Turkey certainly has no intention of itself being a safe haven for migrants and refugees. Turkish forces have been shooting down refugees at its border, while aiding the hijra into the European Union via Greece.
Foreign Policy reported back in March about the grim scene between at the Greek border:
The number of migrants leaving the country via the north land crossing to Greece had reached 117,677. This figure is alarming, considering that nowhere close to that number of refugees is even present at the border and the Greek authorities are not letting anyone in. The absolute maximum number of refugees this reporter saw at the border with Greece was no more than 4,000, with many spread out still on Turkish soil waiting for Greece to open the barbed fence for them to cross.
Months ago, Turkish President Erdogan was reportedly encouraging and helping illegal migrants who were trying to get into the EU:
The Turkish government-supported TRT Arabic channel even released a map to Europe, highlighting different routes that could be taken to reach as far as France.
And now, “500 migrants attempt to cross into Greece every day, with dozens trying to make the crossing along the border in the Evros region. Around 80 per cent of the migrants arriving from Turkey are said to be from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh.”
The migrants are seeing Turkey as a gateway to the EU, but are being stopped at the Greece border. Turkey, however, is trampling upon Greece’s sovereignty, and continues to escalate tensions.
Greek Deputy Minister of Migration and Asylum Giorgos Koumoutsakos warned that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan might threaten to open the gates to a large number of migrants in the coming weeks as tensions between Greece and Turkey remain high.
“Greek Media Publishes Photos of Turkish Authorities Allegedly Helping Migrants,” by Chris Tomlinson, Breitbart, September 10, 2020:
Greek media have published photographs claiming to show Turkish security services at the border helping migrants cross into Greece by watching out for border patrols.
The photographs, which are said to have been taken along the Evros river on the Greek border with Turkey, show migrants crossing the river in an attempt to get to Greece, while a Turkish armoured vehicle watches from a distance.
According to a report from Greek newspaper Proto Thema, the Turkish border authorities were not in the area to stop the migrants from crossing into the European Union, but were on the lookout for border patrols and agents of the EU’s border agency Frontex.
The paper states that an estimated 500 migrants attempt to cross into Greece every day, with dozens trying to make the crossing along the border in the Evros region. Around 80 per cent of the migrants arriving from Turkey are said to be from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh.
Turkey has previously been accused of helping illegals get across the border in March, with a Turkish soldier admitting to helping the migrants.
“We have checked that everything has gone well and that the smugglers do not charge too much. We also have intelligence about where and when it is safe to get over,” the soldier had said.
Earlier this week, Greek Deputy Minister of Migration and Asylum Giorgos Koumoutsakos warned that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan might threaten to open the gates to a large number of migrants in the coming weeks as tensions between Greece and Turkey remain high.
“If Erdogan flirts with the thought of exerting pressure through migration, he may not stop at Evros but move on to the islands,” Koumoutsakos said.
The EU is set to meet later this month and discuss possible sanctions against Turkey over its behaviour in the Mediterranean, where Erdogan has controversially approved seismic research in areas of the Mediterranean Sea which Greece asserts is a part of its exclusive economic zone (EEZ)….