2:14 p.m. April 5
by NICOLE WINFIELD and ELENA BECATOROS / The Associated Press
VATICAN CITY
Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians, will visit the Greek island of Lesbos next week to highlight the plight of refugees, the Greek government said, as refugees and other migrants are being deported back to Turkey under the European Union's controversial program to ease Europe's migrant problem.
Under the EU's deal with Turkey reached last month, those arriving on Greek islands from March 20 onwards who do not apply for asylum in Greece or whose application is rejected or deemed inadmissible will be deported back to Turkey. For every Syrian returned to Turkey, another Syrian there will be relocated to a European country.
VATICAN CITY
Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians, will visit the Greek island of Lesbos next week to highlight the plight of refugees, the Greek government said, as refugees and other migrants are being deported back to Turkey under the European Union's controversial program to ease Europe's migrant problem.
Under the EU's deal with Turkey reached last month, those arriving on Greek islands from March 20 onwards who do not apply for asylum in Greece or whose application is rejected or deemed inadmissible will be deported back to Turkey. For every Syrian returned to Turkey, another Syrian there will be relocated to a European country.
Associated Press
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 EU and Turkey. Under the deal, migrants arriving illegally in Greece will be returned to Turkey if they do not apply for asylum or if they make an asylum claim that is rejected. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)
But after the initial return of 202 people Monday from the islands of Lesbos and Chios, most of the roughly 4,000 people earmarked for deportation were submitting asylum applications, leading to delays in the system.
No deportations were carried out Tuesday, and a Turkish interior ministry official said no further returns were expected until Friday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the record.
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 EU and Turkey. Under the deal, migrants arriving illegally in Greece will be returned to Turkey if they do not apply for asylum or if they make an asylum claim that is rejected. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)
But after the initial return of 202 people Monday from the islands of Lesbos and Chios, most of the roughly 4,000 people earmarked for deportation were submitting asylum applications, leading to delays in the system.
No deportations were carried out Tuesday, and a Turkish interior ministry official said no further returns were expected until Friday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the record.
Associated Press
Refugee children walk along railway tracks in a makeshift camp at Idomeni border station on the Greek side of the border with Macedonia, photographed from the Macedonian side of the border line, Monday, April 4, 2016. The European plan to send migrants from Greece back to Turkey is set to be implemented starting today. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)
Francis, the son of Italian immigrants to Argentina, has been outspoken about Europe's moral obligation to welcome refugees and his visit to Greece will likely embarrass EU leaders already under fire from human rights groups over the deportations.
The Holy Synod of the Church of Greece, the decision-making body of the Greek church, said Francis had asked to come to highlight the plight of refugees. It said the request had been accepted and the island of Lesbos suggested, adding it had also extended an invitation to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians, to visit the island on the same day.
Associated Press
Children play behind the fence, in a makeshift camp at Idomeni border station on the Greek side of the border with Macedonia, photographed from the Macedonian side of the border line Monday, April 4, 2016. The European Union plan to contain the refugee crisis took a major step on Monday with the returns to Turkey of 202 migrants and refugees who had not applied for asylum in Greece. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)
The Istanbul-based Ecumenical Patriarchate confirmed Bartholomew would visit the island.
Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi said Tuesday that no decision had been made but in an email to The Associated Press he said "I don't deny that there are contacts about a possible trip."
Associated Press
A migrant grimaces on the ground after a scuffle with police, during road blockade at the northern Greek border point of Idomeni, Greece, Monday, April 4, 2016. A plan to send back migrants from Greece to Turkey sparked demonstrations by local residents in both countries days before the deal brokered by the European Union is set to be implemented. (AP Photo/Amel Emric)
The Greek government issued a note saying the pope and patriarch would be visiting Lesbos on April 14-15 along with Athens Archbishop Ieronymos, and that Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras would join them.
Francis has made the plight of migrants a priority of his three-year pontificate, insisting in particular that Europe and other countries open their doors and hearts to people fleeing persecution and poverty.
Associated Press
A Greek coast guard and police officer secure the area as migrants are being loaded on a ferry at the port of Mytilini in the Greek island of Lesbos, Monday, April 4, 2016, during the first day of the implementation of the deal between EU and Turkey. Under heavy security, the first 135 migrants were being escorted onto the boats as dawn broke Monday by officers from the EU border protection agency, Frontex, to nearby ports on the Turkish coast, under the plan which has been strongly criticized by human rights groups.(AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
He told the Vatican's diplomatic corps in January that Europe had the means to welcome refugees without compromising its security or culture and that the continent bore the "moral responsibility" to care for others who have fled their homes to seek a better life.
Europe's deal with Turkey has come under fierce criticism from human rights groups and aid organizations, who accuse European countries of ignoring their commitments to protect vulnerable refugees.
Associated Press
Migrants shout slogans during a road blockade at the northern Greek border point of Idomeni, Greece, Monday, April 4, 2016. A plan to send back migrants from Greece to Turkey sparked demonstrations by local residents in both countries days before the deal brokered by the European Union is set to be implemented. (AP Photo/Amel Emric)
Judith Sunderland, acting deputy Europe director at Human Rights Watch, said Monday that trying to close the Aegean migration route by shipping people "back to uncertain fates in Turkey" would just make them seek potentially more dangerous and expensive ways to reach the EU.
"This whole deal involves throwing human beings down legal loopholes," she said. "Turkey is not a safe country, and rights on paper are not the same as rights in practice."
Associated Press
Migrants, most of them from Pakistan, protest against the EU- Turkey deal about migration inside the entrance of Moria camp in the Greek island of Lesbos on Tuesday, April 5, 2016. Authorities in Greece have paused deportations to Turkey and acknowledged that most migrants and refugees detained on the islands have applied for asylum. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
The deal and its accompanied closing of land borders to migrants have also led to more than 52,000 people being stranded in Greece.
European officials have billed the deal as the only way to deter people from risking the dangerous if brief sea journey from the Turkish coast to Greek islands.
Associated Press
Migrants most of them from Pakistan protest against the EU- Turkey deal about migration, inside the entrance of Moria camp in the Greek island of Lesbos on Tuesday, April 5, 2016. Authorities in Greece have paused deportations to Turkey and acknowledged that most migrants and refugees detained on the islands have applied for asylum. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
Maria Stavropoulou, director of Greece's Asylum Service, told state TV that some 3,000 people held in deportation camps on the islands are seeking asylum, with the application process to formally start by the end of the week.
Asylum applications typically take about three months to process, she said, but would be "considerably faster" for those held in detention.
"There will be a difficult few months ahead," Stavropoulou said. "We are dealing with people who speak 70 different languages and many have traveled to Greece without papers because they are escaping war."
Only 30 of 400 migration officers from other EU countries have arrived in Greece so far, Stavropoulou said, while additional locally hired staff would take "several months" to train and integrate into the Asylum Service.
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Becatoros reported from Athens. Ayse Wieting in Istanbul contributed.
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Online:
Greek Asylum Service: http://asylo.gov.gr/
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