city:athens

Adolescence denied

Hundreds, thousand, hidden in the abandoned industrial areas that surround the port of Patras; I stayed with them in the old disused train station in the centre of Corinth; I found them in the ‘urban holes’ that dot the landscape of an Athens wounded by the crisis. They are the kids I followed for this project, some of whom are very young. After desperate journeys, they arrive from the wars which have tormented their countries in recent years. But war, for them, was only the beginning of the tragedy. Those who come from the Middle East and Central Asia try to reach Europe, the land I am lucky enough to call home, through its eastern door, Greece. They then get stuck there, amidst increasingly harsh security checks and racism which tragically often degenerates into neo-Nazi violence. For many, there is the hope of being able to rebuild the sort of life which would be impossible in their country of origin. The young Afghans I met are mainly fleeing the forced militarization practiced by the Taliban in Afghanistan, subsequent to the war that affected the country in 2001. For many others who are fleeing a scorching North Africa in revolt, the hope is to have the rights they were denied by the radicalization of the violence in their country of origin, recognized. Persecution for religious and ethnic reasons, or due to political opinion, could allow them to obtain refugee status in European Union countries, but certainly not in Greece. There, the rules are so tight that more than 99.5% of requests for asylum are refused. For this reason, they are forced to hide, because having a Greek police record would mean the end of the dream of safe reception in Europe. I learned that this is set out by the Dublin Regulation, the EU law with responsibility for granting asylum. According to the regulation, the country where a person is first identified is the country that has the duty and right to decide whether to grant refugee status or not, irrespective of where the application for asylum is made. Attempts to harmonize regulations on asylum in Europe have been dramatically swept away by the economic crisis. The Mediterranean countries have been the most affected by the flows and at the same time, have the fewest economic resources to manage them. What’s more, the difficult social conditions in these countries are providing an outlet for the phenomena of cultural closure, xenophobia and violence, which represent, for those who arrive, an insurmountable obstacle to obtaining the enjoyment of even the most basic human rights.

http://c0875922.cdn.cloudfiles.rackspacecloud.com/67375.story_x_large.jpg

#photo #photographie #Grèce #migration #Patras #réfugiés #asile #Dublin #droits_humains #xénophobie

Qatar returns statues to Greece amid nudity dispute | World news | The Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/apr/28/qatar-returns-statues-greece-nudity

It was a spat that nobody wanted – neither the Greeks, the Qataris nor, say officials, the two nude statues that sparked the furore.

But in a classic clash of cultures, Greece has found itself at odds with the oil-rich state – a nation it is keen to woo financially – over the presentation of masterworks depicting athletes in an exhibition dedicated to the Olympic games.

“The statues are now back at the National Archaeological Museum in Athens,” said a culture ministry official.

The dispute, though authorities are not calling it that, broke when Greece’s culture minister, Costas Tzavaras, arrived in Doha last month to discover the “anatomically challenging” treasures cloaked in cloth for fear of offending female spectators.
(...) It remains unclear why Qatari authorities had taken such umbrage over the antiquities in question, although officials in Athens described the young athletes – both from Eleusis – as being especially beautiful.

Athènes : arrestations lors d’une action solidaire avec les médias bâillonnés, Indymedia Athènes et la radio 98FM « Contra Info
http://fr.contrainfo.espiv.net/2013/04/24/athenes-arrestations-lors-dune-action-solidaire-avec-les-medias

Le matin du 24 avril, une pancarte géante a été accrochée rue Panepistimiou, en plein centre d’Athènes, dans le cadre des actions de solidarité avec les médias de contre-information qui ont été récemment bâillonnés par l’État grec avec l’aide du recteur de l’Université Technique Nationale d’Athènes, Simos Simopoulos. La pancarte dit : “Hausse le ton, lutte contre la censure de l’État, Athens.indymedia.org & Radio98fm.org”, et un drapeau rouge et noir a été mis sur l’immeuble à la place du drapeau national.

