Gov't spokesman on latest disastrous shipwreck of migrants in Mediterranean
Government spokesman Gavriil Sakellaridis on Sunday repeated a call for action on a European level to deal with the waves of refugees and migrants crossing the Mediterranean, in statements following the latest tragic shipwreck involving hundreds of victims in waters south of Italy.
"The new sacrifice of refugees off Lampedusa shocks us all. The Mediterranean, from a seaway for cultures is converted to a watery grave for thousands of souls attempting to flee the flames of war," Sakellaridis said in a written statement concerning the shipwreck.
"In these crucial hours, when along with the lives we risk also losing our humanity, action is demanded and not fine words. The European Union has an obligation to immediately undertake its responsibilities toward - chiefly - the waves of desperate refugees but also the European countries of the Mediterranean that receive them," the spokesman added.
Sakellaridis also attacked the opposition parties over their stance on the issue, saying the latest tragedy "irreparably exposed" the fallacy of their claims that the Greek government was somehow responsible for the wave of refugees.
"The refugee issue is an international humanitarian issue that cannot be resolved by shouting. Let us set aside populism and demagoguery. We are talking about human lives," Sakellaridis said.
Hundreds are feared dead after a boat carrying roughly 700 people capsized at midnight, in Libyan water south of the Italian island of Lampedusa.
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