Turkey will not send any refugees back: Turkish president

ANKARA

Ankara will not send any refugees taking shelter in Turkey back to their countries, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on March 15.

Turkey will continue to keep its door open to people who are suffering, Erdoğan said, speaking at the sixth International Kindness Awards ceremony of the Diyanet Foundation.

“Today, they come from Ukraine; we do not know where they will come from tomorrow. This country will always continue to be the shelter of the oppressed, don’t worry about it,” he stated.

Recalling the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) policy to send refugees back to Syria if they come to power, Erdoğan said, “We will not send [them]. We will continue to host. We are not worried about it.”

“I am calling out to our beloved nation. You may have troubles, and they may be a burden from time to time. But remember, the reward of this is huge,” he added.

Erdoğan also criticized main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu for his “failure” to visit the Mothers of Diyarbakır group during his visit to the southeastern province last week.

Several mothers carry on a sit-in protest in southeastern Turkey outside the provincial office of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), which has long been accused by the government of having links with the illegal PKK group.

Instead of visiting those brave mothers, they invited them to the hotel they were staying at because the CHP was afraid of its ally, the İYİ (Good) Party, the president said.

The government will give the second “Loyalty Award” this year to the “brave” mothers of Diyarbakır, Erdoğan said. “We will save this country from the scourge of terrorism,” Erdoğan stated.

The president also said the government would open the “Çanakkale Bridge” to public service on the 107th anniversary of the Çanakkale Victory on March 18, 2022.

The key bridge in northwestern Turkey will connect Europe and Asia. It will also become the world’s longest midspan suspension bridge with a 2,023-meter span between its towers, which are painted red and white to reflect the colors of the Turkish flag.

Erdoğan stated that ferries were not able to work in the region when the sea was choppy, and the passage was not possible, but now the transportation from one side to the other takes only six minutes.