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 Ekathimerini (from 11th Feb) – Just 16 percent of asylum seekers who undertook the journey to Greece can be returned to Turkey under Greek law and European directives, Maria Stavropoulou, the former head of the Greek asylum service, has told Kathimerini.
taz.gazete published a reportage on Turkish citizens fleeing their country: Kurds, political activists, dismissed academics, people who are being acused of having ties to the coup attempt because of their membership in the Gülen movement, war objectors… For many, the first point of their flight is Greece. taz.gazete reports in German and Turkish on life for Turkish refugees in Greece.
Via Milliyet * – A truckload of illegal immigrants, including women and babies, was caught in Kars trying to escape from security forces. According to the information received, the gendarmerie teams wanted to stop the truck used by Ö.Ç suspected. The truck started to escape and gendarmerie teams were sent to the escape points of the truck. The truck, after a while, came out of the way by security forces and was stuck in the mud. A large number of illegal immigrants with Afghan nationality in the vehicle and organizer A.U. and the driver Ö.Ç was caught. Investigations against them were started.
* Original link in Turkish, the text above is a direct translation from the article.
Via Refugee Support Aegean – Despite the Government announcements that it will ensure access to education for all refugee children living in Greece, the majority of the children living in the Aegean islands Hot Spots, has no access to formal education. These include amongst others children of families who have been trapped for many months in these camps and live in deplorable conditions. These children remain until today deprived from the right to education.Continue reading Majority of refugee children in the Aegean Islands Hot Spots are excluded from education→
Via AYS – The 23 year old Syrian refugee K. went from Germany to Greece to meet his younger brother who were supposed to come from Turkey by the end of November 2016. When he looked for him in Didimoticho, Greece, showing a photo of the 11-year old brother, he was arrested. 14 months later, K. is back in Greece after being pushed back to Turkey with 50 other migrants on the 30th of November 2016.
K.’s documents were basically thrown away, just as 14 months of his life. Photo: Vasco Gargalo (Art Against)
ViaEkathimerini– More than 1.800 migrants arrived on the Greeks islands in January, according to the European Border and Coast Agency Frontex on Tuesday. The number of arrivals in January, mostly Syrian and Iraqi nationals, represented a 43 percent drop compared to the previous month.
Via Turkish Minute – At least three people died and five others were missing after a boat carrying a group of eight capsized on Tuesday in the Maritsa River while seeking to escape a post-coup crackdown in Turkey.
According to Turkish media reports, the dead were identified as Ayşe Abdurrezzak, a 37-year-old teacher who was earlier dismissed from her job in the crackdown, and her children Abdulkadir Enes Abdurrezzak (11) and Halil Munir Abdurrezzak (3).
Via Ekathimerini – Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras spoke with his Turkish counterpart Binali Yildirim on Tuesday evening amid rising tension in the Aegean.
Tsipras reportedly told Yildirim that incidents such as the one on Monday night, when a Turkish coast guard boat rammed a Greek patrol vessel, undermine Turkey’s relations with Greece and the European Union and contravene international law.
Via Ekathimerini– A Turkish patrol boat reportedly rammed a Greek coast guard vessel that was anchored off the island of Imia in the Aegean at around midnight on Monday.
The incident did not result in any no injuries but only minor damage to the stern of the Greek vessel, yet it serves to illustrate the heightened tension in the area where Greece and Turkey came on the brink of war 22 years ago. Continue reading Turkish coast guard vessel rams Greek patrol boat off Imia→
