Refugee Protests at the Macedonia-Greece Border Enter Fourth Day

The protest of migrants at the borders of Greece and Macedonia has entered its fourth day, while the President of Macedonia has criticized the European Union for the lack of financial support and information exchange that has led to the refugee crisis. According to an Associated Press report, George Ivanov, the President of Macedonia, stated on Sunday, November 21, during a meeting with Donald Tusk, President of the European Council, that the influx of migrants into Macedonia has increased tensions in the country. Ivanov added that 'the potential risk of clashes between refugees and migrants, migrants and police and military forces, and also migrants and local residents is assessed to be high.' In recent days, four Balkan countries announced that they would only allow refugees from three war-torn regions: Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria, while their borders are closed to economic migrants. Among these four countries, Slovenia and Croatia are EU members, but Serbia and Macedonia have not yet joined the union. However, all four countries have recently been the main transit routes for refugees and migrants to Central and Western Europe. Meanwhile, the decision of these four countries to close their borders to economic migrants has led to protests by migrants and refugees at the borders of Macedonia and Greece. The protesting migrants and refugees, mostly from Iran, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, have seen their protests enter the fourth day on Sunday. The protesters carried placards with slogans such as 'Freedom' and 'We are not terrorists.' On the same day, the Associated Press also reported that an Iranian refugee threatened to cut his wrist with a razor if he was not allowed to cross the border. Police intervened to prevent this threat from being realized, but in the struggle, the Iranian refugee cut his face. Meanwhile, the Associated Press reported that the number of stranded migrants at the borders of Greece and Macedonia has significantly decreased from over 2,000 to about 1,300 by Sunday afternoon. Many of these migrants have made their way to Athens or Thessaloniki by bus or taxi, and Greek police believe these migrants are seeking alternative routes to cross borders, including assistance from human traffickers. At the same time, the President of Macedonia stated that his country has the capacity to shelter about 2,000 people in its temporary transit centers. He mentioned that increasing this number would pose a permanent and direct risk to Macedonia's national security. The Associated Press report also recalled statistics from the Macedonian police indicating that only from early Saturday to the early hours of Sunday, 6,000 refugees crossed the Macedonian border. This statistic also indicates that since the beginning of 2015, around 500,000 refugees have entered Europe through Macedonia. Another report indicated that from mid-September to now, 250,000 migrants and refugees from the Balkan countries have crossed to reach other EU countries, and even the cold and adverse weather conditions have not affected the number of migrants heading towards Central and Northern Europe.