Tag: illegal immigration

  • Turkey is using illegal immigration as a weapon against Greece and Europe — Winds Of Jihad By SheikYerMami

    Turkey is using illegal immigration as a weapon against Greece and Europe — Winds Of Jihad By SheikYerMami

    Turkey is using illegal immigration as a weapon against Greece and Europe

    by sheikyermami on September 10, 2012

    Of course they do. Not only Turkey. They all use ‘immigration as a weapon’. Just like Indonesia is inflicting the so-called ‘boat-people’ on Australia. Just like the late ‘colonel’ Gaddafi got the EU dhimmies to pay him handsomely to control the steady stream of Arab & African surplus humanity that made their way across the Mediterranean to Italy. No matter what, they just keep coming. Because we let them.

    Whether its Iran, Irak, Pakistan, India or any African country, all of these nations steadfastly refuse to take their citizens back. As if that wasn’t bad enough already, there is the support industry of social workers, of human rights shysters, complicit polit-props and leftist subversives who are working towards the destruction of our society.

    No matter how much jiziya we pay to islamic despots, they will still encourage Islamic immigration to civilised countries in order to make u

    via Turkey is using illegal immigration as a weapon against Greece and Europe — Winds Of Jihad By SheikYerMami.

  • 42 Pakistanis deported from Turkey

    42 Pakistanis deported from Turkey

    By IANS,

    Islamabad : At least 42 Pakistani nationals deported from Turkey reached Pakistan Friday and were taken into custody, a media report said.

    Immigration officials from the Federal Investigation Agency said the people illegally tried to enter Greece via the Iran-Turkey route without passports and other documents three months back but were held by Turkish police, the Online news agency reported.

    They were taken into custody by the interrogation cell of Turkish police and sent back to Pakistan through a special flight Friday.

    The detainees were taken into custody by Pakistani passport cell officials following their arrival at the Benazir Bhutto International Airport.

    The deported people include 28 from Gujrat in Punjab province, two from Islamabad, six from Faisalabad and the rest from Peshawar and Lahore.

    via 42 Pakistanis deported from Turkey | TwoCircles.net.

  • Report: Turkish authorities capture 142 illegal migrants on boat near Istanbul – Winnipeg Free Press

    Report: Turkish authorities capture 142 illegal migrants on boat near Istanbul – Winnipeg Free Press

    ANKARA, Turkey – Turkey’s state-run agency says authorities have raided a boat carrying illegal migrants near Istanbul, capturing 142 Afghans, Burmese and Palestinians.

    Anatolia says police and coast guard officers raided the boat off the town of Tekirdag on Thursday. It reported that police had detained 14 people for questioning for allegedly attempting to smuggle the migrants to Europe. It said the migrants had been taken to a sports hall in Tekirdag and would be deported.

    Turkey is struggling to stop thousands of migrants from Asia and Africa who enter Turkey illegally, then sneak into the European Union in search of jobs and a better life. Smugglers often take the migrants on fragile and overcrowded boats to the Greek islands, and accidents occur frequently.

  • Turkey Considers Cooperation with Greece on Illegal Immigration to Europe

    Turkey Considers Cooperation with Greece on Illegal Immigration to Europe

    Turkey Considers Cooperation with Greece on Illegal Immigration to Europe

    Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 7 Issue: 194

    October 27, 2010

    By: Saban Kardas

    Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, met his Greek counterpart, George Papandreou, on the margins of the Mediterranean Climate Change Initiative conference near Athens last week. The positive reporting of the Erdogan-Papandreou meeting marks the deepening rapprochement between the two countries, after their normalization slowed down in the second half of the 2000’s.

    Characterized traditionally by historical enmity and territorial disputes, Turkish-Greek relations have undergone a remarkable improvement in the past decade. The so-called Greek-Turkish rapprochement started with the two earthquakes that devastated both countries in 1999. The mutual assistance and solidarity the two nations extended to each other in response provided fertile ground to develop closer political ties. As a result, Greece, which had blocked Turkey’s EU membership process, changed its policy and became an advocate of the EU’s enlargement to include Turkey. Since coming to power, Erdogan has ascribed special importance to normalizing ties with Greece, as reflected in his close personal relationship with the former Greek Prime Minister, Kostas Karamanlis.

    However, in parallel with the deterioration of Turkish-EU relations, Turkish-Greek relations also experienced difficult times in the second half of the 2000’s. Although the Turkish-Greek trade volume has expanded throughout the decade, there has been little concrete progress over the political disputes that had traditionally dominated their relationship. The Turkish side largely preferred to pursue a policy of constructive ambiguity, and adopt a gradual approach to solving the disputes, while the Greeks from time to time expressed their disappointment over the ongoing uncertainty. Turkey’s resistance to referring the Aegean disputes to the International Court of Justice and the ongoing “dog fights” between Turkish and Greek fighter jets in the Aegean Sea remained a major source of disagreement, resulting in an occasional heightening of tension (EDM, June 22, 2009).

