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Greek Roma boy shot by police prompts outrage in Greece

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A police officer shot a teenager in the head as he fled a gas station, apparently without paying, and the boy is now fighting for his life in a hospital in Greece. The 16-year-old Roma youngster was shot twice by the cop in Thessaloniki, Greece’s second-largest city.

On Monday, protesters flocked to the streets and doused police with gasoline bombs. The incident has brought attention to the persistent problem of police violence in Greek cities. In a car pursuit outside of Athens last year, an 18-year-old Roma man named Nikos Sampanis was shot and killed, and on December 6, 2008, a 15-year-old child was killed in the nation’s capital during a police night patrol.

Every year, there are significant protests in Athens and other towns in remembrance of Alexis Grigoropoulos’s death in Exarchia’s central district. On Tuesday, thousands of officers were stationed throughout the capital to quell unrest.  The juvenile who carried out the most recent shooting refuelled his car with fuel costing €20 (£17) before driving off. Four cops were in the gas station at the time, according to CCTV published on Tuesday.

Police on motorcycles after the 16-year-old as he fled in his car. He allegedly turned his car at them with the intention of striking them, according to the police. After hearing of his shooting, members of the neighbourhood Roma community demonstrated in front of the Thessaloniki hospital where the youngster underwent surgery to remove the bullet from his skull. Protesters joined friends and relatives at the scene and stones were thrown at police, who responded with stun grenades.

According to local sources, in the west of the city, Roma protesters set fire to tyres and trash cans. The police officer who was shot in court was also charged with attempted homicide and other offences. A video from outside the court that later went viral shows a man who has been identified as the boy’s father being physically assaulted by police. While being flung to the ground, the individual is seen being surrounded by riot cops.

The Council of Europe estimates that there are over 270,000 Roma (Gypsies) in Greece, the majority of whom reside in squalid conditions. The boy’s lawyer told reporters that they did not want him to turn into another Alexis Grigoropoulos as the young man lay in a severe condition at a hospital in Thessaloniki.

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Olympian Sofi’s revelation puts HSF in trouble

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The shocking revelation of Olympic champion Sofie Bekatorou has left Hellenic Sailing Federation in a difficult situation.

Initially, the federation responded insensitively to the allegation made by the Olympic champion, putting pressure over her to name the executive from whom she faced the bad experience, as she showed reluctance to name the executive.

In solidarity with the Olympic champion, several sports personalities have come forward to express their bad experiences with the federation.

The development has shocked the sports department of Greece.

Anyway, the Greece government has welcomed the courage the sports personalities have shown to expose the evil elements which has maligned the federation.

A social media movement, #metisofia, is going viral in several social media platforms. Many have come forward to express their solidarity with the Olympic champion.

A top politician has expressed his disagreement against the lifetime executive system followed by the federation.

A top federation official has stepped down in connection with the development. He has declined to admit any link between his resignation and the latest development in connection with the Olympic champion’s revelation.

Many see the aforesaid social media movement as the sports version of the MeToo movement, which has redrawn the fate of the media and entertainment industry across the world.  

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Pro-Turkey nationalist defeats pro-Greece leader in Northern Cyprus election

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In the Northern Cyprus presidential election, Ersin Tatar, the nationalist leader who shares close relation with Turkey, has defected his opponent, Mustafa Akinci, who is a moderate leader, who stands with the west and works for the reunification of the country.

The nationalist leader has secured not less than 52 per cent of the total votes that were casted during the election.

Mr. Akinci has conceded his defeat in the election.

The victory of the nationalist leader means the region continues to share a cordial relation with its Turkish link.

Cyrus remains unevenly divided since the 1974 coup.

During that period, the country witnessed two events: the Greece backed coup and the Turkey backed military advance.

The incident left the country divided.

At present, a third of the territory of the country, that is Northern Cyprus, is controlled by a system share close ties with Turkey and the rest is controlled by a system share close ties with Greece.

The Greece-backed system is the only one which holds global recognition.

The new development is very crucial in nature. It has derailed the effort to reunify the divided country.

The victory has completely diminished the possibility of the unification.

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Turkey reenters into energy dispute with Greece

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The European country of Turkey has reentered into a serious energy dispute with its European neighbor, Greece.

Turkey has once against sent its research ship to the disputed waters located near Greece.

Earlier, it withdrew the vessel after the presence of the ship had triggered a dispute.

The disputed waters in the Mediterranean situated near Greece and Turkey is claimed by Turkey, Greece and Cyprus.

It was for the task of surveying that the vessel was sent to the disputed waters last time.

At this moment, it remains unclear why the ship has been sent to the disputed territory this time.

It was after the three European countries reached an agreement that the issue was put to rest at least temporarily.

Other western countries like Germany and France is expected to interfere in the issue.

As per the latest statement released by the Turkey government, the ship will remain in the disputed water for at least ten days.

It is learned that the ship has been sent as part of the research program launched by the Navy force of the European country of Turkey.

There are rumors that at least two other ships will be sent along with the said ship this time to support the research activity.

