Turkey extracting a heavy price from Europe

In the last few days, Greece has prevented 4,000 refugees from entering its territory through its border with Turkey. Greek Deputy Minister to the Prime Minister and Government Spokesperson, Stelios Petsas, has said, “We have protected our borders and those of Europe.” But for how long can Greece stop the flow of migrants into the European continent is the question.

Greek Deputy Foreign Minister, Miltiadis Varvitsiotis, was fuming on a talk show recently when he said, “The blackmail (of the Turkish President) Erdogan will not work.” Greece, he said, will not tolerate any illegal migrant (referring to Turkey’s decision to open its borders to Europe).

For millions of Syrians, whose lives were ravaged by the civil war, Europe offers a ray of hope. Many have fled Syria in hordes since the war broke out, risking their lives to reach Europe and seek asylum. In 2016, however, the European Union struck a deal with Turkey to halt migrants travelling from Middle East to Europe. Recep Tayyip Erdogan government received $6 billion and visa-free privilege for Turks to Europe in exchange.

Turkey obliged all along but now as its own economy is faltering, the refugee fatigue is visible on the country. The Erdogan government first decided to annex Rojava and create a buffer zone in northeast Syria to allow Syrian refugees in Turkey to relocate. It was a breach of

Syrian sovereignty, and the Turkish army got involved in a fullblown confrontation with the

Syrian army. Thirty-three Turkish soldiers have been killed in air strikes by Bashar Al Assad regime in Idlib.

Turkey has been acting with impunity, and time and again successive governments have used the power of military to advance their political agendas.

The recent loss of the Turkish army is a blow to Erdogan. He is threatening to flung open the European borders with Turkey for illegal migrants, if the West doesn’t support Turkey against the Syrian regime.

Meanwhile, refugees have been left stranded between borders. They are being used by Turkey and marginalised by Europe. In this cold weather, the threat of contracting the virus, Covid-19, is high and real which can create a big problem. If it spreads among the refugee population, who will provide medical care and assistance?

If you are reflecting on why is Ankara taking such a brazen approach to diplomatic matters you need to understand the socio-economic conditions in Turkey.

Since 2011, Turkey has received approximately 3.7 million Syrian refugees. For a lot of these refugees Turkey wasn’t a natural choice for asylum. It was Europe perhaps, and lately a lot of these migrants feel unwelcomed by the Turkish population.

Over the past three years, mismanagement by Erdogan government has brought the Turkish economy to its knees. Inflation is running in double digits, debt levels are skyrocketing, and unemployment is on the rise. Instead of working to fix the economy, Erdogan government is looking to arm-twist European governments once again to fund its drive of creating a buffer zone in Syria.

The Turkish population is unhappy with the state of affairs and no longer want to bear the burden of the Syrian refugees. People are also unsure of Erdogan’s Syrian adventure, which could backfire and push the door open for more refugees to come to their country.

Already nearly have a million Syrians have left northwest Syria due to the recent conflict that has put the Turkish soldiers in direct confrontation with the Syrian army.

Instead of stopping the madness and the power play that are threatening the peace process in Syria, Turkey is pushing to create more chaos.

Time is right for the European governments to take a clear and strong stance and put an end to Erdogan’s arrogance and harmful politics.

Meanwhile, refugees have been left stranded. They are being used by Turkey and marginalised by Europe.