#Indymedia #grèce #repression

Pressed by human rights activists, Greece pledges to stop deportations of Syrian refugees

Greece on Wednesday pledged to halt deportations of Syrian refugees, as human rights activists called for measures to ensure that asylum seekers from the war-torn Middle Eastern state have access to Greek territory and safety.

http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_wsite1_1_17/04/2013_494371

#Grèce #Syrie #asile #migration #réfugiés

Council of Europe : report on Greece

Strasbourg, 16 April 2013
CommDH(2013)6
Original version

REPORT

by Nils Muižnieks, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights

Following his visit to Greece, from 28 January to 1 February 2013

–------------------------------------------

Summary

Commissioner Nils Muižnieks and his delegation visited Greece from 28 January to 1 February 2013. In the course of this visit the Commissioner held discussions with state authorities and non-governmental, national and international organisations. The present report focuses on the following human rights issues:

I. Intolerance and hate crimes in Greece - the need for urgent action

The Commissioner is seriously concerned by the increase in racist and other hate crimes in Greece, which primarily targets migrants and poses a serious threat to the rule of law and democracy. A number of the reported attacks have been linked to members or supporters, including MPs, of the neo-Nazi political party “Golden Dawn” which won seats in parliament in June 2012. Whilst welcoming the fact that the Greek authorities have adopted new measures to combat racist violence, the Commissioner regrets that rhetoric stigmatising migrants has been widely used in Greek politics and that immigration control measures have led to the further stigmatisation of migrants. The Commissioner calls on the authorities to condemn firmly and unequivocally all instances of hate speech and hate crime. Political parties and the parliament in particular need to adopt self-regulatory measures to effectively counter and sanction intolerance and hate speech on the part of politicians. Far-reaching and systematic anti-racism and human rights awareness-raising campaigns should also be implemented, targeting particularly young people and schools. The completion and execution of a national human rights action plan that is envisaged by the authorities may play a catalytic role in this context. The authorities are invited to design and implement measures to improve migrants’ integration as well as intercultural dialogue, drawing upon successful existing structures such as the Athens City Council for Migrants’ Integration. In this context, the construction of a mosque and a Muslim cemetery in Athens is noted as long overdue. Lastly, the Commissioner expresses his concern at the envisaged restrictive change in the law concerning the naturalisation of long-term resident migrant children and the political participation of long-term resident migrants at local level, and calls on Greece to accede to the 1997 European Convention on Nationality and the 1992 European Convention on the Participation of Foreigners in Public Life at Local Level and draw on its human rights standards.

II. Combating the impunity of perpetrators of hate crimes; victims’ access to justice and protection

The Commissioner calls on the Greek authorities to be highly vigilant and use all available means to combat all forms of hate speech and hate crime and to end impunity for these crimes. International law, especially the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and the European Convention on Human Rights, which are ratified and have a supra-statutory force in Greece, make possible the imposition of dissuasive, criminal and other sanctions and restrictions on the activities of individuals who advocate for and are involved in instances of racist and other hate crimes. The same holds true for such activities of political organisations, including parties such as the neo-Nazi “Golden Dawn”, on which it should be possible to impose effective penalties or prohibition, if necessary. Greek law, although insufficiently or completely unused so far, has the potential to curb and prevent manifestations of racial and other forms of discrimination by individuals and political organisations. The Commissioner urges the authorities to accelerate the modernisation of domestic anti-racism legislation and to carry out systematic, continuous training and awareness-raising in anti-discrimination law and practice for all police and coast guard officials, prosecutors and judges. As regards victims’ access to justice and effective remedies, the authorities are urged to remedy the long-standing serious shortcomings concerning excessively lengthy judicial proceedings, notably by enhancing the human and material resources available to prosecutors and judges. The newly established post of the anti-racism prosecutor in Athens needs particular reinforcement and expansion to other Greek regions so that anti-racism law is effectively applied throughout the country. Lastly, the state authorities are called on to reach out to victims of racist and other hate crimes and establish advice centres near the areas where they live, to clearly exempt them from criminal complaint fees, and to provide them with adequate legal aid, if necessary, as well as assistance.

III. The role of law enforcement authorities in combating racist and other hate crimes

The Commissioner is deeply concerned by persistent reports of ill-treatment, including torture, committed by law enforcement officials notably against migrants and Roma. The Commissioner calls on the authorities to ensure that the definition of torture contained in the criminal code is fully aligned with the definition in the UN Convention against Torture and that allegations of torture are effectively investigated and sanctioned. Ethnic profiling by the Greek police is also an issue of serious concern. In addition to strongly and publicly condemning all instances of abuse or misconduct by law enforcement officials, the Commissioner urges the Greek authorities to eliminate the institutional culture of impunity and establish an independent and well-functioning complaints mechanism covering all law enforcement officials, usefully drawing on the experiences of other Council of Europe member states. Law enforcement officials who are motivated by racism or act against democratic principles should be sanctioned and removed from their posts. Additionally, the Commissioner stresses the need to reinforce the capacity of the police to respond adequately to incidents of racist and other hate crime, particularly to examine and record all evidence related to hate crime motivation. The 70 newly established anti-racist units and the hotline for reporting racist incidents are a welcome step forward. However, these units need to be adequately resourced and their staff, which should include persons with knowledge of languages spoken by the complainants, needs to be systematically and adequately trained in human rights and anti-discrimination. Moreover, the authorities are called on to expand the mandate of these units in order to include all forms of hate crime.