    The global financial crisis, which dealt a serious blow to the Greek economic system, ironically, provided another fresh impetus to resolve bilateral disputes. In that context, the recent talks follow on Erdogan’s historic trip to Greece in May, when the two countries signed over 20 agreements to develop relations in various fields, including energy, the environment and illegal immigration. They also decided to launch the High Level Strategic Cooperation Council, which complemented similar arrangements Turkey has formed with its other neighbors. Erdogan also expressed Turkey’s readiness to help Greece to recover from the financial crisis, through what he called “enhanced economic partnership” The two sides, however, failed to reach any concrete agreement on the major issues in the bilateral relationship, such as the conflicting claims in the Aegean Sea, the status of the minorities, or the Halki seminary and the Cyprus issues (Anadolu Ajansi, May 15).

    Granted, Turkish leaders’ extension of a friendly hand to Greece and their statements calling for dampening military tensions in the Aegean through closer bilateral dialogue was ground-breaking in many ways. This thinking is largely in line with Ankara’s recent policy of pursuing “zero problems with neighbors,” and prioritizing economic cooperation over political disputes. Indeed, as a stark reflection of this new thinking, Turkey will reportedly not include Greece, Russia, Iran and Iraq as enemy countries in its national security document, which is currently being revised.

    Speaking to Greek TV stations, Erdogan, also expressed clearly that Turkish flights in the Aegean have decreased significantly and that Ankara supports the idea of ceasing them entirely (Today’s Zaman, October 21). By de-securitizing its relationship with Greece and its other neighbors, Turkey hopes to reap the benefits of peace dividends, by significantly cutting military expenditures and instead focus on mutual economic gains. In the case of Greece, by turning the Aegean into a basin of peace, the Turkish government hopes, for instance, to enable the exploration of offshore hydrocarbon resources, and further cooperation in the transportation of oil and gas to European markets.

    It appears that the technical level contacts between both countries have continued since May, seeking common ground in their political disputes. In the wake of the latest trip, both parties are talking more resolutely about a shared strategic vision and pursuing win-win cooperative policies. Toward these objectives, there are stronger indicators that they might be involved in serious discussions on the resolution of thorny issues, including the Ecumenical Patriarchate and joint Turkish-Greek initiatives to curb illegal immigration to the EU. Following his meeting with Papandreou, Erdogan vowed to start cooperation on illegal immigration, so that they could tackle what he called a “common problem.” The Greek media even speculated that by the end of the year the parties might finalize a compromise agreement on the resolution of the Aegean disputes, on which they had already agreed in principle (Anadolu Ajansi, October 22; www.ekathimerini.com, October 25).

    Most Turkish media outlets preferred to present Erdogan’s trip as a major achievement which boosted his popularity in Greece. Similarly, the Greek media also underscored the optimism generated by the Erdogan-Papandreou meeting (Taraf, October 24). However, some Greek observers maintain that the Papandreou government’s closer dialogue with the Turkish government “may ring alarm bells in many circles in Greece which would interpret it (and they do) as an indication of Greece losing diplomatic ground in the Aegean, or even in Greek Thrace” (Hurriyet Daily News, October 24).

    In any case, the resolution of the remaining disputes with Greece serves the Turkish government’s foreign policy objectives. Especially by addressing the illegal immigration issue and the reopening of the Halki seminary, Turkey can remove major obstacles which have bedeviled its accession process into the EU. The EU has been expecting Turkey to harmonize its practices on illegal immigration with European regulations, and reopen the Greek Orthodox seminary to show its support for human rights. Moreover, through its constructive dialogue with Greece, Ankara solicits the support of Athens within the EU. Recently, the Turkish government has tried to mobilize the pro-Turkey EU members so that they could break the stalemate over membership talks. Reportedly, in exchange for its cooperation on the illegal immigration issue, Turkey expects Greece to at the very least, assist with the relaxation of European visa regulations for Turkish citizens.

    https://jamestown.org/program/turkey-considers-cooperation-with-greece-on-illegal-immigration-to-europe/

  • Greece, Turkey Vow to Tackle Illegal Immigration

    Greece, Turkey Vow to Tackle Illegal Immigration

    VOULIAGMENI, Greece  — Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday promised closer cooperation with EU neighbor Greece to fight illegal immigration into Europe in exchange for Greek assistance to help relax visa rules for Turks.

    Erdogan is visiting Greece for the second time in five months, as the two countries seek to boost trade and sideline their traditional rivalry.

