Responses to SYRIZA’s criticism regarding the announcement by five UN Special Rapporteurs, who stated that lawyers, journalists, and organizations active in defending refugees and illegal immigrants are being targeted, were provided by the Minister of Migration and Asylum, Thanos Plevris.

Speaking to Action 24, he said: “The days when certain bureaucrats would arrive and dictate how Greece should manage migration are over under Mitsotakis. Sovereign states want border control and deportations.”

He further explained that “in February we passed a law that now ensures strict, even stringent control of all NGOs active in the field of migration. For example, if an NGO member is involved in migrant smuggling, the penalties are severe. In order for an NGO to operate within our system, it must be registered.”

“NGOs can be active in migration issues, but they do not set policy,” he added. Responding to the claim that NGOs are humanitarian organizations, he said: “There is no NGO that does not receive funding.”

Referring to the five UN rapporteurs, he stated: “They are now criticizing me over this legislation. They are also targeting us, along with Adonis Georgiadis, for our statements after the Chios shipwreck, when we said we trust the Coast Guard rather than traffickers. Every time UN rapporteurs express concern about my legislation, I am even more proud of it. The more Amnesty International and others are bothered by it, the more it becomes a badge of honor for our immigration policy.”

Regarding SYRIZA, he added: “I understand them; they are stuck in the era of open borders, when 1.2 million irregular migrants entered Greece in four years, whereas during the six years of the New Democracy government there have been 185,000 irregular arrivals.”