IV. Asylum and immigration law and practice – certain major shortcomings that need to be addressed

The Commissioner welcomes the steps taken by the authorities since 2011 aimed at rebuilding the national asylum system. Nonetheless, the Commissioner remains seriously concerned by persisting gaps in law and practice which adversely affect the human rights of migrants, including asylum seekers and refugees, and increase their vulnerability notably to racist crimes. Among these gaps, he points out the highly insufficient asylum seeker reception capacity of Greece, the particularly dysfunctional system for lodging asylum applications in the Athens aliens police directorate, and the policy of systematic and prolonged detention of irregular migrants, often in substandard conditions. He urges the authorities to discontinue the costly and largely ineffective policy of migrant detention and to provide for possible alternatives in law and practice, drawing on the experience of other European countries. At the same time, the need is stressed for Greece to make sure that all migrant detainees have adequate access to health care. Expert NGOs may play a valuable role in this context. The Commissioner also calls on the authorities to provide effective protection to unaccompanied minor migrants, who are often left without any support and who are extremely vulnerable to racist violence and various forms of exploitation. Access to an effective system of guardianship and to adequate child protection mechanisms should be made available as a matter of priority.

The report contains the Commissioner’s conclusions and recommendations to the Greek authorities and is published on the Commissioner’s website along with the authorities’ comments.

https://wcd.coe.int/ViewDoc.jsp?Ref=CommDH%282013%296&Language=lanEnglish&Ver=original&BackColo

v. aussi :
http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/news-brief/3685461-dangerous-dawn

#droits_humains #Grèce #rapport #Conseil_européen #racisme #migration #Aube_dorée #extrême_droite

From the Greek Streets › Irregular updates and articles on the situation in Greece, in English
http://blog.occupiedlondon.org

Athens Indymedia, 98FM and Radio Entasi repressed by the greek government: updates
Friday, April 12, 2013

Access Athens Indymedia: http://gutneffntqonah7l.onion.to

or via Tor: http://gutneffntqonah7l.onion

On April 11th, 2013 the university authorities of the Athens Polytechnic (NTUA) cut off the electricity connection to the servers hosting Athens Indymedia and two radio stations of the antagonist movement – 98FM and Radio Entasi. On the next day, a demonstration was called at the Athens Polytechnic campus in Zografou.

Temporary Athens IMC url: http://indymedia.squat.gr

Unemployment and Recession in Greece Lead to Brain Drain - SPIEGEL ONLINE
http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/unemployment-and-recession-in-greece-lead-to-brian-drain-a-893519.html

Doctors, engineers, IT professionals and scientists have found it increasingly difficult to find work amid deep cuts to funding of health care and other publicly supported sectors.

“The number of young scientists who emmigrate has reached 10 percent of the country’s potential, and that’s very high,” the study’s director Lois Lambrianides told the Athens newspaper Ethnos on Tuesday.

Lambrianides, professor of economic geography at the University of Thessaloniki, said that the emmigrating professionals tend to leave for other European countries, settle in big cities and end up working in the private sector. She said half of them have multiple degrees from the world’s top 100 universities.

The study’s release followed a spec of good economic news last week when government figures showed hirings in the private sector outpaced layoffs in March. Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said while the economy remains in “critical” condition, the news was a sign of recovery.

Les Syriens ne trouvent pas de refuge en Grèce

LESVOS, Greece—On this Aegean island’s shores, Syria’s refugee crisis is crashing up against Greece’s migrant-policy mess.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324096404578354100202130318.html

#Syrie #Grèce #migration #asile #réfugié #Lesvos

B(echa)log: Hackers and philosophers building an utopia together
http://blogger.xs4all.nl/becha

participatory and altruistic network of the future

Just like the 1988, when the International Telecommunications Regulations (ITRs) were written by International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and did not even mention the name Internet, so is this year ITU going to write new ITRs at WCIT without mentioning the name of a new emerging network: FreeNet, DarkNet, MeshNet, OpenNet; Peer to Peer or Friend to Friend.

