Migrant deaths spark protests in Greece
ALEXANDROUPOLIS, Greece — A day after 46 migrants drowned in a choppy Aegean Sea, protesters demonstrated Saturday at a Greek border town to demand that Greece ease transit restrictions at its heavily militarized border with Turkey.
Most of the 124-mile land border between Greece and Turkey is separated by the Evros River — known as the Meric River in Turkey. But a nearly 8-mile stretch of land separating the two countries was previously lined with minefields and is now separated by a fence.
The area is guarded with police and military patrols on land and on the river, a network of cameras and a few officers from the European border protection agency Frontex.
Wearing life vests and foil blankets, the demonstrators chanted, “This fence means refugees drown!” as they began two days of protests in the area. They plan to march toward the fence today.
“It’s vital that the fence is removed. It’s because of the fence that refugee families are forced to travel across the Aegean, and people are drowning on a daily basis,” said protester Michalis Sopatzoglou.
At least 60 people have died in Greek waters this month while trying to cross from Turkey to the Greek islands in poor weather, using unseaworthy boats provided by Turkish smuggling gangs.
High winds Saturday disrupted plans by Greek coast guard divers to search for bodies off the island of Kalymnos, where most of the people in Friday’s accidents died.
More than 850,000 asylum seekers traveled to Greek islands in 2015 en route to central and northern Europe.