Parliament: The parties for refugees from Ukraine

The support of the refugees from Ukraine was expressed by all wings of the Parliament, in the discussion that took place in the Committee on Public Administration, Public Order and Justice. “We hope and pray that logic will prevail soon and the war will end. Let Moscow realize that any victory on the field will be fiery, because what will be left will be destruction and hatred. And these create new misery. “History is not corrected by force. And those who seek it with revisions, pay a heavier price,” said Commission President Maximos Harakopoulos.

“Undoubtedly, what is happening at the moment, in Kyiv, in Mariupol, in Kharkov, in Sumy, in Nikolaev, but also from what appears in Odessa – the city of the Friendly Society and the national benefactors, such as Grigorios Maraslis and “Theodoros Rodokanakis and so many other prominent expatriates – it is a ‘punch in the stomach’ for all of us”, said Mr. Harakopoulos and stressed that today “the hearts and doors of our homes must be opened for these people who take the road “Let them alleviate their pain. Let us show our solidarity in practice, for as long as it takes.”

“Fortunately, this time around, Europe has shown real determination in dealing with the Russian invasion, in a rare unanimity. The same unanimity is shown in the issue of the management of refugee flows from Ukraine. “Greece and other southern countries in recent years, when many Member States did not even accept unaccompanied minors,” he said.

“We support and welcome refugees from Ukraine and their families. We are interacting with their communities here, activating our party forces and agencies, field organizations, for reception, information, transportation, housing and “meeting the basic needs of these people and children in education,” said SYRIZA MP George Psychogios, who stressed that his party’s position is to support and show solidarity with refugees, whether they come from Ukraine or are in its port. Piraeus, whether they are refugees from the east. Regarding the initiatives of the government and the Ministry of Immigration and Asylum, Mr. Psychogios stressed that SYRIZA can not pursue options such as temporary accommodation in Klidi Serres, “this inhuman structure, which was given to the Ukrainian refugees and is criticized, inside and outside Greece “. With regard to unaccompanied minors, Mr. Psychogios called on the government to finally activate the law on the Commission, and accused the government of unacceptable rhetoric and practice on the refugee issue. “Will you take back your unacceptable statements, like those of Mr. Kairidis, who directly distinguish refugees, among the people uprooted by the horrors of war? ‘Will you take back provisions, such as the criminalization of rescue at sea, “Will you respond and investigate allegations of deportations? Will you stop the mass rejection of Syrian and Afghan refugees? To know if the application of international law is a la carte, if it is selective,” he said. of SYRIZA.

Movement for Change MP George Kaminis, who called on the government to proceed with a comprehensive plan, referred to the national strategy for the integration of asylum seekers and refugees, noting that it is a strategy “with many gaps” since the absence of immigrants, no timeline is specified. nor implementing agencies, sources of funding, coordination with the relevant ministries and the Local Government. “From now on, we must see what will happen with the integration of these refugees, from language learning to the issue of housing, education, continuity,” said Mr. Kaminis. Above all, however, the MP of the Movement for Change, expressed the hope, in this unfortunate situation, that Greece’s voice for solidarity with other countries, especially the Visegrad countries, becomes stronger, but “not on a basis that they will accept the refugees coming from the North and Greece will accept the refugees coming from the East or from the South “,” because solidarity must have a complete character “.

“The KKE, from the first moment, condemned the invasion of Ukraine and expressed its solidarity with its people and all the peoples, who in this bloodshed will find themselves paying a heavy price,” said KKE MP Maria Komnenaka stressed that “solidarity with the Ukrainian people is not to strengthen, to feed the war machine, to choose one side or the other, and the people to pay for the rivalries and oppositions of both sides. And for Greece, the “Real solidarity is not about strengthening the war machine by sending weapons, by utilizing NATO military bases.” On the issue of refugees, the KKE MP noted that “today the government is shocked by the violent redrawing of borders, by the fact that the territorial integrity of any country is not taken for granted, but this is a selective sensitivity. Why did not show the same sensitivity, neither our country nor the EU for the thousands of other uprooted, uprooted by the interventions of their own revision plans “. The MP called for measures for all Ukrainian refugees, but pointed out the “hypocrisy” of the EU, for its overall policy on refugees, while he also raised the issue of “hospitality” of refugees in the “superstructures – prisons on the islands”. On the contrary, as he noted, in the case of refugees from Ukraine, the criterion is that it is easier to integrate them and the cheap flexible capacity. Maria Komninaka said that the government is still expected to condemn the “unacceptable” statements of the ND MP D. Kairidis who distinguishes the uprooted non-religious and Christian whites, “an unacceptable statement, a monument of cynicism”, which finds ground in its selective policy ..

Hellenic Solution MP Konstantinos Hitas stressed that his party is in favor of humanitarian aid to the Ukrainians, and to the refugees who will come to Greece and to those who remain in their homeland. “We are in favor of humanitarian aid. We are against weapons and we are against the Kalashnikov mission or any other military equipment, which you christened defense,” Mr Hitas said. “We have to help these people who came to Greece, people who were persecuted, who were forced to leave their homeland because of the war. What is happening now with Ukraine is that we see families trying to cross the border and another is the illegal immigration “, said the MP of the Hellenic Solution. He added that the Ukrainians are also a “religious people” and are at war. “These people want to return home tomorrow, if the war is over. They do not start from Pakistan, Algeria, Nigeria, Congo to travel half the world, to come here, to say they are refugees and to take them “the bankrupt Greek pays”, said Mr. Hitas.

“There are also refugees from other countries who must be treated the same,” said SYRIZA MP Ioannis Mouzalas, who wondered how quickly Ukrainian refugees would receive AMKA and when they would receive AMKA and AFM refugees from other countries. whether the children of Ukrainian refugees will go to school and when the children from Syria will go to school. “The way the EU has dealt with the issue is positive. The way Greece has welcomed the Ukrainian refugees, so far, is positive. “This is an issue that will send the country to the courts,” said Mr. Mouzalas, adding: I say if our country will raise this issue, also our country can legally take the decision, on the occasion of this move of the European Union to grant humanitarian protection status to specific refugees, of a specific origin “from Africa or Asia, for whom Turkey is not a safe third country? Not on the basis of the arbitrary JMC of the ministry, but on the basis of the European Union-Turkey declaration.”

N. Mitarakis: EU Directive recognizes Ukrainian refugees 100%

“Ukraine is at war, it borders the European Union, the Ukrainians who leave their country, come in a coordinated way, with papers, with passports, to the legal points of entry of the country. That is, they are presented directly to the Greek authorities, as “The Geneva agreement stipulates that at the border and then they enter our country. They are real refugees”, replied the Minister of Immigration and Asylum Notis Mitarakis. He stressed that “legally, the European Union Directive itself sets the recognition rate for Ukrainians at 100%. “.