Each society gets the <del>government</del> Internet it deserves

My ideal society model , and therefore my ideal future of Internet is PARTICIPATORY ALTRUISM .
ISPs are the new Telcos

Meshnets are new BBSes

http://becha.home.xs4all.nl/hackers-philosophers-utopian-network-dec-2012-becha.pdf

#cccp #mesh #internet via @patriceriemens

European Commission Bankrolls Anti-Immigrant Policies

http://www.globalpolicy.org/nations-a-states/citizenship-and-nationality/52351-european-commission-bankrolls-anti-immigrant-policies.html?itemi

Observers are concerned that funding from the European Commission is being used to finance policies and procedures that violate the rights of migrants and asylum-seekers in Greece, many of whom are fleeing the violence in Syria. Migrants have allegedly been subjected to arbitrary detainment, mistreatment while in the custody of Greek authorities, and unsuitable detention conditions. Some European political figures note that Europe appear reluctant to aid Greece with its devastating social and economic crisis, but are actively financing anti-immigrant measures. They argue that this arrangement of priorities is incompatible with the EU’s stated commitment to human rights.

#migrations #asile #europe

Officials Turn Blind Eye to Abuse of Asylum Seekers | ReliefWeb
►http://reliefweb.int/report/greece/officials-turn-blind-eye-abuse-asylum-seekers

L’Opération « Aspis » (bouclier) pour empêcher les réfugiés (syriens et autres) de passer la frontière gréco-turque, l’opération « Zeus Xenios » (protecteur des étrangers) pour rafler les migrants dans les rues, et les conditions de détention dans les centres de rétention grecs.

Last August, Greek police deployed 1,881 new officers along the river Evros in “Operation Aspis”, an attempt to seal the border with Turkey, through which Syrian refugees were pouring into Greece.

Meanwhile, the continuing countrywide “Operation Xenios Zeus” has led to 4,849 arrests of irregular migrants or refugees and over 90,000 apprehensions based on heavy racial profiling by authorities.

Commencement of these operations coincided with the beginning of a major humanitarian crisis in Syria, with fighting transferred into big urban centres and the number of refugees fleeing to neighbouring countries skyrocketing.

In order to accommodate arrested migrants, the government has begun transferring detainees to improvised camps that were former police academies and old army depots, such as Xanthi and Komotini in northern Greece, Korinthos in the Peloponnese, and Paranesti in the northeastern region of Drama. These buildings, as former inmates like Alhamauun disclosed to IPS, are often black holes for human rights.

#Grèce #Camps #Droit_d'asile #Syrie #Réfugiés

Syrians Find No Refuge in Greece - WSJ.com
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324096404578354100202130318.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Les réfugiés syriens meurent en tentant de rejoindre les îles grecques par la mer.

Over the past year, 6,500 Syrians were detected crossing into Greece illegally—about six times the level of the previous year—according to Frontex, the European Union border agency. More still went undetected, say Greek officials. An additional 1,500 were found living in Greece without the necessary permits.

An increasing number are attempting to enter by sea from Turkey’s Aegean coast, meanwhile, after Athens erected a 10-kilometer (7-mile) “security fence” along the porous northern section of the Turkish border.

Smugglers crowd migrants onto flimsy plastic or inflatable boats, often offering one of them a discount to pilot the craft, according to the Hellenic coast guard. While the distance between Turkey and the border Greek islands around here can be as short as a few miles, local currents and winter storms can be vicious. Journeys are usually made at night.

Since November, more than 100 migrants have drowned and at least a dozen bodies of Syrians have washed up on north Aegean islands, according to coast guard estimates.

#Grèce #Syrie #Réfugiés #Frontex #UNHCR

IPS – Officials Turn Blind Eye to Abuse of Asylum Seekers | Inter Press Service
http://www.ipsnews.net/2013/03/officials-turn-blind-eye-to-abuse-of-asylum-seekers

Les fonctionnaires [de l’UE] détournent les yeux de la violence contre les demandeurs d’asile.

Ceci est la première d’une série en deux parties sur les financements européens permettant des opérations anti-migration en Grèce.

(...)

(...) le financement de la Commission européenne est de permettre des opérations massives de contrôle des migrations qui ont abouti à un grand nombre de violations des droits humains.

