Tsipras sees migrants’ arrival

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras says he witnessed migrants and refugees reaching Lesvos by dinghy shortly after landing on the island to inaugurate a fast-track registration center.

Tsipras, traveling with European Parliament President Martin Schulz Thursday, said the dinghy reached the shore as his motorcade was traveling from Lesvos airport to the new registration facility.

“We saw firsthand a makeshift boat arriving, full of refugees. And, indeed, we realized that is a criminal process being carried out by the smugglers who cram refugees onto vessels that are not boats, but makeshift inflatables,” he said. “What's happening in the Aegean Sea is a crime and it has to stop.”

Tsipras inaugurated a migrant processing center, known as a “hotspot” and run by the European Union border protection agency, Frontex – the first of five planned in Greece.

[AP]