Category Archives: News Digest

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.

News Digest

Left to Die in the Aegean Sea?

Watch the Med Alarm Phone Solidarity Statement with the survivors of the Agathonisi shipwreck and their relatives

On the 16th of March, two families tried to reach Europe through the Aegean Sea, one from Afghanistan, one from Iraq. They left Turkey and swiftly moved toward the Greek island of Agathonisi. But shortly before reaching it, they capsized. A relative of the Afghan family on Samos Island notified the authorities repeatedly, via phone and in person. At that point, many of the shipwrecked could have still been rescued.

Continue reading Left to Die in the Aegean Sea? →

News Digest

More than 1.000 asylum claims by Turkish civil servants and diplomats

German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung Online reports that since the failed coup attempt in Turkey in July 2016, more than 1.000 diplomats, civil servants and their families applied for asylum in Germany.

In January and February 2018 already more than 1.400 Turkish nationals applied for asylum in German. For 2017 the number was at 8.500 compared to 5.700 in 2016. The protection rate – the proportion of recognized asylum applications – rose from around 8 to 28 % in 2017. So far this year, it is already at around 42 %.

Click here, to read the whole article in German.

Monitoring the EU-Turkey Deal, News Digest

Human Rights Watch report: push backs of Syrian refugees by Turkey

Via ECRE – On March 22 Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported interceptions of large groups of Syrian refugees by Turkish security forces who since Deecember 2017 have “summarily deported them to the war-ravaged Idlib governorate in Syria.” In its reponse the Directorate General of Migration Management (DGMM) in Turkey’s Ministry of Interior denies the allegations and underlined the fact that Turkey offers temporary protection to more than 3.5 million Syrians. Continue reading Human Rights Watch report: push backs of Syrian refugees by Turkey →

News Digest

Shipwreck off Agathonisi, Greece: Survivors are raising serious allegations against Greek Coast Guards

Via Spiegel Online (Link in German) – 16 refugees died in the Aegean sea one week ago when their boat was sinking in front of the Greek island Agathonisi, in the largest shipwreck in the Aegean this year so far. On board were two families from Afghanistan and Iraq, many children, including a few months old baby, a total of 21 people. But only three adults made it ashore – all children drowned. Two people are still missing.

Spiegel Online reports in German that now the only three survivors are raising serious allegations, claiming that their families could have been saved. They explained that the coast guard had been contacted several times in early stage throughout calls and text messages. Also a ship had been on site for hours but did not respond to the waving and calling of the people in distress. Continue reading Shipwreck off Agathonisi, Greece: Survivors are raising serious allegations against Greek Coast Guards →

News Digest

Syrian refugees in Turkey face calls to return as public mood changes

Syrian refugees in Turkey face calls to return as public mood changes. For years, most Turks courteously accepted the Syrians fleeing to their country. But attitudes towards refugees appear to be hardening, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has hinted the solution could lie in Afrin, the Kurdish enclave in northwestern Syria his troops have just occupied.

Via IRIN – There is talk of infrastructure being rebuilt in Afrin, of voluntary returns, of perhaps 350,000 to 500,000 Syrians being encouraged to go back. But few refugees in Turkey are from Afrin, and it’s unlikely many would want to return to an active war zone, especially if they’re not Kurdish or from that region. Surveys indicate that even if the fighting ends, half of the estimated 3.8 million Syrians (3.4 million registered and up to 400,000 unregistered) in Turkey intend to stay. Continue reading Syrian refugees in Turkey face calls to return as public mood changes →

News Digest

With Turkey’s offensive into Afrin, Erdogan is seeking to kill two birds with one stone

Via Deutsche Welle (from 2nd March) – Turkey’s offensive on Afrin will oust the “terrorist menace” and will ensure the return of Syrian refugees – that’s been the message of President Erdogan. He’s catering to his voters, says DW’s Dorian Jones in Istanbul.

“We are not in a position to continue hosting 3.5 million refugees forever. We’ll solve the Afrin situation … and we would like our refugee brothers and sisters to return to their own country,” President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared earlier this month, speaking to provincial leaders at his presidential palace.

This was a remarkable turnaround for Erdogan and his government.

Since the start of the Syrian civil war, Turkey has pursued an open-door policy for those fleeing the conflict. “We regard you as our brothers and sisters … Turkey is also your homeland,” Erdogan told refugees at the Syrian border during Ramadan 2016 — even offering them Turkish nationality if they wanted it.

Continue reading With Turkey’s offensive into Afrin, Erdogan is seeking to kill two birds with one stone →

News Digest

No Way Out – 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 – 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 – The European Union is funding military equipment used by Turkey to stop refugees from fleeing the Syrian Civil War and entering the EU →

News Digest

On the edge of the EU, refugee flows flood the Evros River

Via Deutsche Welle – A clampdown on Europe’s eastern borders and the Aegean Sea has forced migrants to seek different — and more dangerous — routes to the continent. Hunters and fishermen find their bodies, reports Anthee Carassava.

A refugee's torn glove hangs from the fence that divides Greece and Turkey next to a sign that reads: 'Beware: Greek-Turkish borderline'
Along Greece’s northeast rim, an elusive marshland of a river marks the country’s border with Turkey.

Its endless swathes of sensational sand dunes, swamps and reed beds have made it an attractive crossing for destitute refugees. In fact, since the European Union and Turkey struck a deal that has helped plug the most popular migration route to the Continent — the Aegean Sea — the nearly 200-kilometer (124 mile) Evros River has seen refugee flows surge.

Continue reading On the edge of the EU, refugee flows flood the Evros River →

News Digest

At least 16 dead as migrant boat sinks off Greek island

Via Reuters – Sixteen people, including at least five children, drowned on Saturday when the small boat they on capsized in the Aegean Sea, Greek coast guard officials said.

The incident occurred off Greece’s Agathonisi island, which is close to the Turkish coast. The nationality of the victims was not immediately known. Continue reading At least 16 dead as migrant boat sinks off Greek island →

News Digest, Other Resources

Turkey: Mass Deportations of Syrians

EU Should Raise Issue, Pledge Aid at Conference

Via Human Rights Watch – (Brussels) – Turkish security forces have routinely intercepted hundreds, and at times thousands, of asylum seekers at the Turkey-Syria border since at least December 2017 and summarily deported them to the war-ravaged Idlib governorate in Syria, Human Rights Watch said today. Turkish border guards have shot at asylum seekers trying to enter Turkey using smuggling routes, killing and wounding them, and have deported to Idlib newly arrived Syrians in the Turkish town of Antakya, 30 kilometers from the Syrian border.The Russian-Syrian military alliance’s December offensive against anti-government forces in Idlib has displaced almost 400,000 civilians, according to the UN. They have joined more than 1.3 million others trapped inside Idlib in insecure, overcrowded camps, and in makeshift camps in fields near the closed Turkish border where they are under constant threat of attack and lack food, clean water, shelter, health care, and aid. At a March 26, 2018 summit meeting in Bulgaria, the European Union should press Turkey to allow Syrian civilians fleeing fighting to seek protection inside Turkey and pledge increased aid to Syrian refugees in Turkey and the region.

A Turkish soldier surveys the border line between Turkey and Syria near the city of Kilis, March 2, 2017.

A Turkish soldier surveys the border line between Turkey and Syria near the city of Kilis, March 2, 2017.

© 2017 Reuters/Murad Sezer

Continue reading Turkey: Mass Deportations of Syrians →

Reporting on the Turkish-EU Border Regime