Greek minister Georgiadis seeks to legalise migrant pushbacks
Source: in-cyprus.com
Greek Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis called for the legalisation of the illegal ‘pushbacks’ of refugees and migrants, defending earlier controversial statements he made about international judicial bodies.
Georgiadis, whose government has previously dismissed accusations of pushbacks as “Turkish propaganda,” said he supports the practice, adding he did not mean to “kill them, but to push them back.” He did not explain how the action could be carried out without constituting a criminal act.
The minister’s comments came after he was asked about his earlier remarks on X (formerly Twitter) in which he called the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and Amnesty International “left-wing” and “of no importance.” These statements were also echoed by Greece’s current Migration Minister Thanos Plevris.
Addressing Amnesty International, the Minister said: “It is an organisation that opposes the basic interests of European peoples.” He then aligned himself with other European forces, noting that nine prime ministers have sought intervention in the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights regarding migration policy. “I align myself with the European forces that are asking us to reconsider whether pushbacks are illegal,” Georgiadis said.
He argued that Europe cannot allow a boat with 400 people to start from Libya and arrive undisturbed, stating that if one arrives, “it will turn into hundreds.” “The moment this idea [pushbacks] was banned, the conditions were different; now they are not,” he claimed. He added that the issue has reached an “existential point for the European peoples and European civilisation” that needs re-evaluation, asking if Europe could handle one billion “downtrodden” people from Africa. Finally, Mr Georgiadis said that Greece “of course recognises international law and the International Criminal Court, but that does not mean it will allow the country to be destroyed.” He concluded by quoting the Romans, saying, “The salvation of the people is the highest law.”
Thepressproject.gr
The original article: belongs to in-cyprus.com .
