Greek Migration and Asylum Minister Notis Mitarchi on Wednesday posted a video on his Twitter account purportedly showing Turkish coast guardsmen, aboard a small patrol boat, violently “pushing forward” a boat-load of would-be migrants towards Greek territorial waters.
In a direct response to recent criticism by pro-migration NGOs, a handful of European Parliament deputies, and most importantly, by top Turkish leadership – which elevated the issue of “push-backs” high on its recent crescendo of anti-Greek rhetoric – Mitarachi said the video footage was shot by a refugee on board the boat, who was later rescued by the Greek coast guard.
The western shores of Turkey on the Aegean have attracted hundreds of thousands of third country nationals over the past decade, people hailing from sub-Saharan Africa to as far as south Asia, but mostly from the Middle East, all attempting to clandestinely cross over to Greek territory, and by extension to the European Union.
No information was given on when the footage was shot, although unconfirmed reports claimed the incident occurred three years ago.
