HarekAct offers a topical and chronological collection of news on the EU-Turkish border regime under this section. We link to external newspapers and websites and do not hold the copyright.
Views and opinions expressed in the articles published on HarekAct are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the view of all editorial board members.
Via Human Rights Watch –Turkish authorities in Istanbul and nine provinces on or near the Syrian border have stopped registering all but a handful of recently arrived Syrian asylum seekers. The suspension is leading to unlawful deportations, coerced returns to Syria, and the denial of health care and education.
The European Commission has recently praised Turkey’s asylum system and plans to release the second batch of €3 billion under its March 2016 migration deal which includes support for refugees in Turkey. European Union institutions and governments have stayed publicly silent on the suspension and other refugee abuses committed by Turkey, suggesting their primary concern is to halt the movement of asylum seekers and migrants from Turkey to the EU. Continue reading Turkey Stops Registering Syrian Asylum Seekers→
The case of Violet and Beatrice was brought to public thanks to the consistent efforts of feminist solidarity groups who followed the case since the beginning till the end. And finally the case ended up with justice. Long live feminist solidarity!
ViaRefugee Support Aegean – On 16 March 2018, a refugee boat sank near the Greek island of Agathonisi. Sixteen persons perished and at least three are missing. The survivors and relatives’ testimonies along with text messages sent to the Greek coastguard point towards a significant delay from the side of the Greek authorities in launching a search and rescue operation.
>From the early days of the tragedy, Refugee Support Aegean provides legal and psychological support to the shipwreck survivors and relatives of those who lost their lives. In this detailed case file, you can see how this tragedy unfolded.
Via Turkish Minute(from 29th June) – Officials from the Esenyurt Municipality in İstanbul on Friday removed signs in Arabic from district shops, in a neighborhood densely populated by Syrian refugees, in line with a recently adopted Turkish Standards Institute (TSE) rule that says the Turkish language should be a priority in signs.
The TSE announced in March that if shopkeepers want to use foreign languages, the type size of those words should be a quarter of the size of Turkish type.
Via Greek Reporter– Ankara has officially requested the extradition of the eight Turkish soldiers in the process of being granted asylum in Greece in exchange of a “fair trial” of the two Greek junior army officers detained in Turkey.
Greek newspaper Ta Nea has published a letter sent to President of the European Parliament Antonio Tajani by the President of the Turkish Delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly Ahmet Berat Conkar.
Via Greek Reporter – A total of 17,771 migrants and refugees are in reception and registration centers as well as other structures on the five Greek islands that host asylum seekers, new data show.
The new figures released by the Ministry of the Interior show that Lesvos is the island that is dealing with the majority of the migrant inflow, with 9,472 refugees and migrants in various places.
The North Aegean regional governor announced the closure of Pikpa camp on the basis of a report by the health inspection which found shortcomings in the common kitchen handled by the residents, a broken net in the food distribution area and a leakage to a water tank for washing machines. For these reasons, it considers Pikpa dangerous to public health and the environment. Continue reading REACTION TO ANNOUNCEMENT TO CLOSE PIKPA CAMP→
