Turkey has blamed Greece for pushing back migrants through inhumane ways as a state policy and the European Union for turning a blind eye to this blatant infringement of human rights after 19 migrants who froze to death after being driven back by Greek authorities in the past weeks.
On February 8, In a press conference at Turkish capital, with visiting Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu anxiously asserted over Greece that “How can such behaviour be explained? Who is going to say ‘Stop’ to this? Where are the defenders of human rights in Europe?”
Some 19 migrants from foreign states died from the cold after being forcefully pushed back to Turkey by Greek security officials.
Turkey has long been criticizing Greece for ill-treating irregular migrants by putting their lives at risk in the middle of the Aegean Sea.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan recently said that Turkish coastal guards filmed the Greek navy, and other border security bodies opened fire and attempted to sink the migrant boats in the Aegean. He promised to show the video footage to his interviewers at every unilateral meeting.
Çavuşoğlu said Greece continued this policy of pushing back the migrants and has already turned it into state policy at the expense of blatantly violating international laws and human rights.
Adding to this, he asserted, “Don’t misunderstand me. I am not making these criticisms because Turkey and Greece have disagreements. We discuss them in different bilateral mechanisms. But I make these criticisms because it is a humanitarian issue”.
Along with Greece, which Turkish officials believe is responsible for the deaths of migrants, the European Union must also feel responsible because its border security body, Frontex, is ignoring this inhumane treatment. The Foreign Minister of the European Parliament in Frontex has failed to produce a result, recalling an investigation launched.
