Metin Çorabatır, president of IGAM spoke in CNN Turk about the mobility of refugees from Turkey to the West after the recent news on ‘’Turkey has opened its doors to western countries’’
Çorabatır was asked about Ömer Çelik’s explanation; “Turkey’s refugee policy remains the same, but we cannot handle the upcoming problems on our own.” What is the meaning of the statement and how do you interpret Europe’s reactions about it?
“The statement of Çelik should be interpreted as statements by the spokesman of a political party. It wasn’t an official statement by government, nor a state policy, but a statement from the spokesman of the ruling party. He stated that “If the situation remains the same, we cannot keep it under control. “and draw attention to recent developments in İdlib by inviting the EU, NATO and western allies to be involved by Turkey’s side.
We have seen a similar scenario in the past as well.
It wasn’t stated that the doors were open
For example, during 2014 and 2015 in Iraq, there were similar rumors among the Yezidis. It is frequent to see such mass movements occurring as a result of misinterpretations by speculators and human traffickers. Ömer Çelik did not clearly say “We have opened the doors”. I have repeatedly read the statement. Later on, Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that there is no modification about policies.
We don’t know about the nationality of people in the border
Due to despair and tough living conditions, some of the refugees are aiming to move towards the West. We don’t know whether the people shown in media are Afghan, Syrian or African. Especially the situation of Afghans is worse than the Syrians. At least Syrians are receiving aid under the temporary protection status. Their situation is stabilized thanks to aid from the EU and Kızılay cards. They became able to work and send their children to school.
The role of human traffickers shouldn’t be underestimated
It seems like this mass movement occurred rapidly as a result of human traffickers’ misinterpretation of Ömer Çelik’s statement. The situation of these people is getting worse every day. As you have mentioned in the news, Europe is acting very sensitive. Locals in Greek Islands are clashing with refugees and the police. These refugees on boats and ferries are going to be returned. I hope there will be no vital incidents.
Course of situation is in the wrong path
If statements of government officials are being misunderstood, the government should loudly clarify its refugee policies, in order to prevent speculations.
Europe’s reaction is very clear. Precautions of countries located on the way to Germany and France are now strengthened. Now, this is problematic for international law.
1 million people are suffering
Considering the recent developments in Idlib, almost 1 million people there are suffering. Organizations on human rights and humanitarian aid are reporting that the regime and Russia are keeping on the violence against civilians, which has to be stopped. In this situation, Turkey should move towards international cooperation. We know that many humanitarian aid organizations are expecting government’s cooperation. Their planes are ready to provide aid to Idlib. Turkey should take advantage of this potential and strengthen its policies. More reliable allies will improve the West’s public opinion.
International aid is necessary
In order to keep some areas of Idlib under protection, international aid is necessary. From the perspective of the West, the migration issue has shaken the politics intensely. Acts of ignoring the law, strengthening fences and building walls became popular. To prevent this, we need more cooperation. There were legal efforts for cooperation, such as the Global Compact on Refugees. Within this framework, the West should initiate settlement programmes and open their borders. For these sustainable developments, we need more negotiations and material aid. It remains unclear about what will happen after the 3+3 million euros aid is done. This should be immediately added to agenda.
I perceive the successes of Turkish forces are to establish a safe buffer zone. Cooperation with the West is crucial to achieve this. The best tool for such cooperation is humanitarian aid.
Turkey must find a way to cooperate with Western countries
There is not only refugees here, but human traffickers and speculators pursuing political advantage are also involved. It should be everybody’s common goal to provide protection to refugees. If they move from the Turkish border, they will be forcibly sent back and lose the living they have barely build in Turkey.
To conclude, I believe that Turkey should rapidly seek more ways of cooperation about the refugee issue, especially with its western allies.
