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.
Update: According to information by the Adana based association “Sığınmacı ve Göçmenler Derneği”, the two Iranians were not deported and their applications for international protection have been accepted.
Via Hurriyet Daily News – Turkish police stopped two minibuses in the southern city of Adana after they were notified that a group of refugees who illegally crossed into Turkey from the eastern province of Van planned to go to Istanbul via Adana, local media reported on June 4.
Thirty-one Afghan, 18 Pakistani and two Iranian citizens, who paid the human smugglers up to $5,000 each, were detained in the police operation after they showed fake permits, according to the reports.
On Friday afternoon 25 May 2018, intense fighting broke out at Moria camp, leaving many people injured. A group of around 70 refugees, including many families with young children and several injured people, fled the violence and found refuge in a park in Mytilini. Some injured people were transferred to the hospital by ambulance. The police did not allow the group to stay in the park out of fear for racist attacks. The refugees refused to return to Moria camp stating they feared for their lives. The police insisted for the team of Pikpa to host the people in Pikpa camp that night and guaranteed that the next day the families will be transferred to Kara Tepe. The Pikpa team was determined not to allow escalation of racist and fascist attacks in town and the police transferred the people to Pikpa.
Via Ahval – A lawyer representing eight Turkish servicemen who sought asylum in Greece following the country’s 2016 failed coup says all his clients have been freed pending a ruling on their applications, U.S. Tampa Bay newspaper reported.
Via New York Times [abstracts] – In Turkey, the Coast Guard said that nine migrants, including six children, had drowned in an accident off the country’s Mediterranean coast.
The migrants’ boat capsized early Sunday morning near the town of Demre in the southern province of Antalya, according to the Turkish Coast Guard, which said it had recovered nine bodies and rescued four other migrants. A fifth was saved by a passing fishing vessel.
Leak reveals EU nations are unhappy about paying bill to maintain multi-billion bargain with Turkey
Via The Black Sea – By Zeynep Şentek and Craig Shaw.
Major European Union countries expressed disquiet at having to pay for their six billion Euro deal with Turkey to keep Syrian refugees away from the EU
What happened to the billions that Brussels pledged to Turkey to keep refugees out of the EU
Via The Black Sea – By Craig Shaw, Zeynep Şentek & Şebnem Arsu.
The ending of Europe’s refugee crisis was built on a legally dubious, three billion Euro deal between the EU and Turkey in 2016
With the recent announcement of a further three billion Euro pledged for Turkey, the existing deal is not as successful as the EU publicly states: NGOs have been harassed and fined, there is little public accountability on how money is spent, and many infrastructure projects are only just beginning
Meanwhile, despite requesting to extend the agreement, Turkey is already crafting a “counter narrative” to send refugees back to Syria.
A ‘Billions for Borders’ report for EIC Network, with additional reporting by John Hansen (Politiken), Emilie Ekeberg (Danwatch), Margherita Bettoni (The Black Sea), Hanneke Chin-A-Fo (NRC) Francesca Sironi (L’Espresso). Continue reading Raw Deal→
Bulgarian Interior Minister Valentin Radev and his Turkish counterpart Süleyman Soylu met in Edirne on May 29 for a workshop on border security and co-operation, the first such workshop on the topic of its kind between the two countries.
The main focus of the talks was the efforts made by the two countries to ensure the security of the most sensitive external European border – the Kapitan Andreevo checkpoint, Bulgarian National Television reported.
The European Union is funding military equipment used by Turkey to stop refugees from fleeing the Syrian Civil War and entering the EU
Via The Black Sea -By Zeynep Sentek and Sebnem Arsu.
Under an agreement in March 2016, the EU pledged six billion Euro to Turkey to effectively trap millions of refugees within its country and stop them from entering the European Union.
This is not the only cash from the EU. It also pays Turkey for military equipment which is used at its borders with Syria and Greece to halt those wishing to seek asylum in the 28-member bloc.
An investigation into EU contracts by Politiken and Danwatch (Denmark) in partnership with the European Investigative Collaborations (EIC) reveals that EU has supplied Turkey with 83 million Euro in armoured military vehicles and surveillance equipment for what witnesses say is aggressive patrolling of the borders.
These deals also risk the EU being complicit in possible violations of the international rights of refugees. Continue reading No Way Out→
Via Refugees Deeply– Hundreds of Kurdish refugees have left an overcrowded refugee center after violent incidents last week, saying they no longer feel safe there.
In late summer 2017 we started the section on ‘Monitoring the EU-Turkey Deal’, extending our focus further to Europe by reporting on the EU-Turkey Deal and its consequences for migrants in Greece. Through a cooperation with activists on Lesvos we were able to report more and focus on the region.
The cooperation has been very good and the situation on the Aegean Islands has not improved in the last months, tensions on the islands are rather getting higher. Therefore we will continue reporting on the topic, though not under the special section of ‘Monitoring the EU-Turkey Deal’ but we will post these articles under our existing categories: news, in depth or reports and documents
Articles concerning these topics will be tagged with #EU-Turkey Deal or #Aegean Islands
