EU migrant deal could collapse Facebook boss cans land grab
The fallout from Turkey’s coup attempt could have a much wider impact.
Turkey has threatened to abandon the European Union migrant deal, after a Greek court decided against extraditing eight Turkish soldiers who took part in last July’s coup attempt.
The soldiers fled to Greece in a Black Hawk helicopter as the military revolt crumbled, and have applied for asylum. Turkey’s application for Athens to extradite them was rejected by the Greek supreme court on Friday.
Ankara put in a second request yesterday, and warned that the migrant deal, under which people who travel illegally to Greece are returned to Turkey, could be cancelled if it is not approved.
‘‘This is a political decision, Greece is protecting and hosting coup plotters,’’ Mevlut Cavusoglu, the Turkish foreign minister, said.
‘‘We are evaluating what we can do. There is a migration deal we signed, including a readmission deal with Greece, and we are evaluating what we can do, including the cancellation of the readmission deal with Greece.’’
The deal is the keystone of the EU’s efforts to stem the influx of migrants who travelled from Turkey to Greece in 2015. Since then, it is estimated that more than 975,000 migrants used that route to reach Greece, many of whom carried on to mainland Europe.
Brussels promised Ankara €3 billion of European aid, renewed do. Greece is protecting and hosting coup plotters. We are evaluating what we can EU membership negotiations and visa-free travel in the Schengen zone in return for the readmission to Turkey of refugees who have travelled illegally to Greece from its territory.
Turkey and Greece signed a separate bilateral readmission agreement in order to pave the way for the EU deal. It is this deal that Ankara is now threatening to cancel. If that happens, the whole EU agreement will collapse.
The arrangement has been plagued by problems almost since it was signed in late March last year. After an initial flurry of readmissions of migrants, mostly Pakistanis and Afghans, from Greece to slowed.
Many Syrians began applying for asylum in Greece, so that they cannot be deported while their cases are being reviewed.
Visa relaxations for Turks travelling to the EU, initially due to come into effect in June last year, have been repeatedly stalled. The EU insists that Turkey must reform its sweeping anti-terror laws before it is granted visa-free travel.
Ankara accuses the EU of reneging on the promised aid package and delaying membership negotiations.
‘‘There has been a lot of lack of leadership, a Turkey, the return rate indecision, lot of bureaucratic glitches on the European side,’’ Ibrahim Kalin, a spokesman for Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said earlier this month.
‘‘The EU was going to provide €3 billion for the refugees. Not for Turkey, but for the refugees. And they have been able to provide only close to half of it.’’
He said Turkey was hopeful the deal could be brought back on track. However, Erdogan has, several times over the past year, threatened to call it off and open the borders to allow migrants to travel to Europe again.
British Prime Minister Theresa May flew to Turkey yesterday for her first meeting as prime minister with Erdogan, putting aside growing criticism of his country’s human rights record to discuss counterterrorism, trade and the Syrian war.
May wants to build a personal relationship with Erdogan, who she views as a key player in the fight against terrorism, according to Downing Street sources. She also hopes that building a rapport will increase British influence in a future Syrian peace deal.
It is understood that May will discuss intelligence-sharing measures aimed at stopping Islamic State militants travelling between the two countries.
However, the visit comes amid criticism of Erdogan’s purge of opponents and attacks on media freedoms after last July’s coup attempt. More than 40,000 people are in prison, accused of involvement in or aiding the revolt, and more than 120,000 state employees have lost their jobs.
A referendum due in April could establish an executive presidency, paving the way for Erdogan to remain in power until 2029. Opponents say this would effectively turn Turkey into an autocracy. Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg s is dropping lawsuits seeking to buy out Native Hawaiians who own small pieces of land within his sprawling estate on the island of Kauai, promising to work with the community on ‘‘a new approach’’.
Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, said in a letter to the community published in Kauai newspaper The Garden Island that they were ending the cases ‘‘to find a better path forward’’.
‘‘Upon reflection, I did not take the time to fully understand the quiet title process and its history before we moved ahead,’’ the letter said of the legal move to clear up disputed or undetermined land ownership in Hawaii. ‘‘Now that I understand the issues better, it’s clear we made a mistake.’’
The 14 parcels mostly belong to Native Hawaiian families that were awarded the land during the mid19th century, when private property was established in Hawaii. Many original owners died without wills. Ownership today is split among hundreds of descendants, many of whom are unaware of their shares.
The couple filed court cases last month to identify the owners and ask the court to auction the land. Critics say the process often results in Native Hawaiians losing their land.
The parcels in question emerged during land reforms that the Kingdom of Hawaii pursued in the 1800s, which allowed commoners to claim title to land they lived on and farmed. But only a small share of Hawaii’s land – some 11,300 hectares – ended up in the hands of commoners. Millions of hectares went to the king, other royals and the government.
In the decades afterward, large sections of land passed into the hands of sugar plantation owners.
Moses Haia, executive director of the Native Hawaiian Legal Corp, an agency that represents people on the receiving end of quiet title lawsuits, welcomed the tech billionaire’s move. ‘‘We appreciate Mr Zuckerberg’s sense of justice.’’ regret that I