Time to resolve refugee problem: Akşener

ANKARA

Meral Akşener, the chairwoman of the Good (İYİ) Party, has called on the government to start diplomatic efforts for sending back the refugees following the devastating earthquakes that destroyed provinces that shelter hundreds of thousands of Syrians.

“It is now time to resolve the refugee problem. I call on the government to immediately start diplomatic talks and take steps for sending refugees back to their country,” Akşener said in her weekly address to the parliamentary group of the Good Party on Feb. 22.

“We will make a call to the Parliament for starting a discussion about it. I am ready to hold talks to this end and ready to solve the problem,” she said.

Türkiye is hosting around 3.7 million Syrians who fled the civil war that started in 2011. Hatay, one of the most severely hit by the earthquakes of Feb. 6, was hosting around half-a-million Syrians before the war.

Akşener informed that these 11 provinces hit by the earthquake host 1.7 million Syrians and the fact that the Turkish residents are in a process of leaving their hometowns can create a demographic problem for the future.

“Migration from the earthquake zone shows that we are facing a very big problem. It is estimated that 2.5 million Turkish citizens are leaving the region,” she stressed, repeating that a ban should be imposed on the sale of properties to foreigners.