By COSTAS KANTOURIS
6 February
The Associated Press
KASTANIES, Greece — Greece announced on Monday that it
will soon begin building a 6-mile-long (10-kilometer-long) fence topped with
razor wire on its border with Turkey to deter illegal immigrants.
Protesters hold a placard
reading ''The next tax will be used for the fence'', during a rally against the
construction of a border fence aimed at stemming illegal immigration, in the
village of Nea Vissa, northern Greece, Monday, Feb. 6, 2012. The fence, criticized
by human rights groups, is due to span a 12-kilometer land section of the
border with Turkey, described by European Union authorities as the busiest
transit point for illegal immigration in Europe. (AP Photo/Nikolas Giakoumidis)
A Greek soldier is seen on a
military observatory tower, on the construction site of a border fence aimed at
stemming illegal immigration, in the village of Kastanies, northern Greece,
Monday, Feb. 6, 2012. The fence, criticized by human rights groups, is due to
span a 12-kilometer land section of the border with Turkey, described by
European Union authorities as the busiest transit point for illegal immigration
in Europe. (AP Photo/Nikolas Giakoumidis)
Protesters demonstrate against
the construction of a border fence aimed at stemming illegal immigration, in
the village of Nea Vissa, northern Greece, Monday, Feb. 6, 2012. The fence
being built by Greek authorities, criticized by human rights groups, is due to
span a 12-kilometer land section of the border with Turkey, described by
European Union authorities as the busiest transit point for illegal immigration
in Europe. (AP Photo/Nikolas Giakoumidis)
Thousands of illegal immigrants cross from Turkey into
Greece at this point each year, often traveling from there to other parts of
Europe.
Greek Public Order Minister Christos Papoutsis went to
the border village of Kantanies on Monday to announce that work on the
13-foot-tall (4-meter-tall) fence will start next month and is expected to be
finished by September at a cost of more than €3 million ($4 million). It will
stretch from Kastanies to the Greek village of Nea Vyssa, near the northeastern
town of Orestiada.
"This is an opportunity for us to send a clear
message ... to all the EU that Greece is fully compliant with its border
commitments," Papoutsis told reporters. "Traffickers should know that
this route will be closed to them. Their life is about to get much
harder."
Greece is one of the 26 European nations in the
Schengen Area, which has external border controls but not ones within the zone.
Since Greece is on the southeastern edge of the area, and Turkey has not signed
the Schengen Agreement, Greece is required to maintain its border controls.
During Papoutsis' visit to Kastanies, about 40 people
protested nearby, saying the fence is a violation of human rights and should
not be built at a time when Greece is suffering a deep financial crisis that
has led to punishing austerity measures and high unemployment. About 200 riot
police stood by, but no violence occurred during the demonstration.
Papoutsis said the fence will be coupled with a
network of fixed night-vision cameras providing real-time footage to the new
command center.
Most of Greece's 125-mile (200 kilometer) border with
Turkey runs along a river known as Evros in Greece and Meric in Turkey. The new
fence, which Turkey's government has not opposed, will block a short stretch of
dry land between the two countries. Greece already is receiving emergency
assistance at the Evros border from the EU border protection agency, Frontex.
On Monday, three men seen entering Greece at the point
where the fence will be built told The Associated Press they are illegal
immigrants who fled Syria's violence.
One of the men, who identified himself only as Said,
24, said the trio had been walking for seven days, and that he hopes to reach
an uncle in Hungary, which also is a member of Europe's Schengen Area.
February 06, 2012 11:41 AM EST
Copyright 2012, The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material
may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
