Greece set to begin sending migrants back to Turkey

Hours before Greece was due to begin returning migrants to Turkey, little sign of preparation was evident on Lesbos, the island through which hundreds of thousands of people have poured into Europe since last year.

A few signs Turkey was getting ready for the migrants could be seen on Saturday. Two room-size tents were set up on the pier of the cramped port at Dikili, where migrants being returned from Lesbos were to be taken.

Two portable toilets were installed nearby.

The return of the migrants is a key part of an agreement between the European Union and Turkey aimed at ending the uncontrollable influx into Europe of migrants and refugees fleeing poverty and war in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa.

Under the agreement, those who cross into Greece illegally from Turkey from March 20 will be sent back to Turkey once their asylum applications have been processed.

Turkey’s interior minister, Efkan Ala, was quoted by the pro-government newspaper Aksam as saying 500 people were expected in Turkey from Greece today.

Afghans, Iraqis, and Pakistanis would be deported to their countries, he said.

More than 6,000 migrants and refugees have been registered on Greek islands since March 20. While returns are due to begin today, where they will start from and how many will be returned remains unclear.

“Planning is in progress,” said George Kyritsis, a Greek government spokesman for the migration crisis.

The Athens News Agency reported over the weekend that the returns would begin this morning on two Turkish passenger ships chartered by Frontex, the EU border agency. The ships will sail from Lesbsos across to the Turkish coastal town of Dikili.

Some 250 people would be returned each day through Wednesday, the report said, without citing sources.

Greek officials would neither confirm nor deny the report. A police spokesman on Lesbos said the force was still awaiting instructions.

Arrivals to the islands remained steady yesterday, two weeks since the cut-off date, with 514 migrants, including many Syrians and Iraqis, crossing from Turkey through Sunday morning.

Of those, 364 arrived on Lesbos, authorities said.

In previous months, arrivals averaged 1,000 to 2,000 a day. Bad weather and gale-force winds have at times hit the Aegean Sea in the two weeks since the agreement.

Arrivals fell, then rose again, and have held around 300 to 500 a day for the past few days. Many were unaware they would be sent back to Turkey.