Greek coastguard may have killed over 500 migrants

[Ag3ma]

Greek shipwreck: hi-tech investigation suggests coastguard responsible for sinking

Research into loss of trawler with hundreds of deaths strongly contradicts official accounts – while finding a failure to mobilise help and evidence that survivor statements were tampered with

www.theguardian.com

So, whilst everyone was focused on five people who died when their sub imploded in the Atlantic, a boat carrying an estimated 750 migrants sank in the Mediterranean with just 104 survivors. The Greek coastguard reported that the boat refused help because it wanted to get to Italy, and then made some severe turns which caused it to capsize.

What's interesting is that it appears there are anomalies in the actions of the Greek coastguard, and evidence strongly contradicting the Greek coastguard's reports of what transpired.

These analyses suggest the Greek coastguard had not mobilised sufficient and appropriate resources, and had explicitly refused aid from Frontex, the EU-wide border agency. Survivor testimonies and other evidence suggest that the engine failed and the ship drifted for hours, watched by the Greek authorities, with help only being given because migrants on board phoned a helpline for assistance. Then the Greek coastguard attempted to tow it... to Italy, which was around four times as far away as Greece. There is a substantial probabity that this tow caused the ship to capsize. The Greek coastguard did not record the operation on video, despite doing so being standard procedure. Finally, after the sinking and rescue operation, migrants' phones (some had taken videos) were confiscated and testimonies to the coastguard appear to have been altered or fabricated.

If this is true, I hope there will be people jailed. And I don't just mean smugglers charged with loading the migrants on in the first place.

 

[Absent]

Greece's murderous pushbacks have been denounced for ages. But all of EU wants them. They support the greek extreme-right government (basically a new ND made of ancient Laos members), because :

1) They are pro-EU, insanely greedy (ultra-neoliberals) and thus very obedient with the EU's diktats when it comes to "PIIGS" economy.

2) They are extremely racist, and so they violently guard the EU's borders against migrants, letting the EU wash their hands on these deaths. It's the whole principle of the Dublin system : have the "peripheral" countries be psychotic assholes on the behalf of the "central" ones.

Since its "independance" in the 19th century, the whole history of Greece has been a succession of authoritarian regimes after authoritarian regimes, established and supported by western nations. Because of Greece's geopolitical position at the intersection of different blocs or continents (or imaginary entities like The West and The East). It's still the case. Even The Guardian, supposedly left-winged, licks ND's ass, calling them "center-right", no joke, regardless of their revisionist praise of the Colonel's military dictatorship and their nazi-like rhetorics about foreigners (using the same biological metaphors as Hitler, calling migrants "a cancer", etc). All this because EU compliance is actually The Guardian's cardinal virtue, and the evil greek left has been insolent towards the EU's troika.

Is Greece a murderous far-right regime ? Yes it is. But it is also the EU's handy murderous far-right regime. Ever the good dog. It won't change, because nobody wants it to.

 

[XsjadoBlaydette]

Can only hope there's effective processes and enough political will/public disgust to find justice for all those involved there. Am not so confident in the likelihood of that outcome though. Am not confident in this situation getting any better neither.

 

[Gergar12]

Literally, 10 Las Vegas Mass shootings right there, and no one cares. But muh submarine.