Alarm for “Evro number 2” – The Greek plan of three levels

Scenarios for dealing with an attempt for mass entry of immigrants from Turkey to Greece have been elaborated recently by the Police and the Coast Guard. This is because as long as the rhetorical tension between the two countries remains, there are many who consider it possible for the Turkish authorities to incite a mass movement of migrants from Turkey to Greece, in a repetition of what happened in the spring of 2020.

Giannis Souliotis

In Evros, police authorities have updated an emergency plan they have drawn up since last year, which provides for three levels of response depending on migratory pressure along the border. At the first level, border policing involves uniformed personnel already serving in the Border Guard Departments along the border. This is happening in the period we are going through, when an increase of 20% of the immigration pressure is recorded compared to the corresponding period last year.

At the second level, the design of EL.AS. provides for the reinforcement of the police services of Evros with uniforms from the prefectures of Xanthi and Rodopi, while in case of a general crisis it is foreseen to activate police officers from all over Northern Greece.

Police sources explain that the plan is named, which means that every police officer knows exactly what his mission is in case of escalation of border tensions.

The escalation is similar with regard to the use of technical means. Levels 2 and 3 of the emergency plan, for example, provide for the relocation by the Directorate of Police Operations in Athens and the use in Evros of the special sprinkler equipment (EL.AS water tanks), which were used in the 2020 episodes, such as as well as unmanned aircraft, in addition to those already at the disposal of the Orestiada and Alexandroupolis Police Departments. Competent police sources describe in “K” that tear gas and flash grenades are already being transported from the central warehouses of the headquarters of the Hellenic Police. to the services of Evros, while there are suggestions for the supply of additional material. In the spring of 2020, moreover, the material warehouses of EL.AS. had been emptied and needed the supply of chemicals by urgent procedures from faraway Brazil.

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As far as the Eastern Aegean is concerned, the officials of the Coast Guard have received information in the last twenty-four hours about the gathering of migrants – about 400-500 – on the Turkish coast near Cesme. It is considered probable that in the next twenty-four hours they will attempt to board sailing boats bound for Italy. The movements of the migrants are related to the course of the weather phenomena and the expected weakening of the winds, a development that makes it easier to cross the Aegean until their arrival on the east coast of Italy. Something similar had happened about ten days ago, when within a few hours five sailboats had been located in the sea area between Samos and Chios.

As part of precautionary measures, the Coast Guard has intensified patrols in the specific sea area, while the activation of a leased Israeli drone based at Tympaki airport should be considered a matter of days. It has a range of many kilometers and will patrol along the border in the South Aegean.

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