Erdogan wants to send 1 million refugees to Syria

With his eyes on the presidential election, Tayyip Erdogan is launching the mass repatriation of refugees to Syria. Refugees are worried about their future.

More than 3.5 million Syrians have sought refuge in Turkey since the outbreak of civil war in their homeland. Ankara now intends to “encourage” 1 million of them to return to Syria and settle in the predominantly Kurdish part of the country. In early May, President Erdogan referred to his intentions in a speech. We note that for several years now, Turkey has been extending its influence to parts of northern Syria to the detriment of the Kurds.

The Turkish president’s plans are nothing new, says Salam Said, an economist and Syrian affairs director at the German political foundation Friedrich Ebert. “They were already prepared in 2019. The fact that Erdogan is now returning to them is mainly due to the political pressure he is receiving.” Let ‘s not forget that Turkish presidential elections are being held next summer: “Until then, Erdogan wants to present something tangible to his voters. .

The far-right populists blame the big economic problems on the refugees. As a result, public opinion is turning against the Syrians: “In these accusations, Erdogan feels he has to take a stand, as he believes that the return of refugees to Syria is able to secure him votes,” said Salam Said.

Refugee complaints about forced return to Syria

In 2016, Turkey invaded parts of northern Syria and has since put pressure on Kurds living there to prevent an autonomous Kurdish region like the one in Iraq. If Erdogan managed to settle about 1 million, mostly Arabs, in northern Syria, he would hit the Kurds in the area hard, as he would change the demographic data to their detriment. At the same time, the newly settled Arabs would depend on Turkey both politically and economically. In addition, Turkey would bring parts of northern Syria under its control in the long run.

Reacting to Erdogan’s plans, the Syrian Foreign Ministry spoke of a form of “ethnic cleansing” that Turkey is implementing on Syrian soil. Among other things, he stressed that Erdogan’s statements revealed “Turkey’s aggressive games against Damascus”.

President Erdogan’s intentions are, as expected, alarming Syrian refugees in Turkey, as they once again see their lives changing radically overnight. Among them is Syros Ahmed (his real name is at the disposal of the authors). The 25-year-old has been living outside of Istanbul for three years. Recently, the police beat him and forced him to sign for his voluntary return to Syria. The reason for the beating was that he was circulating without the prescribed permission. He now fears a forced deportation to Syria.

The Kurds are afraid of a new Turkish intervention

Mona, 35, who has been living in Iskenderun (Alexandreta) for five years with her husband and two children, is also worried about her future in Turkey: “After the horror we experienced in Syria with the bombing of our city by the regime “Assad, we had a good year here,” he told DW. “We hoped to get Turkish citizenship in the coming days. But after the latest statements, my husband and I are afraid that we might be deported at any time.”

Erdogan’s plans in northern Syria are problematic for another reason. They predict a new invasion of Kurdish areas, which could lead to new population displacements, according to Syrian expert and former UN adviser Carsten Wilad. Turkey could thus occupy even more areas and include them in its sphere of influence. “At least,” according to the German expert, “this would mean that the 1 million Syrians who were repatriated would not return to control of the Damascus regime and would not be exposed to the revenge and arbitrariness of Bashar al-Assad.”

Kersten Knip, Jennifer Hollis, Thomas Album

Edited by: Stefanos Georgakopoulos

Source: Deutsche Welle