Treatment of migrants is to Greece's shame
According to the government ombudsman's office, the number of immigrants
turning to the office for assistance has increased, especially in
Attica. The means of re****ting delays and red tape in residence permits
and citizen****ps is revealed.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
By Kathy Tzilivakis
Of all the local government offices and agencies cited in the
ombudsman's new annual re****t, the new immigration department at the
regional office (perifereia) of Attica stands out with the worst record.
"We saw an increased number of cases concerning this immigration
office," Ombudsman George Kaminis - the country's top bulwark against
maladministration - told re****ters on April 1. "It is clear this
[office] is lacking in organisation."
Under immigration law 3386/2005, the perifereia is responsible for
examining applications for residence permits. The situation at the
regional office of Attica is especially hectic because it services as
many as 150,000 non-European Union immigrants.
The government had hoped to improve the situation by relocating the
office to a new, fully-computerised facility in November 2005. Interior
Minister Prokopis Pavlopoulos had promised the new facility would shred
the red tape to facilitate timely processing of applications for the
issuing of residence permits.
According to Kaminis, who has served as the country's ombudsman since
2003, the number of immigrants turning to him for assistance has
increased significantly. "The number of economic migrants is constantly
on the rise," he said.
For instance, of the 2,435 cases investigated by Andreas Takis, the
deputy ombudsman for human rights, 67 percent of them were submitted by
immigrants. They are mainly Albanians (18 percent) and Pakistanis (17
percent). Half of all the cases examined by Takis last year concerned
immigration rules and regulations.
|
