Citizens' Protection ministry general secretary Grigoris Tasoulas on Wednesday denied that his office had been informed in advance by university authorities of the planned occupation of the Athens Law School building by economic migrants.
The university rector Theodosis Pelegrinis had earlier criticised the ministry for failing to take action to stop the occupation of the building, claiming that police had been informed about it in advance and could have taken action to prevent the migrants from entering the building.
Citizens' Protection Minister Christos Papoutsis stressed in a new statement, meanwhile, that the ministry was prepared to assist university authorities "only in the framework of the law and in the presence of public prosecution authorities, in order to guarantee a peaceful and safe departure from the Law School building".
The minister stressed that the premises were protected by university asylum legislation and, as such, it was the exclusive responsibility of university authorities to ensure the safe operation of the grounds and the facilities.
"They have the exclusive responsibility and the powers with the decision of the appropriate bodies to ask for the assistance of prosecuting and police authorities, as set out by laws of the state," he said.
source: ANA
