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Escalation on the Turkish border: UN building on fire - Özdemir accuses Erdogan of "extortion"

2020-03-01T21:03:32.803Z


In view of the worsening situation in Syria, the EU is facing a new asylum crisis. Turkish President Erdogan sees the refugee pact of 2016 as a failure.


In view of the worsening situation in Syria, the EU is facing a new asylum crisis. Turkish President Erdogan sees the refugee pact of 2016 as a failure.

  • The situation on the EU's external border with Turkey is coming to a head.
  • Turkey's President Erdogan threatens the European Union with the termination of the Refugee Pact.
  • Tens of thousands of refugees are trying to enter the EU.

Update 9:26 pm: In Greece, the highest level of alarm has been in place for security forces since Sunday evening. This applies to both the military and the police, said a government spokesman after a Security Council meeting chaired by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on state television.

In addition, the government spokesman accused Turkey of acting as a kind of “smuggler” and persuading migrants to come to Greece. Athens also wants to apply for additional help from the European border agency Frontex and financial aid from the EU , it said. The government spokesman said that illegally arrived people should - if possible - be expelled to their countries of origin.

Escalation in Lesbos: UN building on fire, politicians report terrifying conditions

Update at 9:12 p.m .: The opening of the borders towards the EU by the Turkish government not only has dramatic consequences at the Turkish-Greek border crossing at Kastanies / Pazarkule (see 5:18 p.m.) - the already tense situation on the island of Lesbos also worsens, as is the case Eyewitnesses report.

Angry islanders left around 50 migrants in a rubber dinghy in the port of Thermi on Sunday, AFP photographers reported. They shouted "Go back to Turkey," insulted a representative of the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), attacked some journalists and photographers. There were also children among the refugees. Near the beach at Skala Sykamineas, an AFP photographer watched Greeks set fire to an unused UN refugee welcome center . According to the picture , the perpetrators were right-wing extremists.

MEP Erik Marquardt (Greens) confirmed the reports in an interview with taz and shared a video of the burning UN building. According to him, some of the boats that were unable to maneuver and that were occupied by refugees had not yet been rescued by the coast guard, and in some cases only after repeated insistence. Groups of masked young men threatened and attacked aid workers and journalists, he said. The conditions in the Moria refugee camp are "terrible": "Everything is full of dirt and mud, the hygienic conditions are a disaster."

The former reception center “Stage 2” on #Lesbos was set on fire. Humanitarian workers have been attacked and do not dare to leave the house. The press cannot move freely on the island either. Police are threatening instead of helping. Europe 2020. It's so shameful. #Lesvos https://t.co/RYvB7ylAMG

- Erik Marquardt (@ErikMarquardt) March 1, 2020

Marquardt's party friend Cem Özdemir has meanwhile been heavily criticized on Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Twitter. The "military adventure alongside terrorist Islamists" in Syria cost 53 Turkish soldiers their lives within a month, he wrote. Erdogan is now instrumentalizing the refugees "to extort money".

Chaos on the Turkish border: Herrmann warns of "blackmail"

Update 5.40 pm: Bavaria's Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann (CSU) accuses Turkey of "unfair methods" and politics "on the back of the refugees". In view of the opening of the Turkish borders with Greece and Bulgaria, Herrmann told the newspapers of the Funke media group that Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government apparently wanted to increase the pressure on the EU to get more money.

Germany should not be blackmailed , emphasized Herrmann. At the same time, he does not expect the Turkey deal to burst - the government in Ankara should have no interest in that. "It is not a one-sided agreement. Turkey also benefits from this, among other things through the billions in payments from the EU. ”

Herrmann tried to appease. There is currently “no new wave of refugees in Germany”. In addition, the Bavarian border police are "excellently positioned". However, the minister reiterated his call for the EU border agency Frontex to be significantly expanded .

Turkey: EU foreign ministers plan special meeting - at the request of Greece

Update 5:33 pm: The EU foreign ministers are meeting this week at the request of Greece for a special meeting due to the escalation of the conflict in Syria . This was announced by EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Sunday. He did not give an exact date. The EU must double its efforts to end "this terrible humanitarian crisis with all the means at its disposal," said Borrell, calling for a ceasefire in Syria.

Turkey: 75,000 people on the border? Greece uses water cannons and tear gas

Update 17:18: To prevent migrants from crossing the border from Turkey to Greece , the Greek police used heavy water cannons and tear gas on Sunday. Greek media showed a short video of what happened at a border crossing on the Evros River, which has been closed since Friday.

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A Greek police water cannon is used against refugees on the Turkish-Greek border.

© AFP / SAKIS MITROLIDIS

According to media reports, the migrants had previously hurled stones and other objects at the riot police. A police officer is said to have been injured, according to reports from Greek radio.

Large groups of migrants from numerous countries in the Middle East and Africa have been trying to get to Greece from Turkey via the already closed border crossing at Kastanies / Pazarkule since Friday. The government in Athens has repeatedly stated that Greece will not tolerate illegal border crossings.

