ANKARA: Around 400 refugees from a repatriation center in the Turkish capital Ankara have been forcibly transported to the Greek border since last Saturday, a lawyers’ group has claimed.
The move came soon after Turkey said it could no longer stop those who wanted to reach European soil.
Upheaval
Since then thousands of migrants — not only from Syria, but also from other Middle Eastern countries and Afghanistan — have flocked to Turkey’s land and sea borders with Greece and Bulgaria.
The EU’s Foreign Affairs Council on Friday criticized the ongoing humanitarian crisis along the Turkish-Greek border.
“While acknowledging the increased migratory burden and risks Turkey is facing on its territory and the substantial efforts it has made in hosting 3.7 million migrants and refugees, the EU reiterates its serious concern over the situation at the Greek-Turkish border and strongly rejects Turkey’s use of migratory pressure for political purposes,” the EU said in a statement.
SPEEDREAD
The Turkish Interior Ministry, responsible for administering the repatriation centers, has not denied the allegations about the removal of the refugees from the Ankara site.
The chair of the Ankara Bar Association’s Migrant Rights Center, Onur Gelbal, said a number of migrants who resisted the deportation had managed to stay on at the Ankara center.
There are 28 repatriation centers throughout Turkey, most established with EU funds, which together can hold a maximum of 20,000 people.
The Turkish Interior Ministry, which is responsible for administering the repatriation centers, has not denied the allegations about the removal of the refugees from the Ankara site, and the Ankara Bar Association is expected next week to formally accuse the ministry of neglect of duty and file a complaint to the prosecutor’s office.
“We were informed by our attorney colleagues who received phone calls on Saturday night from their clients who were forced onto buses to be transported to the border,” Gelbal told Arab News.
Border tense
The association assigned staff to the Turkish-Greek border to track migrants who had been transported from the Ankara center.
Many of the refugees massed on the border have been pushed back by Greek authorities and now find themselves stranded without any basic facilities.
With only 200 migrants staying back, the repatriation center in Ankara is almost empty. Those repatriated by force were mainly Iraqis and Afghans and included women and children.
Amid the ongoing stand-off between Ankara and Brussels over migration management, one town in northern Turkey has offered free transport to ferry migrants to the Greek border.
Dubbed as a “walk toward hope,” several foundations working with migrants in Turkey have also allegedly arranged buses to the border from various Turkish cities including Istanbul where many migrants are located.
However, the Foreign Affairs Council reiterated its commitment to “effectively protect the EU’s external borders” and to not tolerate illegal crossings by land or sea.
“Migrants should not be encouraged to attempt illegal crossings by land or sea. The council calls on the Turkish government and all actors and organizations on the ground to relay this message and counter the dissemination of false information,” its statement added.