Des extensions de financement pour les mois à venir sont à l’étude, en dépit du fait que les fonctionnaires européens ont pleine connaissance de la détention sans discrimination des demandeurs d’asile, ainsi que des conditions inhumaines dans les centres de détention à travers le pays.

En Août dernier, la police grecque a déployé 1 881 nouveaux policiers le long du fleuve Evros dans le cadre de « l’operation Aspis », une tentative de fermer la frontière avec la Turquie, à travers laquelle des réfugiés syriens affluent vers la Grèce.

Le début de ces des opérations a coïncidé avec le début d’une crise humanitaire majeure en Syrie, alors que les combats atteignaient les grands centres urbains et que le nombre de réfugiés fuyant vers les pays voisins montait en flèche.

(...)

#amis_du_peuple_syrien

The African immigrants in the public space of Athens

Athens only quite recently, since the late 1980s, has become a immigrant-receiving city. Inthis context Africans have a considerable visibility in the center of Athenian Metropolis. Since their first years in the destination city - Athens, they tried to belong and bond with thearea that was “pointed out for them” as a neighborhood, in order to feel as comfortable aspossible in a new, unfriendly environment.The paper will demonstrate the degree and the characteristics of the relationship between African women and public spaces (squares and parks), public transportation, political andsocial events as ‘spaces’ of interaction and belonging. For nine months (February 2010 –October 2010) the neighborhood where most of the African community is concentrated in Athens has been studied. We were collecting evidence pertaining to the use of the public spaces and public transportation means by African immigrants. At the same time a group of African women activists were interviewed regarding their believes, customs, culture andtheir relationship with the Athenian public spaces. All these methods provided a detailedview of the public everyday life of African women in the Metropolis in certain public spaces in Athens. In particular, the paper after demonstrating the Athenian reality regarding the placing of immigrants in certain ’strategic’ central areas, presents quantitative and qualitative data for the African community in Athens and especially its female members. Also, particular familiarized areas in the metropolis are presented through the use of analytic mapping as well as with respect to their use by immigrants as interaction and recreational space. Special emphasis is placed on the commercial activities (as quasi-public spaces) that take place in and around these more ’formal’ public spaces. In addition, through participant observation of the African women’s organization in Athens, another quasi-public space, the paper willdeal with the political mobilization, official and undocumented, of the African communityand especially of African women.

http://www.academia.edu/2896352/The_African_immigrants_in_the_public_space_of_Athens

#Athènes #Grèce #immigrants #espace_public #cartographie #femmes #géographie_urbaine #femmes_migrantes

Golden Dawn film : Greek police probe neo-Nazi hate speech
http://www.channel4.com/news/golden-dawn-film-greek-police-probe-neo-nazi-hate-speech

A Greek criminal prosecutor has launched an investigation after a report on Channel 4 News showed a member of the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party threatening to turn immigrants into soap.

http://bcove.me/xqvc4g5m

via ... lefigaro.fr ... et oui ;-)

Racist, anti-semitic, violent - the true face of Golden Dawn

Greece’s neo-Nazi Golden Dawn is increasingly influential among members of the country’s political mainstream. Student Konstantinos Georgousis filmed party members on the streets of Athens.

http://www.channel4.com/news/racist-anti-semitic-violent-the-true-face-of-golden-dawn

#aube_dorée #grèce #néonazisme #extrême_droite #racisme

Greece asylum: Journey through a broken system

When it comes to seeking asylum, Greece is the gateway to Europe. But the Greek asylum system is a mess. Paul Mason spoke to one man who has spent more than a year on the road - in squats, living rough and for a time in detention - about the experience of trying to claim asylum on Europe’s frontier.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-21509198

#Grèce #asile #migration #témoignage

Oil Tax Forces Greeks to Fight Winter With Fire - NYTimes.com

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/04/world/europe/oil-tax-forces-greeks-to-fight-winter-with-fire.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc

By SUZANNE DALEY
Published: February 3, 2013

ATHENS — Even in the leafy northern stretches of this city, home to luxury apartment buildings, mansions with swimming pools and tennis clubs, the smell of wood smoke lingers everywhere at night.

