The International Federation of the Red Cross condemned the use of migrants at the Turkish-Greek border as “political weapons”, criticizing the European Union, which seeks to appease Ankara by allocating 670 million euros to the Syrian refugees in Turkey.
“Humans have been used as political weapons and political tools, and this is unacceptable”, said Francesco Rocca, president of the International Federation of the Red Cross at the end of a visit in the buffer zone between Greece and Turkey in Castagnes (northeastern Greece).
From the Greek side, “We appeal to the European Union to act in a different way, out of respect for human dignity”.
Thousands of migrants wishing to reach Europe since last Friday flock along the border between Turkey and Greece, which is an entry point to the European Union, but the Greek authorities closed their borders and deployed large reinforcements to the police and the army.
Rocca considered Turkey's decision to stop preventing immigrants from going to Europe “very bad” and also strongly condemned European Commission President Ursula von der Lyen, who on Tuesday saw in Castagnes that the Greek border constituted a “shield”.
“I saw women and children behind the barrier (from the Turkish side). You do not need a shield to protect you from children and women”, Rocca said, addressing the Europeans.
For his part, the High Commissioner for Foreign Affairs of the European Union, Josep Borrell, announced on Wednesday the allocation of 170 million euros for “the most affected in Syria” during a visit to Ankara, and this funding is not included in the amount of 500 million euros to help refugees.
These measures aim to appease Ankara, which has decided to allow migrants and refugees on its territory to cross to obtain new support from the European Union.
The European Union has “vehemently” rejected Turkey's blackmail of migrants, and called on Ankara to abide by the agreement concluded in 2016.
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