Public Order Minister Nikos Dendias stressed the need for urgent action to deal with the illegal immigration issue plaguing in the country, which he called a "matter of Greek society's very existence", while speaking before a relevant Parliament committee.The committee held a hearing on a draft bill ratifying a relevant legislative act related to the operation of migrant detention centres around the country.
Most local government, chamber and institutional officials who spoke before the committee criticised the prospect of such centres opening in their areas, even in rural or border regions.
Meanwhile, speaking to a local radio station the same day, Dendias said an ongoing and high-profile police crackdown on the presence of illegal migrants in the country will continue and be extended throughout Greece, while a first assessment of the operation take place in early 2013.
Additionally, the minister said that funding available by the European Union, of up to 80 percent, with talks pending to increase European funding to 95 percent.
As regards the detention centres and reactions by local officials and residents in Corinth last week, he said "they (detention centres) do not constitute a danger for local societies; they are indirectly a source of revenue ... I think that the situation in Corinth is much better today than what it was before the detention centre was established.
"... my role is not to argue with local societies and its representatives, but to convince them that this is the only way for us to proceed."He also announced that the first such detention centre in Amygdaleza, north of Athens proper, will be enlarged, with a capacity to host 800 people by the end of September. AMNA
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