The incidents in Idomeni remain a hot topic in Greece. The reaction of the Macedonian police, the outbreak of violence and the lack of response by the Greek government and the police in the whole situation has affected the Greek public.
Once the Greek media showed a recording showing Macedonian police entering through the fence and respond to the incidents in front of the fence, the media raised the question whether the Macedonian police had led the attack on Greek territory and why were they allowed to throw tear gas and attack with rubber bullets on Greek soil.
The official response from Greece was that no one had crossed the border onto Greek territory, ie there was no violation of the border. Civil Protection Minister Nikos Ntoskas explained that the Macedonian police, in fact, remained on Macedonian soil.
“The fence is not exactly on the boundary line, it is situated two or three meters behind the line, within their territory. The officers moved through the hole in the fence and reacted to the incident, which was in fact in their own territory”, said Ntoskas.
After the Greek media’s accusations that the Macedonians had used tear gas, stun grenades and rubber bullets on Greek soil, Ntoskas explained that two protest notes had been sent to Macedonia, where the Greek government had reacted to the violence used against the refugees.
