TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search results
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search resultsTurkey forcibly returning Syrians to war zone: Amnesty
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
In this photo provided by Syrian refugee Fadi Mansour, Mansour is pictured at Istanbul's Ataturk airport on March 15. Amnesty International is calling for the immediate release of the Syrian national, who initially fled Syria in August 2012 to avoid military service and has been detained at Istanbul's Ataturk Airport in "inhumane conditions" for one year. (Associated Press/Fadi Mansour)
A
mnesty International says Turkey has forcibly returned hundreds of Syrian refugees to their homeland since mid-January, adding that this practice exposes "fatal flaws" in an agreement between Turkey and the European Union.
The organization says its research on the Turkish-Syrian border suggests that around 100 Syrians - who often have not registered in Turkey-are expelled from Turkey each day.
Advocacy groups are concerned that the deal, which aims to stem the flow of illegal migrants and goes into effect April 4, threatens the rights of asylum seekers, and they question whether Turkey is a safe country for vulnerable migrants.
The EU-Turkey deal stipulates the return to Turkey of any Syrian refugee arriving on the Greek islands, to be offset by resettling a Turkey-based Syrian in the EU.
"Far from pressuring Turkey to improve the protection it offers Syrian refugees, the EU is in fact incentivizing the opposite," said John Dalhuisen, Amnesty International's director for Europe and Central Asia.
"Having witnessed the creation of Fortress Europe, we are now seeing the copycat construction of Fortress Turkey."
In earlier stages of the conflict, Syrians who held passports were able to cross at regular border gates and even those who entered illegally could register with the authorities. Now only those needing urgent medical care are allowed to enter, and there are an estimated 200,000 displaced Syrians within 20 kilometers of Turkey's border.
Tightened border restrictions and new visa requirements for Syrians, the organization said, have also pushed Syrians into the arms of smugglers who charge an average of $1,000 per crossing.
Amnesty also says Turkish of authorities have scaled back the registration of Syrian refugees in the southern provinces, making it impossible for them to access basic services. (ags)
