ISTANBUL - Yağmur Yurtsever from the HDK Migration and Refugees Council said that thousands of Kurds are encouraged to migrate to Europe which aims to banish Kurds from Kurdistan.
Thousands of refugees, who set out to go to Europe from the Iraqi Federated Kurdistan Region, Afghanistan, Syria and Iran, have been waiting at the Balerus-Poland border since November 8. Refugees, most of whom are women and children, continue to wait despite the cold weather. Refugees, who have been struggling to survive for a while in the camps they set up in the forest, moved to the closed area prepared by the Belarusian government within the border region as of yesterday. More than 400 refugees have returned to the Federated Kurdistan Region. While more than 10 refugees have lost their lives due to cold and starvation, it is still unclear how this tragedy will be resolved.
Yağmur Yurtsever, a member of the Peoples' Democratic Congress (HDK) Migration and Refugees Council, made evaluations about the practices regarding refugees and the part governments played in this tragedy.
TURKEY'S ROLE
Referring to the pressures refugees experience at the border, Yurtsever said, “It should be underlined that refugees do not stay in places like the camps we know. Their access to basic needs, especially food, is close to zero.” Noting that Turkey has been playing an important role orchestrating the passage of the refugees to Europe from the Middle East
Yurtsever said, "Turkey has become the center of human smuggling since 2011. We have recently learned about Turkish Airlines transporting refugees to Belarus. We have to see that Turkey has an important role in human trafficking."
Pointing out that AKP is using the refugees as a bargaining chip against Europe, Yurtsever said: "Turkey is trying to give a message to Europe, threatening them with more refugees. We saw the same thing during the process lead to the withdrawal from the İstanbul Convention. Turkey can make refugees a bargaining chip for many things, from international crimes to withdrawal from the rule of law."
EUROPE'S RESPONSIBILITY
Stating that Europe should take responsibility for the Geneva Convention and open its doors to refugees, Yurtsever said that Europe paved the way for tragedies in the Middle East by not fulfilling its responsibilities. Pointing out that most of the refugees are Kurds and Afghans, Yurtsever said, "The reason for this is fascism and war in the region. These problems are looked at from a security perspective in the EU and NATO. This indicates that human rights violations will increase and the conflict in the region will deepen."
POLICY TO BANISH KURDS FROM KURDISTAN
Yurtsever stressed that one of the many reasons of Turkey's policies regarding refugees is its aim to banish Kurds from Kurdistan. Yurtsever said: "Both Tayyip Erdoğan and Süleyman Soylu says this from time to time. They are trying to change the demography by settling people from other nations to places populated by Kurds. The people waiting at the Belarus- Poland border, is another attempt at this."
TURKEY'S CRIMES
Stating that it would not be sufficient for the EU to impose sanctions against Turkey regarding refugees, Yurtsever said: “Turkey's crimes should be investigated and necessary judicial processes should be initiated. What Europe needs to do on behalf of human rights is to recognize the refugees waiting at the border, which is their right guaranteed by the Geneva Convention, and open the border to refugees. Many of these people are moving away from areas of very serious conflict for political and humanitarian reasons and are trying to come to Europe for asylum."
Calling on the people to raise their voices for refugees, Yurtsever said: "The lives of women and LGBTI+s can be ignored with such racism and hostility to immigrants, against the so-called gender egalitarian and libertarian debates of the EU. We stand against it together. With November 25 ahead of us, we call on women to show solidarity with migrant and refugee women at the EU border."
MA / Kadir Güney