‘Most of Syrian refugees in Turkey unable to return:’ Amnesty International

ISTANBUL - Doğan News Agency

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Amnesty International’s Researcher for Turkey Andrew Gardner declared that a significant part of Syrians who have migrated to Turkey will not be able to go back to Syria, urging that the Turkish government should envisage their future development.

Speaking to news site Voice of America, Gardner said Turkey’s 1.8 million Syrian refugees, including 200,000 living in refugee camps and more than 1.5 million in temporary residencies under state control, will not be able to return to Syria in the close future.

He underlined Turkey’s efforts as “highly important” both currently and for the future. However, he stated,
“Turkey should take measures against potential ISIL [Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant] attacks that could target Syrian immigrants in Turkey,” adding that the offenders of the Suruç incident and other attacks should be revealed.

Gardner applauded Turkey’s efforts to open its borders to refugees in the last 4 years under its “open door” policy, but also urged Turkey to assure legal statuses for refugees.

“These persons should be cared for and their adaptation to the society should be assured. … Many Syrian families must be accommodated in overcrowded houses, in conditions where there is no air, no toilets.

International community should help to change this,” he said, adding Turkey’s cooperation with the international community in this regard was paramount.