GREECE: NEW WAVE OF MIGRANT PROTESTS ON POLICE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ATHENS 000315 SIPDIS DEPT PASS TO EUR/SE, PRM/ECA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREF KCRM GR SMIG SUBJECT: GREECE: NEW WAVE OF MIGRANT PROTESTS ON POLICE TREATMENT, ASYLUM REF: A. ATHENS 215 ¶B. ATHENS 154 ¶C. ATHENS 114 ATHENS 00000315 001.2 OF 002 ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: In the latest incident in a series of violent immigrant-police confrontations, police clashed with approximately 70 illegal migrants in the port town of Patras on March 3. Media reported that an illegal migrant was injured attempting to stow away on a truck bound for Italy. When other migrants began attacking the driver, police responded with tear gas. This incident follows multiple altercations between immigrants and police at the Petrou Ralli police station in Athens, where asylum applications are processed. Media reported that immigrants participated in the countrywide December 2008 riots, and in January Afghan immigrants demonstrated against police evictions in Athens. In addition, a left-wing pro-immigrant NGO was the target of a hand grenade attack on February 24. Greece faces sharp increases in migration and refugees, with over 140,000 illegal immigrants detained in 2008. With a deficient asylum process and an overwhelmed and poorly-trained police force, continued violent clashes between immigrants and police are likely, and may escalate as numbers of illegal migrants increase. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (SBU) The March 3 clash between police and illegal immigrants erupted in Patras, a western port town where thousands of migrants from the Middle East, East Africa, and Central Asia attempt to stow away on trucks and ferries bound for Italy. The altercation began when an illegal migrant was injured attempting to stow away on a truck and dozens of other migrants immediately began throwing stones at the driver. Police responded with tear gas and two officers and a bystander were injured in the clash. Tensions between migrants and truck drivers had already been simmering prior to this incident: On February 23, Greek truck drivers blocked the Patras port protesting a lack of police enforcement against the stowaways, who have been accused of destroying goods and battling drivers in their attempts to board the trucks. An Embassy officer witnessed these boardings on March 1: Afghani, Pakistani, and Iraqi migrants waited in groups beside the road as freight trucks drove towards the ferries, and as the trucks slowed the migrants attempted to climb aboard. Some truck drivers tried to brake and accelerate to shake the migrants off, while another driver took a bat, exited his cab, and physically threatened the stowaways. Unsuccessful migrants simply regrouped and attempted to board the next available truck. No police were present in the area. In recent days, media outlets have shown video footage of such boardings, raising the public profile of migrant-police clashes. ¶3. (SBU) Illegal migrants regularly clash with police at the Petrou Ralli police station in Athens, the only location in Greece where migrants can file applications for asylum. Hundreds of migrants queue for hours outside of the police station, and only a minority are allowed inside to file for asylum -- the rest are forced to leave by police. Two Pakistani migrants died falling into a ravine near the queues, one on October 26 and another on January 3, and migrants blamed the deaths on police crowd control efforts. Other violent clashes occurred at Petrou Ralli on November 28 and February 19, with migrants demanding better police treatment and freer access to apply for asylum. Major human rights NGOs and international organizations have routinely criticized the Greek government for its asylum procedures at Petrou Ralli -- in a February 4 report, the Council of Europe's Commissioner for Human Rights noted "grave, systemic deficiencies" in the Greek asylum process and reported that Greece granted asylum in only 0.03 percent of first-instance cases during the first eight months of 2008. According to the UNHCR, from 2006 to 2007 asylum applications in Greece increased 105 percent, rising from 12,267 to 25,113. However, while the number of illegal migrants detained in Greece continued to rise, from 2007 to 2008 asylum applications fell 21 percent, to 19,884 -- a decrease that some NGOs attribute to the deterrence effect of the low asylum approval rate. (NOTE: Foreign press has focused on this issue, too. Aljazeera posted a two-minute video examining the plight of asylum seekers and the situation outside Petrou Ralli, at this link: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe /2009/02/2009221155152736943.html. END NOTE.) ¶4. (U) During the December 2008 riots following the death of 15-year-old Alexandros Grigoropoulos, Greek media reported that illegal immigrants participated in looting shops in Athens. In January, Afghan migrants demonstrated in the Patissia neighborhood of Athens, protesting squalid living conditions and frequent police raids and evictions. Many ATHENS 00000315 002 OF 002 Afghans in Patissia are either homeless or live in crowded ramshackle apartment buildings, often lacking running water and electricity. Local residents subsequently demanded that the government provide shelter for the migrants, while right-wing groups organized protests insisting that the Afghans leave the area. In addition, police suspect armed right-wing groups in a February 24 hand grenade attack on a leftist NGO, the Network of Social Support for Refugees and Migrants. While no one was injured, media reports state that police are concerned that this attack may herald increased violence between rightists and immigrant-friendly organizations. ¶5. (SBU) COMMENT: Given the recent spate of terrorist attacks, anarchist violence, and public demonstrations here in Greece (see REFTELs A and B),increased tension between frustrated migrants and an overburdened police force is a worrisome trend. The Greek government has been roundly criticized by major NGOs and IOs for its poor treatment of refugees and asylum seekers, but at the same time is shouldering a growing illegal migration burden. The Hellenic Police has low morale and lacks training and political support (see REFTEL C),and Greek officials note that they have seen little increase in assistance from the EU. As a result, more frequent clashes between migrants and police are likely. We will report on the situation in Patras in more detail SEPTEL. END COMMENT. SPECKHARD