Greece suspends deportations to Turkey

The process of returning migrants who are coalesced in Greece got underway this week.

Discussions are underway about a possible trip by Pope Francis to Greece as it begins deporting migrants back to Turkey.

Giorgos Kyritsis, a spokesman for a Greek government refugee committee, said 136 migrants were deported from Lesbos and 66 from the nearby island of Chios, where riot police clashed with residents hours earlier during a protest against the expulsions. Kakissis said that when talking to refugees, they tell relatives in their home countries not to come.

The Greek Orthodox Church has confirmed that it accepted the suggestion from Pope Francis that he makes such a trip.

A migrant child looks out behind a wire fence of a refugee camp in the western Athens' suburb of Schisto, Monday, April 4, 2016, during the first day of the implementation of the deal between European Union and Turkey. The EU promised expedited visa-free travel for Turkish citizens to the EU and a resumption of consideration for Ankara's ascension into the body.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has said Turkey and Finland share the same viewpoints over the Syrian issue. The first group of Syrian refugees that were sent to Germany from Turkey were picked by the German authorities and the UNHCR, after Turkey's Directorate General of Migration Management sent them a list they had prepared, diplomatic sources told the Hürriyet Daily News on April 4.

A rush of asylum applications from the islands, which have borne the brunt of the exodus from Turkey, meant there were not enough suitable candidates to ship back, Greek and Turkish authorities said.

"There will be a hard few months ahead", said Maria Stavropoulou, the director of Greece's asylum service.

The papal visit is expected to heighten attention on the EU-Turkey deal that has been strongly criticized by human rights groups.

Asylum applications typically take about three months to process, she said, but would be "considerably faster" for those held in detention.

This, along with a series of border closures further up the migrant route, has reduced the number of new arrivals in northern Europe - the main destination for the more than million people who arrived in Europe previous year. It said it was carrying on all its other activities around the island and continuing to monitor the situation in Moria.

In a powerful prayer at the Colosseum on Good Friday the Pope described the Aegean and Mediterranean seas - where many refugees have died after their makeshift boats collapsed - as "insatiable cemeteries, reflections of our indifferent and anaesthetised conscience".

Source: Greece suspends deportations to Turkey