Turkey: Green leader Baerbock wants to reactivate German refugee accommodation as a precaution

Green Party leader Annalena Baerbock proposed a quota solution for the admission of migrants from the Turkish-Greek border, in which Germany should also participate. The EU had a duty to support Greece in dealing with the situation by all means - financially, in terms of personnel, with relief supplies and materials, Baerbock demanded in the "world". "We can't pretend that it's none of our business."

Specifically, it is important to set up initial reception facilities at the EU's external borders under high pressure. “Refugees who cross the border have to be registered there quickly, subjected to a security check and a data comparison. Of course we have to know who comes to us, ”argued Baerbock. "Then contingents of refugees should be distributed as quickly as possible in the EU in order to carry out the asylum procedures there." "Germany should reactivate its own capacities for refugee accommodation," explained Baerbock.

Turkey claims: Have over 75,000 migrants migrated to the EU

Update 2.45 p.m .: According to their own information, until 10 a.m. local time on Sunday morning, 76,358 migrants let the border towards the EU pass . The Turkish interior minister Süleyman Soylu said on Twitter that they had headed for the EU across the border in the province of Edirne. In the province of Edirne there are border crossings to Greece and Bulgaria. However, initially neither Sofia nor Athens confirmed the arrival of large numbers of migrants.

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Migrants at a closed Turkish-Greek border crossing

© picture alliance / dpa / Ahmed Deeb

According to Sunday's Ministry of Migration in Athens , Greek police have so far prevented around 9,600 migrants from crossing the border . The country also strengthened its units at the border. According to the UN Organization for Migration, more than 13,000 people remain on the Turkish side. They hope to enter the EU after Turkey has made it clear that it is no longer stopping migrants.

Erdogan has opened gates to the EU - the situation on the Greek border is coming to a head - pressure on Merkel is growing

First report March 1, 2020, 8.45 a.m .: Ankara / Berlin - After the opening of its borders towards the EU announced by Turkey, more than 13,000 migrants have arrived at the border with Greece, according to the UN Organization for Migration. Turkish interior minister Süleyman Soylu claimed on Twitter that by Saturday evening 36,776 migrants had crossed the border towards the European Union. The neighboring EU neighboring countries Greece and Bulgaria could not confirm this.

Erdogan opens gates to EU refugee deal with Turkey threatens to fail

Earlier, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that his country was no longer holding refugees on their way to Europe. Erdogan said on Saturday that the "gates" of Turkey are now open to refugees who want to go to Europe. There were first clashes at border crossings to Greece on Saturday, in the course of which tear gas was also used against the advancing migrants.

Turkey's actions violate the refugee pact with the EU in 2016. Erdogan justified this by saying that the EU did not adhere to the refugee pact concluded in March 2016. Ankara undertook to take back all refugees arriving in the Greek Aegean Islands and to take action against gangs of smugglers. In return, the EU promised Turkey billions in aid, accelerated visa facilitation and the modernization of the customs union. Erdogan may now be trying to extort more money from the EU to accommodate and care for the refugees.

Turkey is under pressure because of the offensive that Syria's dictator Bashar al-Assad is currently leading in the last rebel stronghold Idlib with military support from Russia. According to the UN, almost a million people have been displaced since December, so that the number of refugees continues to increase in Turkey. Turkey has already taken in more than 3.6 million refugees from Syria.

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU Council President Charles Michel are concerned about the situation on the EU's external borders with Turkey. "Our top priority is that Greece and Bulgaria have our full support," tweeted von der Leyen on Saturday evening. The EU is ready for further support, also with additional forces from the EU border protection agency Frontex.

Our top priority at this stage is to ensure that Greece and Bulgaria have our full support. We stand ready to provide additional support including through #Frontex on the land border. (2/2)

- Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) February 29, 2020

Turkey-EU crisis: Greens and FDP increase pressure on Chancellor Merkel

In view of the escalation of the refugee situation on the EU border with Turkey, the Greens now see Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) as an obligation. A green solution was needed for the distribution of refugees, the Green Party leader Katrin Göring-Eckardt said in the newspapers of the Funke media group from the federal government. If necessary, Merkel would have to forge an "alliance of the willing" .

FDP General Secretary Linda Teuteberg called for completely different consequences in view of the reports on the opening of the borders by Turkey. "Payments to Turkey must be suspended immediately if President Erdogan breaks agreements," Teuteberg told Bild on Sunday . Merkel must now "put all its weight into play" so that a situation like 2015 does not repeat itself. In addition, she must emphasize "that an uncontrolled migration to Germany is prevented by all means of the rule of law".

Norbert Röttgen (CDU) campaigns for understanding Erdogan's approach - "A call for help"

The chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the Bundestag, Norbert Röttgen (CDU), has warned the European Union to react harshly to the latest proposals by Turkish President Erdogan. Its announcement that Turkey's borders with the EU are open to refugees has "the external form of a threat", but the content is "a cry for help" to Europe, said Röttgen of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung . "This is how we should understand it and not as a provocation," warned Röttgen. Erdogan had failed in his attempt to work with Russia in Syria, and that is exactly what he is now signaling to the West. His announcement that he would now keep the Turkish borders open to refugees with the aim of the EU would be: "Look, I have failed with my Russia policy, and now I need the Europeans."

Rubric list picture: © dpa / Angelos Tzortzinis

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2020-03-01

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