It is not only at the Belarusian border that migrants are becoming victims of state power struggles. Greek authorities have accused the Turkish coast guard of trying to force a boat carrying migrants into Greek waters. Athens has called on the EU to pressure Ankara to comply with its international obligations. Greek authorities accuse the Turkish government of acting "like a pirate state."

Cruel game with migrants between EU and Turkey

As infomigrants reports, the Greek Coast Guard released a video on Tuesday of two Turkish patrol vessels apparently escorting an inflatable boat carrying about a dozen migrants. The one-minute video shows the Turkish boats making a sharp move in front of the rubber dinghy and pushing it through the waves of the ship toward Greece. A highly dangerous maneuver that puts the lives of those migrants aboard the overloaded inflatable boat in acute danger.

The Greek Coast Guard said that the Turkish ships escorted the boat early Tuesday off Lesbos, one of the Greek Aegean islands near the Turkish coast. According to the statement, the Greek Coast Guard ships on the scene prevented the inflatable boat from entering Greek territory. Conflict ensued between the Greek and Turkish coast guards. Finally, the Turkish coast guard had to give in and bring the migrants back to Turkey.

The EU's policy of sealing off refugees is putting those seeking protection in increasingly dramatic situations. The EU makes itself susceptible to blackmail through this desire for closure and allows migrants to become victims of blackmail attempts by dictators such as Erdoğan and Lukashenko.