#grèce #crise

Greek police publish images of arrested and tortured anarchists that are altered in photoshop « dokumentationsarchiv
http://dokmz.wordpress.com/2013/02/02/greek-police-publish-images-of-arrested-and-tortured-anarchists-tha

Below is the inverted image of one of the photographs the Greek police have published (and many of the country’s media have reproduced) of four anarchists that were arrested and charged with two robberies in the village of Velvento, near the city of Kozani in NE Greece. All other photos show that the arrested were clearly tortured (bruised eyes etc). It seems that the police have tried to very hastily conceal this by digitally altering the images. According to their metadata, at least three of the photos published by the police were altered in Photoshop CS4.

https://twitter.com/elenacou/status/297855038292910080/photo/1

Grèce : Sur fond de crise, l’inquiétante ascension des néonazis — Cécile Chams
http://www.legrandsoir.info/grece-sur-fond-de-crise-l-inquietante-ascension-des-neonazis.html

L’article récapitule les incidents de ces derniers mois - attaques racistes, soutien d’Aube dorée dans la police, déclarations à la télévision ou au parlement.

Le mois dernier, quatre députés et des membres d’Aube dorée, avec des intégristes et prêtres orthodoxes, ont attaqué le théâtre où se jouait la pièce de Terrence McNally Corpus Christi, où Jésus et les apôtres sont une communauté gay vivant au Texas. La police anti-émeute a encerclé le théâtre. Mais le directeur n’a pas osé sortir car les néonazis étaient toujours présents. « La dernière fois qu’une pièce de théâtre était jouée sous la garde de la police, c’était pendant la junte. Je ne veux pas croire que c’est de nouveau la junte », a-t-il déclaré.

Un journaliste témoin de la scène a été tabassé par les fascistes, devant les policiers qui n’ont rien fait. Le journaliste n’a pas porté plainte, de crainte que son adresse ne soit transmise à Aube dorée (22).

« L’homophobie a toujours existé en Grèce », déclare Andrea Gilbert (23), porte-parole d’Athens pride, une organisation de défense des droits des homosexuels. « Mais depuis un an, il y a une nette augmentation des attaques anti-gay. Les auteurs agissent avec impunité… avec le même scénario que les attaques d’Aube dorée contre les immigrés. Ces gens haïssent les immigrés, les gays, les étrangers, les femmes. Ils haïssent tout le monde. »

#Grèce #Aube_dorée #racisme #migrants #crise #fascisme #Athènes #homophobie

Greece’s neo-fascists are on the rise... and now they’re going into schools: How Golden Dawn is nurturing the next generation http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/greeces-neofascists-are-on-the-rise-and-now-theyre-going-into-schools

In a special investigation, Nathalie Savaricas reveals the tactics used to recruit children to its far-right political beliefs

Grèce : retour à l’âge du feu ?
http://geopolis.francetvinfo.fr/grece-retour-a-lage-du-feu-12051
via twitter@Noirdefi #austérité #énergies

les autorités étudient des mesures pour lutter contre la pollution atmosphérique dans les grandes villes, Athènes et Salonique, où la hausse de l’utilisation du chauffage au bois a récemment fait apparaître une brume, surtout le soir, composée de particules polluantes et dangereuses. Cette pollution est devenue visible, comme l’était le « néfos » qui a fait pendant des années suffoquer la capitale grecque.

Police invades Lelas Karagianni Squat in Athens - YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4WYgtKurAw&feature=youtu.be

People Pay for Research Against Migrants

viua la liste « Migreurop »

Des centres de recherche financés sur des fonds publics travaillent sur des systèmes de sécurité que l’UE demande à de grandes multinationales de fabriquer et de mettre en place pour prévenir la migration des « indésirables »

Inter Press Service
http://www.ipsnews.net/2013/01/people-pay-for-research-against-migrants
By Apostolis Fotiadis and Claudia Ciobanu

This is the second of a two-part report on extraordinary measures the EU is taking to keep unwanted migrants out.

ATHENS/WARSAW, Jan 11 2013 (IPS) - Publicly funded research is paying towards security systems that the EU is inviting major multinationals to put together to keep unwanted migrants out.

The new EU approach to border security started to be implemented in 2004 with the setting up of the European Security Research Programme (ESRP). This went on to become a part of the EU’s 7th Framework Research Programme (FP7) under the current seven-year EU budget for 2007-2013.

#migration #asile #politique-asile #europe #eu #frontex

Closing Europe’s Borders Becomes Big Business

ATHENS/WARSAW, Jan 9 2013 (IPS) - The European Union is implementing a new border management system with tougher migration control the core aim. Major security and weapons companies are already reaping the benefits.

