Migration Policy Minister Yiannis Mouzalas defended the government’s handing of the refugee question in light of last night’s tragedy on the Aegean island of Lesvos in which two migrants died and two more are in critical condition with extensive burns after a gas cooker exploded, setting their tent ablaze and rapidly spreading throughout the overcrowded Moria camp processing center.

In response to harsh criticism from Samos MP for SYRIZA, Dimitris Sevastakis, and other SYRIZA parliamentarians over government policy concerning the migrant situation on the Greek islands, Mouzalas said that the local Lesvos authorities, not the government, were to blame for last night’s incident for refusing to create new “hot spots.”

“Both you and the local authorities have rejected building new hospitality centers…and then you wonder why such incidents arise,” said Mouzalas, also accusing some SYRIZA parliamentarians of having adopted “populist” tactics.

In response to a question from Mr. Sevastakis regarding the volatile migrant situation in Samos, Mouzalas admitted that decongesting the accommodation centers would have to be delayed in view of the fact that the asylum service lacks adequate staff. “Employees don’t want to work in hot spots,” he said.

Mr. Sevastakis replied that the EU – Turkey migrant deal provides for the relocation of refugees and migrants in times of stress and said that “Today we have 2,700 refugees in Samos, not 500, like we did when the agreement was signed. What we’re doing today is to safeguard the violation of the agreement. An overcrowding of hospitality centers will not lead to a sustainable situation.”