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ECJ pulls up Poland, Hungary and Czech Republic over refugee issue

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The European Court of Justice has pulled up Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic as It has found these countries have failed to respect the EU law as it has not taken in refugees under an agreement reached by the EU leaders to ease the burden faced by Italy and Greece.

The agreement was supposed to benefit 160,000 refugees – especially those from the embattled country of Syria, and was supposed to bring a huge relief to overcrowded camps in Italy and Greece.

Now, the EU Commission is free to impose fines over these countries for the crimes they have committed by disrespecting the EU law.

The court has declined to accept these countries’ argument that the acceptance of refugees would create huge security issues in their country.

So far, the Czech Republic has accepted not more than 12 of the 2,000 refugees it had been asked to take in, while Hungary and Poland have not taken in a single person yet.


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Greece denies Turkey’s allegation about migrant killing

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The European country of Greece has strongly denied Turkey’s allegation that a migrant from the embattled Middle East country of Syria was shot to death by the Greece Security Force.

Turkey made the allegation immediately after it had announced that it would not prevent the flow of migrants to Europe in future.

Recently, a confrontation has happened between migrants and the Greece Security Force near the border which Turkey shares with Greece.

During the confrontation, the security force has used force against migrants. The confrontation has left several people badly injured.  

Europe faces a serious migrant crisis at this moment. Greece, which shares a border with Turkey, is one of the most vulnerable countries in the region.

Turkey’s latest action is part of a strategy it has developed post the death of its soldiers in Syria in a confrontation with the Syrian force supported by Russia.

Turkey wants the Europe to take a favourable stand towards the country, which struggles to maintain its influence in the northern region of Syria.

What Turkey tries at present is a pressure tactics. The possibility for the tactics to go wrong is not low.

The re-emergence of migrant crisis means the Europe can no longer remain insensitive about the development.


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Turkey permits migrants to entre Europe

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Turkey has removed all restrictions which prevents the entry of migrants to Europe through the land border the country shares with the continent.

The move has come shortly after several Turkish soldiers were killed in Syria in an attack carried out the war-embattled country with the support of Russia.

Justifying its decision to allow migrants to enter Europe, Istanbul has said that it could not handle the influx of migrants from Syria.

It is the Syrian War that stands as the prime reason for the emergence of the global migrant crisis. The Europe is the prime victim of the crisis.

Greece is struggling with the crisis at this juncture. The latest action of Turkey is likely to bring chaos in Greece, which is already in a very bad state.

The economy of Greece is at present in a very depressing state. It is this state which makes it difficult for the country to handle the situation.

What Turkey attempts with its latest move is a pressure tactics. It is irritated due to its latest debacle in Syria. With the move, it attempts to bring the Europe in its favour.

At this moment, it remains unclear how the European powers like Germany and France will react to the indirect provocation made by Turkey.


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Strike in Greece against overcrowded migrant camps

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The Greece Islands of Lesbos, Samos and Chios have witnessed protests against the issue of overcrowded migrant camps.

The local people in the region are unhappy with the rise in the number of migrants in the camps.

Almost all camps in the region are in a very bad condition. All of them face the issue of overcrowding.

The people in the region believe that the presence of migrants in the region is a threat to their existence. They are also of the belief that the presence of migrants is the reason for the degradation of the tourism industry in the region.

Tens of thousands of local people have joined the protests across the region. In the coming days, more and more people are likely to join the protest.

Politically, the protests have many implications. It may revamp the political structure of the country which is currently favourable to the political left.


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Migration Crisis: Greece to set up new camps for migrants

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In order to deal with the issue of overcrowding in its migrant camps, Greece has decided to set up at least five new camps capable to house at least one thousand people each.

Some of the camps in the country are struggling with the issue of overcrowding. One of its camps, which only have the capacity to accommodate less than two thousand people, now house more than fifteen thousand people.

Earlier, it was exposed that how pathetic certain migrant camps in the European country of Greece are.

Greece shares border with Turkey. This border is extremely vulnerable. Even though Greece tightens its border with Turkey, migrants find ways to enter the Europe through the border exploiting the weakness of the checks installed to prevent the infiltration of migrants across the Turkey-Greece border.

The latest decision of Greece to establish new camps has come after the vulnerability of some of the camps was revealed in an internal investigation.


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After winning New Democracy Mitsotakis promises a change

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Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the new centre-right prime minister of Greece has vowed that the country will “proudly raise its head again”. Mitsotakis marked his victory in New Democracy’s landslide on Sunday.

Mitsotakis said that he had a clear mandate for change and promised more investment and fewer taxes. He said that he would not fail to “honour the hopes” of the Greek people.

He added that he would be a prime minister for all because Greeks were “too few to stay divided”.

This victory has arrived four years after Alexis Tsipras’s leftist Syriza party came into power. According to the recent results, 39.77 per cent of voters backed New Democracy, translating to 158 seats. The leftist Syriza party of Tsipras occupied the second place with 31.53%.

Tsipras said that he had called Mitsotakis to offer him his congratulations. Tsipras said to the medias, “Today, with our head held high we accept the people’s verdict. To bring Greece to where it is today we had to take difficult decisions [with] a heavy political cost”.

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