Ambassador Ivan Velimir Starcevic together with the Embassy’s diplomatic staff member Lena Ružic Turk, Third Secretary, visited the island of Chios on 27 and 28 September 2015, where they met with 12 officials from the Croatian Ministry of Interior who have been participating in a EU joint operation "Poseidon Sea 2015 " since July 2015. They also used the visit to get informed about the situation on the island; to which hundreds of illegal immigrants are arriving from the Turkish coast by ships or dinghies on a daily basis.
On the island of Chios, which has about 50,000 inhabitants, about 30,000 immigrants have arrived since the beginning of this year until the end of August, according to UNHCR data. From the Turkish coast, which is only about 10 kilometers away, immigrants are usually arriving to a small island Inousses, about 2 kilometers away from Chios, using the small boats, mainly dinghies. There, they are received by Greek officials and transferred to Chios after which they are identified by Greek police. One number of Croatian police officers are situated on the island Inousses from where they observe Turkish coast and inform FRONTEX, the competent Greek authorities and the Croatian patrol boat "Sveti Dujam", which is also participating in this FRONTEX operation, about the boats with illegal immigrants on their way to the Greek coast.
During the meeting with Ambassador Starcevic, Croatian police officers stressed that participation in FRONTEX operation represents immeasurably useful international experience for them. Stamen Popov, FRONTEX coordinator on Chios, expressed his satisfaction with the cooperation with Croatian police officers, who are considered extremely professional and dedicated. The mayor of Chios Emmanouil Vournous also expressed satisfaction with Croatian participation in the joint operation. The port captain Ioannis Argyrakis, in a talk with the Ambassador, expressed gratitude for the assistance provided by Croatian officials and also praised their professionalism, responsibility and commitment.
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