The refugee situation on the Greek-Turkish border is precarious. Now the Federal Intelligence Service expresses an incredible suspicion that Erdogan is burdened.
- The situation on the Turkish-Greek border is still tense.
- The Federal Intelligence Service has now received information that the Turkish government is said to have sparked the riots itself.
- In the meantime, one issue is predominant in the refugee camps: the corona virus *.
Update of March 28, 2020, 9.47 a.m .: After the Turkish head of state Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared the borders to the EU open a few weeks ago , thousands of refugees set off for Greece. Crowds of people on the Greek-Turkish border, violent riots and worsening humanitarian conditions in refugee camps on the Greek islands were the result. Now the Federal Intelligence Service (BND) has an incredible suspicion .
Turkey may have sparked riots on the border with Greece
According to Spiegel information, the BND has indications that Turkey may have deliberately fueled the riots on the border with Greece about four weeks ago. Turkish authorities have forced refugees into buses and brought them to the border area. State security forces are said to have mingled with the crowd and to fire the riots on the fences , the findings of the German foreign intelligence agency revealed.
The representatives of the Turkish security apparatus contested these events when they were confronted by the German authorities. However, when asked by Spiegel , the BND did not comment on the allegations against Turkey.
Turkey involved in border riots? Greece's government was suspected
However, the allegations are not entirely new. The Greek government suspected early on that Turkish forces had fueled the conflict. This thesis is also supported by reports from security officers who were deployed at the border. They told the mirror that there were Turks among the refugees. Some of the men would have thrown stones themselves and helped migrants cut through border fences. Erdogan has now closed the border again because of the corona pandemic * .
Update of March 27, 2020: In the camp of Pazarkule on the Greek-Turkish border , fires broke out in numerous places on Friday night for unknown reasons. Security forces on the Greek side were put on alert. However, there was no rush to the fence, as the Greek state radio and reporters reported on site. Greek media reported that the police had information that the Turkish government was gradually bringing migrants from the border region back home, as Turkish President Erdogan's action to release migrants to the EU failed.
Because of Corona crisis: EU Parliament demands evacuation of Greek refugee camps
Update of March 23, 2020: Due to the impending danger from the corona virus, the European Parliament has demanded the evacuation of refugee camps on the Greek islands. In the overcrowded camps, there is neither the chance to keep social distance nor adequate hygiene conditions, wrote the chairman of the interior committee, Juan Fernando López Aguilar, in a letter on Monday to the EU Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarcic. In order to prevent the rapid spread of Covid-19, the camps would have to be cleared as soon as possible.
According to the Greek Ministry of Civil Protection, there are currently more than 40,700 migrants living in Lesbos , Samos, Kos, Leros and Chios - the capacity is actually around 7,000. According to the EU Commission, around 1,500 of them are unaccompanied minors.
"If the EU fails to act immediately, the situation on the Greek islands will not be manageable, with the risk of many deaths," writes López Aguilar. To prevent this, the exclusion imposes some minimum requirements. Among other things, all people over 60 should be evacuated from the camp.
Turkey / Greece: EU Social Democrats call for evacuation of refugee camps
Update of March 20, 2020: Migration policy spokeswoman for the Social Democrats in the EU Parliament , Birgit Sippel, has called for the evacuation of the refugee camps on the Greek islands. "An outbreak of COVID-19 in one of the hotspots would have catastrophic health effects for thousands of people," said Sippel in Brussels on Friday. In the "completely overcrowded hotspots" on the Greek islands, spatial separation is simply not possible. In addition, there is no soap or disinfectant and sometimes only a sink for more than 1,000 people.
First, "particularly vulnerable" people like the elderly or people with respiratory diseases should be evacuated. MSF reported more than 90 children with chronic illnesses in the Moria camp in Greece alone. "However, these people could not be helped in an emergency on the islands, since the local health system would not even be enough for the local population," said Sippel.
The EU Commission announced on Thursday that the resettlement of refugees from non-EU countries will be temporarily suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic. The head of the UN refugee agency UNHCR, Filippo Grandi, criticized this on Thursday evening. "Wars and persecution have not stopped - and today people around the world continue to flee their homes to seek security," Grandi said. "I am increasingly concerned about measures by some countries that could completely block the right to asylum."
Turkey / Greece: Admission of refugees due to corona virus stopped
Update of March 19, 2020: As a result of the corona virus pandemic, the state-organized admission of refugees from crisis regions and other countries by EU countries is currently completely suspended. The resettlement under the EU programs is currently not taking place, it said on Thursday from the EU Commission.
Germany had previously announced that it would suspend the humanitarian admission of refugees from abroad in view of Covid-19 until further notice. The International Organization for Migration and the United Nations Refugee Agency have also already paused refugee admission programs.
In the case of resettlement or resettlement programs, those in need of protection are brought directly to Europe from their regions of origin. In this way, the receiving countries can select people from the start who they consider to be in need of protection. In turn, asylum seekers can avoid the often dangerous journey on their own.
