CHIOS – Residents on the island of Chios are resisting plans by the New Democracy government to build a closed detention camp for refugees and migrants, protests including an attempt by a crowd to block the offloading of machinery at a port.

There could be politicial ramifications, said Kathimerini, as the island will most likely elect a single deputy to Parliament, according to the recent population census although Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said there won’t be early elections and he will stay in office until the 2023 polls.

Migration Minister Notis Mitarakis –an elected lawmaker who is from the island, held an online press conference trying to persuade opponents that the structure is beneficial.

The 54.8-million-euro ($62 milion) facility will replace the VIAL camp and have a capacity of 1,230 and like others being planned on four more islands near the coast of Turkey are designed to contain refugees and migrants.