Erdogan's Gamble Backfires As EU Gives Iron-Willed Greeks $780M to Secure Their Border

Chris Menahan
InformationLiberation
Mar. 05, 2020

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan thought that by sending tens of thousands of "crying refugees" to invade Greece it would cause Europeans to cave and throw open their borders as happened in 2015 -- instead he ran into the army of Sparta.






Rather than submit to this latest mass invasion, Greeks rose up against their own government and fought off their own police to stop new refugee centers from being built on their once pristine islands.



The Greek government quickly caved and threw their support behind their own people demanding an end to the invasion.

Seeing Erdogan's transparent ploy for what it was, the EU for once decided to do the right thing and stand with Greece against weaponized migration.

From Bloomberg, "EU Gives $780 Million to Help Greece Stop Migrants at Border":
European Union officials visited Greece to see for themselves the migrant tensions building on its frontier with Turkey and pledged millions of euros in aid while calling for order after sporadic violence over the weekend.

“Greek authorities are facing a very difficult task in containing the situation,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters during a press conference near the Kastanies crossing on Tuesday. “This border is not only a Greek border, but it is also a European border and I stand here today as a European at your side.”


She said Greece would be able to access as much as 700 million euros ($780 million) to help manage the situation and that Frontex, the EU border protection force, was preparing to deploy a “Rapid Intervention Team,” comprising ships, helicopters and guards. Earlier, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis took the EU delegation on a helicopter ride to survey the border.

Migrants and refugees began heading toward Greece on Saturday after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he’d no longer prevent them crossing into Europe -- he says his government can’t handle the large numbers of Syrians fleeing civil war.
Erdogan took these refugees in thinking they would provide him a solid voting block (much as Democrats do in the US) but instead they voted against him and destabilized Turkey the same way they've destabilized Europe.

Now, he's desperate to kick them all out.
The sight of desperate people gathered at the frontier sent a shudder through the EU leadership, stirring memories of the migration crisis of 2015 that fueled support for right-wing populists across the continent.

This time around though, the reality is very different, at least so far. Some people were bused down, others paid for their own journeys, and most of them aren’t Syrians at all, but nationals of several countries who’ve been struggling to carve out new lives in Turkey.
Most weren't Syrians then, either.
All have found Greek officials barring their path onward into the EU. About 26,500 people have been stopped from entering, according to the Greek authorities. Some are now stuck in the no man’s land between the two borders. Others returned to the Turkish cities they came from once they realized the Greek side was sealed. About 200 people have been arrested by the Greek police.
Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic and Slovakia have also pledged to help Greece deal with the border crisis:


This is a complete disaster for Erdogan.








The EU correctly recognizes this is an attack on all of Europe.




The jig is up!


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