The shipwreck casts a “shadow” on Greek elections – Border gence and immigration in the foreground

The tragedy off the coast of Pylos, with the fatal shipwreck that sent dozens – perhaps even hundreds – of people to their deaths, inevitably and humanely, put a “brake” on the parties’ pre-election campaign and the caretaker government declared three days of national mourning.

Political leaders have postponed rallies, speeches and interviews, while anti-racist organisations, unions and agencies are calling for demonstrations in Athens tomorrow, Thursday, to express their solidarity with refugees who are losing their lives as they seek a better future away from their homelands.

At the same time, Europe’s immigration policy, which affects Greece as well, as well as the positions of the Greek parties on the refugee-immigration issue, is coming to the news again, unfortunately in the most tragic way.

The European policy, is based on “throwing” economic packages left and right, in order not to “burden” the countries of the rich North with the hordes of the uprooted.

And a European Union, of solidarity, as it is preached, most of whose people cry for the dead children of the shipwrecks, but exorcise the… “evil” of “Islamic illegal immigrants”.

Neither the refugee, nor immigration, were created in vitro. Wars, extreme poverty, inequalities and authoritarian regimes drive entire peoples from their countries and the so-called “West” is not without its share of blame.

Immigration and the fence – What parties say

Meanwhile, in Greece, New Democracy has mainly chosen to focus on national issues, which do not include only Greek-Turkish issues and that “the voice of Greece is heard all the way to the American Congress”, as Kyriakos Mitsotakis often says, but also the “famous” fence on the Evros, for the preservation of which, however, both SYRIZA and PASOK are committed.

On the other hand, it is not unreasonable for Greece to want to protect its borders, not from immigrants and war refugees, but from a hostile Turkey, which is using them as a tool to achieve its own ends, while it is obvious that no one can count on the European Union and its “solidarity”.

But when the slogan “our country will not become an open field” becomes a slogan, a slogan that finds receptive ears in a large number of citizens, it is at least paradoxical that “Twitter” mourns the wreck, this popular “cafe” that is full of racist comments and hateful sermons about de-Hellenization of the country at every opportunity…

“Cohesive European immigration policy”

Kyriakos Mitsotakis stated that “we are all shocked by today’s tragic shipwreck in the international waters of the Mediterranean, southwest of the Peloponnese”.

He expressed his sadness at the loss of so many innocent lives and noted that, already, the forces of New Democracy are at the disposal of the caretaker government, while it was later announced that all planned events of the party are suspended during the national mourning declared by the government.

And after stressing that “these are moments of solidarity and humanity”, as “now the priority is to save as many lives as possible”, he noted that “the new incident, however, highlights in a dramatic way that migration remains a problem, which requires a coherent European policy . So that the despicable criminal networks that traffic in desperate people will finally get the decisive response they deserve.”

“To promote humanity”

“This is a human tragedy, which reflects in the saddest way the hopelessness of those seeking asylum in Europe. The moment demands that we put humanity first and stand by the survivors of the shipwreck, while intensifying every effort to locate the missing,” said Alexis Tsipras, who also canceled his campaign activities.

Talking to residents of Sitia, where he was, Mr. Tsipras emphasized that “unfortunately, human life these days does not have the same value for all people. It has a lot to do with your color, your race, your origin”.

And he noted that “our civilization is going through a very big crisis”.

As for the fence on Evros, the extension of which was particularly exploited by Mr. Mitsotakis, to attack SYRIZA for its immigration policy, during the previous pre-election period in May, Alexis Tsipras has announced that “obviously we will keep it, but we will not stop at that. We will claim the protection of our borders on the basis of international and European law.”

“The EU and Greece must take their measures”

Nikos Androulakis expressed his sadness for the tragic shipwreck in Pylos, stressing that, once again, “these traffickers of souls led hundreds of people to a tragedy in the Mediterranean”.

And he noted that “the European Union and our country must take their measures, because we continue to have tragic results”.

The president of PASOK-KINAL contacted the interim prime minister, Ioannis Sharma, by phone and was informed about the tragic shipwreck.

At the same time, the former deputy speaker of the Parliament, Odysseas Konstantinopoulos, went to the port of Kalamata, representing Nikos Androulakis, who also postponed his pre-election activities.

“Their Profits or Our Lives”

With the slogan that was heard for weeks after the national tragedy of Tempe, “their profits or our lives”, both Dimitris Koutsoubas and the Comunist Party-KKE referred to the wreck that killed many people.

Mr. Koutsoubas, who also canceled his pre-election activities, went to Kalamata  and after being informed by the competent authorities, he emphasized that the Greek people “with the sensitivity they have, the Greek youth, with the solidarity they have and have has shown all these years, should not see this ongoing crime in the Aegean and Mediterranean seas as ‘normality’.

He spoke of a “definitive burial” of the Geneva Convention for refugees, of the promoted change of the EU Asylum Agreement, “with untold consequences, with the intensity of the repression and of course with the opening of the appetite beyond the criminal networks of traffickers, which they bring the estranged to these wet graves and women and children lose their lives.’

And he explained that the KKE is “with people’s lives”.