Rights groups blast Greece for asylum violations

 This article was published by Al Jazeera International. 

 

Two aid organisations are asking the European Commission to launch infringement proceedings against Greece for violations of Europe’s asylum law.

 

Oxfam and WeMove Europe say a Greek asylum law that took effect this year has made it deliberately easy to disqualify asylum applicants and difficult for them to appeal rejections.

 

The groups say these violations are taking place “deliberately, on a drastic scale, in a systemic manner and on an ongoing basis.”

 

A senior Greek immigration source speaking on condition of anonymity says that problems in the new asylum law were addressed through a parliamentary amendment in May.

For Greece, the Battle of Salamis Never Ended

This article was published by The Wall Street Journal.

Courtesy: Bjorn Lovén

It’s unusual for a modern Greek audience to punctuate an ancient tragedy with applause. But in July, a production of Aeschylus’ “The Persians” by the National Theatre of Greece, presented in the splendor of the ancient theater of Epidauros, was applauded three times on its final night, with the prime minister in attendance. The play relates the Greeks’ stunning victory at the naval battle of Salamis in 480 B.C., where 300 Greek ships defeated an invading Persian fleet four times larger. The historic triumph secured Athenian naval power in the Aegean and established Athenian-inspired democracies across Greece.
The performance was one of several celebratory events planned for the 2,500th anniversary of Salamis. Amid fears of a second wave of coronavirus, Greek authorities aren’t sure how many of them will come to fruition by September 29, the presumed date of the battle. But just days before the performance at Epidauros, Greece braced for a repetition of the battle itself.