Frontex, the EU border agency, has financed major weapons and security equipment producers to present their equipment in demonstrations. European national border guards have participated in these demonstrations as potential customers, IPS learns.

Frontex confirmed to IPS that the agency has been paying weapons and security equipment manufacturers to participate in demonstrations of equipment which national agencies attended as potential customers.

“In the case of companies Lockheed Martin, FAST Protect AG, L-3 Communications, FLIR Systems, SCOTTY Group Austria, Diamond Airborne Sensing and Inmarsat, it (the reimbursement) was 30,000 euros,” the agency told IPS in an emailed response.

The companies participated in demonstration of Remotely Piloted Aircraft (Drones) in Aktio in Greece in October 2011. Thirteen companies and consortiums (Israel Aerospace Industries, Lockheed Martin, FAST Protect AG, L-3 Communications, FLIR Systems, SCOTTY Group Austria, Diamond Airborne Sensing, Inmarsat, Thales, AeroVision, AeroVironment, Altus, BlueBird) demonstrated technological solutions for maritime surveillance.

“The payments made to the companies to cover the costs incurred by them to participate in the demonstration in Aktio varied from 10,000 euros to 198,000 euros,” said Frontex.

U.S.-based Lockheed Martin, French Thales and Israeli IAI are among the biggest weapons and security equipment producers in the world.

The demonstrations are part of the preparation for the launch of EUROSUR, the European External Border Surveillance System meant to enhance cooperation between border control agencies of EU member states and to promote surveillance of EU’s external borders by Frontex, with a particular focus on the Mediterranean and North Africa, in view of controlling migration to Europe.

Surveillance plans envisage the possibility of using drones to spot migrant boats trying to cross the Mediterranean.

EUROSUR is one of the two main elements of Europe’s new border management regime along with ‘Smart Borders’ which will put in place an ‘Entry-Exit System’ (EES) to identify visa overstayers, and establish a Registered Traveller Programme (RTP) to enable pre-vetted individuals to cross borders faster. The system would rely heavily on use of biometrics and on the collection of a huge database of passenger personal information.

A legislative package setting up EUROSUR was approved in mid-November this year by the European Parliament’s civil liberties committee and is expected to receive a final go-ahead soon from the entire Parliament and by the European Council, the EU’s executive. Meanwhile, preparations for EUROSUR are advancing away from public scrutiny.

The demonstrations of market ready equipment are a significant measure in the steady construction of a new EU border management system. Through 2014-2020 member states will be encouraged to buy such equipment with support from the EU budget.

The Commission estimates that the creation of EUROSUR could cost up to 338 million euros. ‘Borderline’, a study of the EU’s new border surveillance and control system published by the Heinrich Boll Foundation, claims the costs could “easily” end up as high as 874 million euros. The Commission refutes the higher estimates.

The ‘Smart Gates’ initiative is estimated by the Commission to cost 400 million euros for setting up plus an additional 190 million euros annually in operating costs.

According to the Borderline study, “despite the absence of any draft legislation, or even an agreement in principle on introducing smart borders in the EU, the Commission has already allocated 1.1 billion euros to the development of an EES (EU Entry Exit System) and RTP (EU Registered Traveller Programme) from the proposed EU Internal Security Fund (2014-2020).”

The Internal Security Fund is meant to be a new component of the future EU budget (2014-2020), replacing the existing External Border Fund. According to a Commission proposal, the Internal Fund would be 4.648 billion euros annually, and among its strategic priorities will be “to finance the setting up of the EES and the RTP as well as the introduction and operation of the EUROSUR, notably through “the purchase of equipment, infrastructure and systems in member states.”

It would also “boost the operational potential of the Frontex Agency by inviting member states to earmark additional resources under their programmes for specialised equipment which can be put at the disposal of the Agency for its joint operations.”

In early December, the European Parliament gave a green light to the Internal Security Fund. Now only Council approval is needed for it to become operational – member states are expected to make a final decision on the next EU Budget in February 2013.

“The European border security policy is going in the wrong direction,” Green euro-parliamentarian Ska Keller told IPS. “Against the background of pervasive budget cuts and austerity measures, it is unbelievable that the EU is spending millions of euros for ‘smart gates’, UAVs, and other surveillance technologies.

“And it is even more shameful that those who profit most from EUROSUR and ‘smart borders’ are the big European defence contractors.”

http://www.ipsnews.net/2013/01/closing-europes-borders-becomes-big-business

@reka
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