SYRIZA slams gov’t over plans to install floating fence to stop migrants

Greece’s leftist opposition has urged the country’s conservative government to abandon “hideous” plans to install a floating barrier in the Aegean Sea to deter migrants landing on its islands’ shores through Turkey.

The Defense Ministry recently invited private contractors to bid on supplying a 2.7-kilometer-long (1.7 miles) floating fence within three months.

SYRIZA said the idea was an insult to humanitarian values and in violation of European and international regulations.

The netted barrier would rise 50 centimeters (20 inches) above water and be designed to hold flashing lights.

SYRIZA said that installing floating fences would be a major navigational hazard.

“It is an absurd, unenforceable and dangerous plan,” it said.

The plan has been criticized by several human rights groups, including Amnesty International.