Foundation exclusively-translated video featured below, a Bulgarian TV News station (bTV), details how the the Turkish government is transporting migrants to the Greek border and arming them with tear gas drones to fight Greece’s border agents.
Giorgos Christides, who has been documenting events in Lesbos, tweeted that the Greek authorities claim that Turkish police has been providing migrants with “tear gas canisters” to be “used against the Greek police blocking passage…”
Greek authorities say these tear gas canisters are among many handed over by Turkish police to some migrants at #Evros border, to be used against Greek police blocking passage pic.twitter.com/EJ4Z5QdTMB
— Giorgos Christides (@g_christides) February 29, 2020
The actions of the Turkish authorities are inconceivable and could be easily perceived as an act of war. The government is intentionally attempting to flood Greece with migrants, and providing them with the material assistance to combat Greek police!
Video obtained by Greek sources shows tear gas thrown at Greek forces from the other side of the standoff in #Evros: In last day Greece prevented close to 10.000 attempts of migrants and refugees stuck in No man’s land from breaching the border from #Turkey pic.twitter.com/pDPv9nnGjT
— Giorgos Christides (@g_christides) March 2, 2020
Video transcript below: many thanks to Tanya T. for the translation;
“Some are leaving, and others are coming. Such vans with refugees keep arriving incessantly in Odrin.
We are going, the border is open.
At the border, however, the refugees find out that there is no road to Europe. We have learned that many mayors of Turkish municipalities as well as businessmen have declared that they will pay for the transport of the refugees to Pazarkole and other points on the border with Greece, so, indeed, the people are coming. Somebody is paying for their transport, definitely.
Maria, thank you. And now, from the piece of land between Greece and Turkey that we call No Man’s Land, Tsvetana Balabanova is there.
Hello, Tsveti. How are the Greek authorities reacting to what has happened over the last 24 hours?
Good evening. We no longer are at No Man’s Land, because about an hour and a half ago we were asked to move out of there, due to the increasing pressure, but the crew and I witnessed the latest escalation of tension between migrants and border police.
We have information about one policeman injured by a thrown stone. Greek border police complain that the Turkish side not only are cutting the barbed wire, but also drones with tear gas are sent from Turkey to the migrants.
[The reporter says 17 people who crossed got a sentence of 3.5 years for crossing illegally. The new Greek government is demonstrating that it is adopting a tough policy towards migration, she says.]
Here’s what else we saw during the day. In No Man’s Land between Greece and Turkey tear gas is a weapon used by both sides. Migrants are shooting stones and wood at the security forces. At a given moment the situation becomes strained, and all journalists are asked to move out.”
