Rumors over reopening of borders send refugees back to Greek-FYROM crossing

Hundreds of refugees who had previously left the makeshift tent city of Idomeni at Greece's border with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) returned on the site on Sunday after unfounded rumors said the crossing would open.

Greek police have launched an investigation to uncover those responsible for the spreading of such rumors that could endanger people's lives, while officers supported by interpreters were urging the crowd to close their ears to any information which does not come from official sources.

The 11,500 people who have been stranded in the area since February when the Balkan route to central Europe closed were divided in two groups on Sunday, Greek national news AMNA reported.

Some believed the rumors that representatives of the Red Cross and 500 journalists would lead the way and force the opening of the crossing on Sunday to allow refugees to continue their journey. They gathered near the fence carrying banners with slogans such as "open the borders, let us pass."

Others tried to dissuade them reminding them what had happened two weeks ago when some 1,000 people believed in similar rumors and following the instructions written on a pamphlet crossed into FYROM from a dangerous river crossing.

Three people lost their lives in the waters and the rest were detained by FYROM authorities and returned to Greece.

Greek and FYROM authorities had stepped up surveillance on both sides of the border on Sunday.

Meanwhile in Athens, Yorgos Kyritsis, spokesman of the newly established agency coordinating Greece's response to the refugee crisis told Greek MEGA TV that the government steps up efforts to provide correct information to the 50,000 refugees stranded in Greece.

AMNA launched an Arabic edition two weeks ago and the national broadcaster ERT this week launched a short daily news program in Arabic addressed to the refugees.

Kyritsis and other Greek officials have expressed great concern over the "insistence of unknown groups and individuals on creating false hopes risking refugees' lives."

Raising questions over the motives of these individuals or groups the government has pointed the finger at "some activists" operating in Idomeni among NGOs which have been assisting refugees for months.

Greek government and police have not confirmed scenarios circulating in Greek and international media that a retired former German official was among people who incited the mass exodus of refugees two weeks ago and that Italian activists were responsible for the latest rumors in Idomeni.

However, a representative of members of the group Over the Fortress who arrived at Idomeni from Italy this week to provide help to refugees told AMNA that the Italian activists had no involvement in such rumors.

By Sunday afternoon hopes of a miracle had faded again and more refugees were considering moving into the organized accommodation camps set up by Greek authorities a few kilometers away from the Idomeni border crossing.

Greek Deputy Foreign Minister Dimitris Mardas also made another proposal to refugees stranded in Greece, during an interview with local SKAI TV on Sunday.

He suggested that those who would consider investing more than 250,000 euros in Greece could receive "privileged treatment regarding their right to stay in the country."

In recent years Greece runs a scheme under which foreigners buying real estate property in Greece worth at least 250,000 euros receive residence permits for their families.

Under the EU-Turkey deal to stem the refugee influx into Europe which came into effect Sunday last week all new arrivals who are not eligible for asylum will be returned to Turkey, while the rest will be housed at hospitality centers across Greece until they travel to other European countries under a relocation program.

Mardas appeared confident on Sunday that several wealthy refugees and migrants may decide to take up on the offer and stay in Greece.

Launched in autumn 2015 the relocation program is moving slowly and most refugees were tired of waiting and not happy with the idea of "not having a say on which country we will be transferred to," as several have told Xinhua in recent interviews. Enditem