Amid rising fears of a new migration wave from Afghanistan, Turkey has built a three-kilometre-high concrete wall along its border with Iran to stop an influx of Afghan refugees fleeing the Taliban from entering the country.
According to reports, Turkey has already built 155 kilometres of a planned 241-kilometre wall along its border with Iran. In addition, on Monday, Reuters reported that the country plans to add another 64 kilometres to the remaining area by the year-end.
“We want to show the whole world that our borders are unpassable,” Mehmet Amin Bilmez, the governor of Turkey’s Van province that borders Iran, told Reuters. “Our biggest hope is that there is no migrant wave from Afghanistan,” he said. However, Bilmez noted that despite all the high-level measures, “there may be those who evade them from time to time.” Turkish security forces confirmed to the news agency that migrants spotted entering the border are returned to Iran.
Turkey has been sending its troops to guard its border with Iran to avert a new refugee crisis. Last week, the Associated Press (AP) reported that Afghan migrants had already started showing up at the border. A group of Afghans told AP that they had deserted the Afghan military and fled the country as the Taliban began to capture more territory.
Earlier this month, Turkish authorities slammed the United States (US) for its “irresponsible” decision to resettle Afghan refugees in third countries, including Turkey. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tanju Bilgiç warned that such an event would lead to a “major refugee crisis” and said his government would not comply with the US plan.
In August, the US State Department announced the US Refugee Admissions Programme (USRAP) to “provide certain Afghans, including those who worked with the United States, the opportunity for refugee resettlement” to the US. Senior State Department officials stated that cases referred to the USRAP “will be processed in third countries, once the applicants are outside Afghanistan.” Turkey was also suggested as a possible spot where refugees can apply for resettlement to the US.
On Friday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan warned the US and Europe that Turkey would not become a “refugee warehouse” for Afghans fleeing the Taliban. Erdoğan called on Europe to bear the responsibility of resettling Afghan migrants. “We need to remind our European friends of this fact: Europe—which has become the centre of attraction for millions of people—cannot stay out of (the refugee) problem by harshly sealing its borders to protect the safety and well-being of its citizens,” he said, adding that “Turkey has no duty, responsibility or obligation to be Europe’s refugee warehouse.”
Separately, on Sunday, the Turkish Foreign Ministry rejected British press reports stating that there are plans to establish asylum processing centres in Turkey. “No official request has been conveyed to us from any country up until today. Should there be such a request, we would not accept it anyway,” the Ministry noted.
However, Turkey is not the only country seeking to stem the potential tide of Afghan refugees. Greece has also completed a 40-kilometre border fence and surveillance system to halt Afghan migrants trying to enter the European Union.
Turkey already hosts around four million Syrian refugees and about 300,000 Afghans. Turkish authorities noted that the country has been hosting the highest number of refugees for the last seven years and therefore “does not have the capacity to bear another refugee crisis for another country.”
Turkey Builds Border Wall to Stop Afghan Refugee Influx
Turkey is building a border wall to prevent Afghan refugees from entering the country through Iran. Turkey has said that it will not become the “refugee warehouse” of the US and Europe.
August 23, 2021
SOURCE: EURONEWS