However, preparations for the reception of unaccompanied minors from the refugee camps on the Greek islands continued, the EU Commission said. However, it is likely that the Corona crisis will have an impact on the schedule.
Turkey / Greece: Merkel promises Erdogan more money - thousands of children's lives are at stake
Update of March 18, 5:05 p.m .: Germany and France agree to increase EU funds for the care of refugees in Turkey . Chancellor Merkel says that all sides have committed to the Refugee Pact. So more money for Erdogan , the Kerberos of the European external border , who is accused by the EU of using refugees as leverage .
Both sides accused themselves of not keeping their promises from the 2016 agreement . Erdogan escalated the situation in the Greek Aegean Islands, and in turn complained about the lack of aid, visa facilitation and modernization in the customs union.
Turkey: Merkel and Macron agree with Erdogan - recovery on Greek islands?
After the video conference, all parties seem to have agreed on promises again. Unfortunately, the people on the Greek island feel nothing of it at first.
They are sad pictures that can currently be seen from there. In some cases, water cannons and tear gas are used against refugees. Tens of thousands live in refugee camps such as the Moria camp in Lesbos under catastrophic hygienic conditions. Around 30 aid organizations accuse the powerful of this in a joint statement that has been submitted to the AFP.
EU countries stop admitting refugees: stunned by human rights defenders and politicians
The reception of asylum seekers has been stopped due to the spread of the corona virus, a circumstance that human rights organizations cannot tolerate. People have to be brought to safety from the overcrowded camps. On Moria, the hesitation already cost the lives of two children who died in the camp fire. Also for Jamila Schäfer, deputy federal chair of the Greens , "absurd".
Turkey / Greece: Human rights expert warns EU countries - "keep promises"
Meanwhile, Oxfam expert Raphael Silhav reminds the EU member states of their “ coalition of the willing ”. Several countries had agreed to accept around 1,500 minors from the Greek refugee camps. It is crucial that governments "continue to protect the most vulnerable and keep their promises in order to offer children safe living conditions, especially in times of the corona virus, " Silhav warned the AFP.
The agreement between Merkel, Macron and Erdogan should therefore be felt as quickly as possible. In the Greek islands in particular, the living conditions for asylum seekers are extremely dangerous. If the coronavirus also reaches the camps, quite a few expect a catastrophe .
Turkey / Greece: After video conference on refugee situation - Merkel promises Erdogan more money
Update of March 17 at 8:30 p.m .: Chancellor Angela Merkel , at the Syria summit with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has agreed to increase EU funds for the care of refugees in Turkey .
At the video conference, which also included French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson , there was a clear commitment to the refugee pact between the EU and Turkey , Merkel said in a press conference on Tuesday. One should not "lose sight of the talks that have been put on hold about an expansion of the customs union between the EU and Turkey". All in all, Merkel described the conversation, in which Erdogan emphasized that he wanted to remain a member of NATO, as "very useful."
Turkey has taken in more than 3.6 million refugees from Syria. The EU and Turkey Refugee Pact of 2016 stipulates that Ankara will fight illegal migration . In return, the EU should finance the care of refugees in Turkey with six billion euros. According to the EU Commission, 4.7 billion have been contractually awarded and 3.2 billion paid out.
For fear of coronavirus outbreak in refugee camps: Greece reacts radically
First report of March 17: Athens - Greece has taken the first precautionary measures to prevent the outbreak of the corona pandemic in the completely overcrowded registration camps for migrants. In all camps on the Greek islands and on the mainland, visits have been prohibited for 14 days since Tuesday. All newcomers are examined for health by government decision in Athens. From now on, the systems are to be disinfected daily. In addition, the exit of migrants is now restricted . Migrants who want to go out must have a police license, a spokesman for civil protection said on Tuesday on state television.
Coronavirus / Greece: Restrictions for fear of Covid 19 outbreak
In addition, classes in schools for migrant children are being discontinued, the government said. This also applies to sports and libraries in and around the camps. The migrants were asked to limit their movements as much as possible . The food should be distributed in groups. Isolation stations are also to be put into operation in the camps.
Humanitarian organizations had warned of an outbreak of coronavirus in the hopelessly crowded camps in recent days. "It's only a matter of time," said Dimitris Patestos, head of the branch of the organization Doctors of the World on the island of Lesbos, the German press agency. The outbreak of the epidemic would have uncontrollable consequences. On the island of Lesbos, more than 19,000 people are currently in and around the Moria camp. The recording capacity is actually around 3,000.
Turkey / Greece: Merkel and Macron ask Erdogan for an interview
The refugee situation in Greece and Turkey is also the subject of a conversation between Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan . The meeting was originally scheduled to take place in Istanbul, but due to the current corona situation, a video conference was eventually decided.
Green leader Annalena Baerbock put pressure in the run-up to a solution for dealing with refugees from Syria . Looking at a conversation between Merkel and Macron and Erdogan , Baerbock said on Tuesday in the "Inforadio" of rbb that she expected "a very clear announcement from the Chancellor and the French President."
The EU is currently planning accession talks with North Macedonia and Albania.
* Merkur.de is part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital editors network
as with dpa
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