Europe, Greek,Anarkismo.net: "Fear the Greeks bearing gifts"

Anarkismo.net: "Fear the Greeks bearing gifts" The EU and its institutions fear perhaps an effect from the Trojan horse in the EU? by Donato Romito (it, pt)

Seize the opportunity and usefulness of a crack, a political and social space that might 
open in the monolith of the fiscal compact and the economy of debt, to revive the 
difficult labor struggles and expand and sustain urban struggles across Europe, in order 
to reconstruct the class consciousness necessary for a democratic rupture. ---- Aeneid 
(Book II, 49) of Virgil, so he said Laocoon to the Trojans to keep them from bringing 
within the walls of the city's famous horse of the Greeks. ---- The victory of the 
coalition SYRIZA and the first anti-austerity intent of the new government of the 
left-right (SYRIZA + Anel) are worrying not just the countries of the EU and its 
institutions. ---- The Greeks are therefore still afraid. ---- The EU is concerned perhaps 
an effect from Trojan horse within the Union, if they were to ever open the doors of 
austerity in the face of even the minimum requirements of the Greeks?

As was the case for Ireland, Portugal, Italy, Cyprus, the warning of the ECB (refusal to 
accept Greek government bonds as collateral to guarantee loans to Greek banks), before 
they even have a sign statement seems to have a sign clearly political.

We are no longer, in fact, in 2011-12, when just to keep Greece in the single currency, 
Germany, Finland and the Netherlands agreed to double bailout tears & blood (the infamous 
memorandum of the troika by EUR 264 billion) of Greece, apppropriandosi dell ' 80% of the 
debt greek.

After the speeches of the ECB, especially with the recent QE, the economic situation in 
the EU has changed, so the more that the state debt of Greece (on which the game is open), 
to worry so much so-called hawks, as governments center -Right of Spain and Portugal, it 
would be a contagion effect SYRIZA within individual states (see Podemos in Spain, Die 
Linke in Germany, ...).

The new government greek announced a maneuver by EUR 2bn to summarize 12,000 public 
employees laid off, to freeze the privatization, to increase the minimum wage and combat 
tax evasion. For a country that calls for the renegotiation of the debt, everything is 
intolerable for the institutions of the "troika".

2015 ripen some deadlines for Greece (EUR 5bn to be returned to the IMF, plus EUR 6.7 
billion to be returned to the ECB).

On the negotiating table, on the one hand the request for more time and less interest to 
be paid by Greece, other European blackmail on the freezing of the other aid provided (EUR 
7 billion), if the government does not submit greek.

Yet a submission fierce Tsipras might be just as politically counterproductive for 
Germany, as a contagion effect-nourished political and social forces anti-austerity.

Humiliation for the leader of SYRIZA would bring Greece into uncontrollable instability 
most likely to push towards the so-called Grexit (maybe today, unlike in 2011, would not 
mind to Mrs. Merkel) but that would raise issues on the stability in the eurozone other 
countries such as Portugal, Spain, Italy and even France.

And then Germany could be accused of having led for the second time in the history of the 
entire continent to disaster.

SYRIZA, therefore, must be contained in order not to raise hopes and instability in other 
countries burdened by the austerity policies. But further obstinacy on the German side 
would condemn Europe to a decade of impoverishment that would fuel populist forces and 
far-right anti-euro, but still pro-austerity and anti-proletarian feroemente.

The game that is played in the corridors of European power is therefore open, but could 
become more decisive if they went into the game the social movements across Europe are 
fighting against austerity policies, against the lot of territory, against the destruction 
of the rights of workers, against racism.

To build a Europe of solidarity of the working class must be mobilized on a continental 
scale of the anti-capitalist forces, which uses the contradiction that began in the EU, 
after the electoral victory of SYRIZA yesterday and tomorrow that of Podemos.

It is not about finding a Tzipras or make a Syriza in any other country or to go to school 
by Iglesias in Spain for electoral and parliamentary groped adventures that have never 
brought anything good to the working classes. It is rather to seize the opportunity and 
usefulness of a crack, a political and social space that might open in the monolith of the 
fiscal compact and the economy of debt, to revive the difficult labor struggles and expand 
and sustain urban struggles throughout Europe, in order to reconstruct the class 
consciousness necessary for a democratic rupture. A break of democratic and libertarian 
net mark-capitalist. not through shortcuts election but for the construction of a social 
conflict and widespread lattice, systematic and constant, capable of expressing growing 
radicalism from below, addressed verso? reappropriation and self-management of common 
resources, heritage and the environment, cultural and economic, in the territories of 
Europe and in every country.

Only high hopes? Sure, but supported by the observation of signs of conflict and 
development of the struggles in various countries. To us it is the constant daily 
commitment of our political organizations, communist anarchist and libertarian, within the 
reality of every day, even when it seems to move away from our strategic objectives.

Donato Romito

http://www.anarkismo.net/article/27871

Private security firms bid on Greek asylum centres‏

Source: http://euobserver.com

BRUSSELS – Private security firms are bidding to guard EU-funded migrant detention centres in Greece amid a report by Medecins Sans Frontiers (MSF), which says poor conditions in some of the facilities are causing disease.

Greek authorities received EU money to refurbish and renovate Fylakio Oresteiadas, a pre-removal detention centre located in a remote area near the Turkish border.

Greece now wants to outsource its security, along with two other pre-removal centres in Corinth and Paranesti Dramas, to a private security firm for €14 million a year.

Fylakio was among others included in a scathing MSF report out on Tuesday (1 April).

Detained migrants and asylum seekers are suffering from medical problems caused or aggravated by poor conditions, the length of detention, and the lack of consistent or adequate medical assistance, it says.

