It’s wrong to be hostile to refugees: İYİ party leader

KASTAMONU

 İYİ (Good) Party chair Meral Akşener criticized the attitude of the European Union for making Turkey a country of shelter for refugees but also warned against being hostile to those people.

“It is wrong to be hostile to refugees in Turkey. Those people came here one way or another. We can discuss for a long time, but it is not the time,” she told reporters in the province of Kastamonu on Aug. 5.

Migration is a reality of the world and Europe has been a target region for years, and this trend would continue in the future, she emphasized, noting that climate change would further trigger migration.

Akşener recalled that the European Parliament intended to propose Turkey a deal to host refugees at the time of her Interior Ministry in the late ’90s, but the then government objected.

“When I was the interior minister, the European, Western [countries], European Parliament brought a proposal to make Turkey a ditch [for migrants] since Turkey is a transit point. The Foreign Ministry, at that time, sent me [for discussions] because I knew this issue well, and we prevented that decision from coming out of the European Parliament,” Akşener stated.

Those people have arrived in Turkey over the “mistakes made by administers” as a result of the agreement with Europe, which has made Turkey a “ditch” for refugees, she said but noted that being hostile to those people was wrong.

As an opposition party leader, she can harshly criticize the issue, Akşener said but warned that Turkey would be harmed by such attitude, which will deepen segregation in the society.