Around 60,000 Syrians who sought shelter in Türkiye due to the civil war in their country have voluntarily returned home since the Feb. 6 earthquakes, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar announced on Monday as he dispelled claims of illegal border crossings between the two countries.
“Our borders are monitored and protected 24/7 and we are taking every adequate measure,” Akar assured from the Hatay province, one of the worst-hit areas in the disaster, also bordering Syria, which has also been overseeing recovery efforts since the tremors struck.
Akar contended that border security was “dragged into polemics through inaccurate and exaggerated political claims at times, even after the earthquakes.”
He dismissed the allegations that there was an “influx of Syrian refugees into Türkiye” after the disaster, saying: “The falsity of this claim has been clearly proven. We have spoken with relevant civilian and military authorities, inspected the border and revealed to the public that there is no such phenomenon.”
“We will never allow any illegal crossing over our borders,” he assured.
Türkiye eased restrictions on the movements of Syrian refugees following the disaster. As a host of some 3.5 million Syrian refugees, restrictions were put in place in April last year, just before Ramazan Bayram, also known as Eid al-Fitr, which restricted Syrians with temporary protection permits from making round trips to Syria to promote one-way returns.
In the quake's aftermath, thousands of Syrians accepted an offer from Turkish authorities to spend up to six months in northwest Syria without losing the chance to return to Türkiye. Many have gone back to check on relatives following the earthquake that killed over 50,000 people in Türkiye and around 6,000 in Syria, most of them in the country's opposition-held northwest, according to the U.N. Others have temporarily moved in with relatives after their homes and businesses in Türkiye were destroyed in the quake.
Meanwhile, Türkiye in the time period of March 17-23 deported a total of 2,018 irregular migrants, the Directorate of Migration said on Sunday.
Among them, 1,039 were from Afghanistan, 57 were from Pakistan, and 1,431 were from other nationalities, bringing the total deportations since Jan. 1 to 24,287 migrants.
Turkish authorities also prevented some 54,203 irregular migrants from illegally entering the country since the start of 2023.
In addition to being a critical transit route for asylum-seekers hoping to cross into Europe, Türkiye also attracts refugees who are in search of better lives within its borders, especially those fleeing war and persecution in the larger Middle East and Northern Africa.
Akar on Monday also further condemned the desecration of the Quran and the Turkish flag in Denmark last week where the far-right anti-Muslim group Patrioterne Gar Live paraded Islamophobic banners and desecrated the Quran and the Turkish flag in front of the Turkish Embassy in Copenhagen.
“This attack on our flag and the holy book is a vile instance of barbarism. This is a hate crime and a crime against humanity. It’s absolutely unacceptable,” Akar stressed.
Pointing out an alarming increase in such hate speech, he said, “I think this is a highly shameful act for humanity. We strongly condemn it. It can in no way be disguised as ‘freedom of expression,’ and anyone who uses it as an excuse is making a mistake. Authorizing such acts under the pretext of ‘democracy’ is being complicit in a crime against humanity, and a hate crime.”
Akar called on Türkiye’s current and impending NATO allies to show “sensitivity” about the matter and take “necessary action as soon as possible against the individuals responsible for it.”
“I would like to remind them once again that they must implement measures similar to measures adopted by civilized nations,” he noted.
Akar also responded to recent questions about running for Parliament in the upcoming elections.
“We are currently in a military post for the border unit with Turkish troops. It’s no place to talk politics. We can talk about politics at the right time and in the right place,” he said.
Akar’s candidacy from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) has been a widespread rumor in recent weeks.
As the May 14 parliamentary and presidential vote nears, parties are scrambling to finalize and submit candidate lists. In order to run for Parliament, a candidate must resign from their current post if it is a public position.