“Most of the diseases I treat are connected to the detention circumstances. For example, it is too humid – I have seen patients who sleep on completely wet mattresses,” said one MSF doctor, cited in the report.

Michael Flynn, who runs the Global Detention Project at the Swiss-based Graduate Institute of International Studies, says outsourcing detention facilities to private security companies is a growing phenomenon.

“There should always be a concern when a state invites a for-profit contractor into the management structure of something like immigration-related detention,” he said.

Introducing private contractors shifts the policy focus away from the well-being of migrants to the bottom line of a company, he said.

“This is inevitable, this is just the nature of business,” he said.

The well-being of those detainees, according to the MSF report, is already being neglected despite the around €35 million Greece received last year from the EU’s return fund.

The money is supposed to help voluntary return and reintegration programmes but the bulk of the money is said to have gone to border control and detention centres.

At Fylakio, the EU co-financed expenses of operational costs like food, cleaning, hot water, clothing, medical supplies and heating.

EU home affairs spokesperson Michael Cercone, for his part, said in an email the commission is not aware of any EU funding earmarked for Greece in relation to security services for Fylakio.

He noted that member states are responsible for the money being spent correctly.

“EU money would be only paid if all the relevant conditions and obligations are fulfilled by the authorities of member states,” he said.

A commission-drafted implementation report on Fylakio is due out in March 2016.

Despite the extra money from Brussels, the detention centre still has problems.

“The biggest issue is that since May 2013 there is no daily presence of medical staff,” said a contact at the Greek Refugee Council.

“The infirmary room also hosts unaccompanied minors waiting for their transfer to children facilities. There are no beds, they are sleeping on dirty mattresses thrown on the floor,” noted the contact.

Scabies broke out at the facility at the end of 2012 and beginning of 2013.

The Fylakio centre at the time of the scabies outbreak had new washing machines purchased by the EU funds but they were not hooked up.

“They were never connected, the police did not have the money to pay someone to come and connect the washing machines,” Ioanna Kotsioni, at MSF in Greece, told this website.

Greek authorities then report back to the commission with invoices to prove the purchases. There is no follow-up by the commission.

“They [European Commission] should establish a mechanism of independent monitoring because these people are deprived of their liberty based on administrative decisions,” she said.

Meanwhile, the multi-million euro contract has already attracted bids from over a half dozen firms.

Among them is G4S, the world’s largest private security firm, which has come under criticism for the treatment of detainees at its three UK-based asylum centres.

Mega Sprint Guard, JCB Security and Facility, and Swedish Systems Security are also in the bidding, among others.

The call for tenders closed in mid-January.

Legal groundwork

The legal groundwork to outsource the facilities was years in the making. Greek lawmakers amended its asylum service and reception laws in 2012.

The reformed legislation gave Greece’s minister of citizen’s protection the right to transfer the responsibility of guarding the centres from the Greek police directly to private security firms.

It built a 12.5 km razor wire fence along its land border with Turkey to keep people from crossing in.

Two years ago, it launched police operation “Xenios Zeus” aimed at rounding up migrants.

Police detained over 120,000 migrants between August 2012 and June 2013. Less than 6 percent had no residency permits.

http://clandestinenglish.wordpress.com

Women and children among seven immigrants to die in latest Aegean tragedy - two still missing‏

http://www.thepressproject.net/article/58423/Women-and-children-among-seven-immigrants-to-die-in-latest-Aegean-tragedy---two-still-missing

Since the early hours of this morning (Tuesday) the Greek Coast Guard has been conducting a rescue operation off the coast of the island of Mytilini, searching for irregular immigrants after the vessel they were travelling in sank. Eight people have been rescued while another seven bodies have been recovered with two still missing.

According to the Shipping Ministry, the operation in the sea northeast of the Koraka point of Mytilini began after two irregular immigrants were pulled from the waters by a passing Turkish cargo ship.

Following their rescue they informed the crew that they had been travelling in a small launch with another 15 people. The alarm was raised and a search and rescue operation was launched for the remaining people with civilian and Turkish and Greek Coast Guard vessels participating.

Eight people have been rescued in total while another seven bodies have been recovered. Among the dead are two women and three children. The Coast Guard is continuing the operation as it believes that there were another two people travelling in the boat who are still unaccounted for.

Speaking to the Mega TV channel, Shipping Minister Miltiadis Varvitsiotis said that the Greek authorities had initially been notified of the incident by their Turkish counterparts who had been contacted by the ship that had located the two immigrants. He called the incident a tragedy and added that another two similar incidents had taken place in the Aegean the same night but without loss of life.

The semi-submerged small fiberglass boat in which the immigrants had been travelling has been located by the Coast Guard which recovered five bodies from the wreck. Another two bodies were recovered from the area as well as six survivors who were pulled from the waters by a Turkish patrol boat according to skai.gr (link in Greek). All of the survivors were transferred to the port of Mytilini.

SYRIZA released a statement stating that the tragedy underlined the urgent need for a change to the EU’s immigration policy.

“The carnage in the Aegean should shake-up every civilized human being. We can no longer talk of ‘accidents’ given that the fatal incidents are at risk of becoming routine,” the statement from the opposition party’s headquarters reads. “Tragedies in the Aegean are the bloody consequence of Greek and European policy which treats immigrants as enemies in a supposed war.”

SYRIZA also accused the Greek government and the EU of not doing anything to combat the root causes behind the wave of refugees and immigrants, chief among them being the war in Syria.

“We have already mourned too many dead. It is time for a change to immigration policy,” the statement concludes.