Greece: Upset over anti-refugee pork protest

On Tuesday Greek parliamentarians debated how to react to a nationalist group's plans to hold a pork barbecue "protest" near a refugee camp.

This week the Greek nationalist group Enomemoi Makedones, or United Macedonia, made calls online for people to attend a "barbecue protest" on Sunday near the refugee camp Diavata, located a few miles west of Thessaloniki. Attendees are to consume pork and alcohol in protest of the growing number of immigrants in Greece.

Read more:  Opinion: EU needs a clear refugee policy

For Muslims, the consumption of pork and alcohol is forbidden by the Koran.

In a parliamentary debate in Athens broadcast on television Tuesday, left-wing politician Christos Giannoulis said it was difficult to say whether the event broke any laws, but called it a "disgrace" and a "provocation against people of other beliefs." 

He called for the organizers to be held accountable for this "new type of political and criminal behavior."

Conservative politician Kostas Kiranakis argued in response that citizens from non-EU countries shouldn't dictate how Greeks live and that restrictions to the barbecue would mean restrictions to the rights of Greek citizens. 

As of October this year, around 55,000 immigrants have arrived in Greece from Turkey, significantly more than the 50,500 immigrants that arrived by the end of last year.

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