Some 400 migrants have arrived on the Greek island of Kos, who were picked up by the Greek coast guard after the cargo ship they were traveling on ran into trouble last Friday. According to the Greeks, the Turkish coast guard refused to help the ship in distress, thereby ignoring a request from Athens and the international agreements that have been made about it.
The ship, with mainly young Afghans on board, sailed under the Turkish flag and, according to the Greek coast guard, set course from a Turkish port towards Italy. That happened “clearly with the knowledge of the Turkish coast guard”, the Greek minister for maritime affairs said. The boat suffered engine trouble and drifted adrift in international waters between Greece and Turkey.
Greece asked the Turkish coast guard to return the boat to Turkey, but that request was denied. The Greek coast guard then towed the vessel to a port on the island of Kos yesterday.
Human smuggling
Six people on board are suspected of involvement in human smuggling and have been taken away by the police for questioning. The other passengers have been quarantined and are being tested for the corona virus.
The EU and Turkey agreed 5.5 years ago that Turkey will take back migrants who illegally cross into the EU from Turkish territory and who do not qualify for asylum. Turkey, which already has 3 million migrants within its borders, is increasingly dissatisfied with this deal, regularly opening the border to put political pressure on the EU.
Many EU countries fear a large influx of asylum seekers from Afghanistan, now that the Taliban is there has taken over power.
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