Greeks barricade site chosen for transit camp for illegal immigrants

Residents of a northern Greek town have erected barricades and pledged to man them round the clock to prevent authorities from turning a disused army base into the nation’s first major detention centre for illegal immigrants.

Using mechanical diggers, lorry tyres and piles of soil, protesters cut off access to the army base to prevent crews starting work on converting the facility.

The protest by residents of Neapoli, a town about 24 miles from the Albanian border came a day after civil protection minister Michalis Chrysochoidis announced the base would start operating as a detention centre for 1,000 illegal immigrants by mid-April.

Greece, still embroiled in a sovereign debt crisis, is the European Union’s busiest transit point for illegal immigration, and the problem has emerged as a key issue in general elections expected in late April or early May. The country has often come under fire for the conditions in the temporary holding centres for illegal immigrants near the Turkish border and on Greek islands.

Mr Chrysochoidis’ announcement also marked the launch of a two-year plan to build similar facilities in all of Greece’s 13 administrative regions. While the country already has small holding centres for migrants caught crossing the borders illegally, they are so overwhelmed that migrants are only held for about three days before being released with orders to leave the country within a certain time. Few do.