Government spokesman Gavriil Sakellaridis on Tuesday afternoon first announced that the leftist Greek government intended to issue “travel documents” to Syrian refugees that have requested asylum in Greece, in the wake of a massive influx of irregular migrants over the last three months onto several Greek islands.

Less than two hours later, the government took back the statement and said instead that “all necessary documents” will be issued, rather than the earlier “travel documents”.

The unprecedented initial announcement came after a top Cabinet meeting convened to examine the resurging problem with illegal immigration targeting the EU’s southeast corner.

Increasing boatloads of Middle Eastern, North African and Sub-Saharan natives that have reached the Greek islands generated a firestorm of criticism by opposition parties in Greece and concern within local communities. In one instance before Orthodox Easter, some 100 migrants, most from sub-Saharan Africa, swam ashore the island of Gavdos, south of Crete, where residents total no more than 60. The entire group, including some 40 unaccompanied minors, was later transported by ferry boat to the Greater Athens area.

In echoing same-day comments by controversial Alternate Minister for Migration Tasia Christodoulopoulou, who spoke on a handful of live television broadcast on the issue, Sakellaridis said the undocumented migrants will be transported to mainland Greece and housed in “reception centres”. He added that the third country nationals will then be divided into “migrants” and “refugees”.

He did not field questions by a scrum of mostly local reporters gathered outside the Maximos Mansion government house. One question is whether European countries, within and outside the Schengen Pact, will accept the third country nationals with the travel documents that the SYRIZA government intends to provide them.

Another question is how the government and its services will differentiate between a person actually fleeing a bonafide war zone – mostly via Turkey – such as Aleppo, and a person that wants to emigrate from Cairo or Algiers and find relatives in Birmingham or Brussels.

Most of the migrants – regardless of whether they hail from war-torn regions – are ferried onto Greek (or Italian) territory from neighboring Turkey and the North African coast by migrant smugglers.

Past “methods of operation” in seaborne people-smuggling operations include the very dangerous practice of sinking an inflatable craft carrying migrants so that European coast guard patrols, fishing vessels and merchant ships rescue them. Another practice is to destroy all personal documents and IDs in order to proclaim oneself a refugee fleeing a conflict zone.