    “On (immigration) we will start cooperation so that we can deal with this problem … it is a common problem,” Erdogan said after a two-hour meeting with Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou on the fringes of a Mediterranean climate change conference near Athens.

    Greece is the European Union’s busiest transit point for illegal immigration and has faced a spike in recent months in clandestine traffic across its 125-mile land border with Turkey.

    Greek officials have long accused authorities in Turkey of failing to make a determined effort to stop immigrants sneaking into Greece and of ignoring an agreement to accept the return of detained migrants.

    Papandreou said Greece and Turkey had agreed to “reactivate” that agreement.

    “We decided on a common initiative toward the EU … to make our cooperation more systematic and much more effective in dealing with this problem,” he said.

    “At the same time, we discussed the very important issue of liberalizing the visa process for Turkish citizens entering the European Union.”

    NATO allies Greece and Turkey have improved ties over the past decade but remain at odds over war-divided Cyprus and boundaries in the Aegean Sea. The disputes have hindered Turkey’s bid to join the European Union.

    Papandreou said the two leaders had discussed the course of efforts to resolve those disputes “in a very positive atmosphere.”

    And Erdogan described as “very significant” a recent decision by his government to grant Turkish citizenship to 12 senior clerics at the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul, the center of Orthodox Christianity around the world.

    Clerics must have Turkish citizenship to be able to succeed the current Ecumenical Patriarch, 70-year-old Bartholomew I.

    On Thursday, NATO’s secretary general Anders Fogh Rasmussen said on a visit to Athens that Greece and Turkey were showing a greater willingness to cooperate.

    “I appreciate very much the close contact, as I see it, that we are now witnessing between Ankara and Athens,” the NATO chief said.

    “I think Prime Minister Erdogan’s visit to Athens … is yet another testament to the improvement of relations, and we appreciate that very much.”

    Leaders and representatives from 16 Mediterranean countries are attending the meeting at the seaside resort of Vouliagmeni, south of Athens, also joined by environmental campaigners and representatives of the World Bank and European Investment.

    Papandreou said Mediterranean countries were “particularly vulnerable” to global warming — facing more frequent droughts, heatwaves and forest fires — and said he was encouraged by Erdogan’s presence at the conference.

    “This is proof that two neighbors can place their differences to one side to face common threats,” he said, in his opening remarks earlier Friday.

    The conference ends Saturday.

    via Greece, Turkey Vow to Tackle Illegal Immigration – FoxNews.com.

  • Health Reasons Force Erdogan to Cancel Athens Visit

    Health Reasons Force Erdogan to Cancel Athens Visit

    Health Reasons Force Erdogan to Cancel Athens Visit

    Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 6 Issue: 119
    June 22, 2009
    By: Saban Kardas
    On June 20 Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan cancelled a planned trip to Athens. Although his health condition was offered as the reason for the last-minute cancellation, it did not prevent speculation that Erdogan sought to use the pretext of his health concern to protest about recent Greek diplomatic initiatives against Turkey.

    Erdogan was scheduled to visit Athens to attend the opening the new Acropolis Museum. Prior to the opening ceremony, Erdogan was expected to meet Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis, and both were to address bilateral issues including the conditions of minorities, as well as recent developments regarding the Cyprus dispute (Cihan Haber Ajansi, June 19). On the morning of June 20, Erdogan attended some meetings in the Aegean town of Izmir. He was expected to fly to Athens later that afternoon and return to Turkey that night. It was later announced that Erdogan had telephoned Karamanlis and informed him of his cancellation. He told Karamanlis that he would like to visit Athens at the earliest opportunity. A statement from Erdogan’s office explained that due to sunstroke, which Erdogan experienced during his visit to Edirne on June 19, his doctors had recommended rest. On June 21 he also cancelled the rest of his program in Izmir and his trips inside Turkey, and returned to Istanbul to rest over the weekend (ANKA, June 20).

    Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc told reporters on June 21 that Erdogan was in good condition, and would resume his functions the following day. Arinc added that Erdogan had experienced temporary hypertension related to weariness, but this was not a serious problem. After resting in Istanbul, Erdogan was expected in Ankara on June 23, to attend an AKP party meeting and also have a working lunch with E.U. ambassadors (Anadolu Ajansi, June 21).

    However, the official statement did not satisfy some diplomatic observers who believe that political motives were behind Erdogan’s last-minute decision. They suggested two issues which might have influenced Erdogan’s decision: Karamanlis’ public complaints about the Turkish Air Force allegedly violating Greek airspace in the Aegean Sea and the E.U. Presidency’s latest conclusions which referred to Turkey as a country of origin and transit in illegal immigration, at Greece’s urging (Radikal, Hurriyet Daily News, June 21). The Greek media also speculated that Erdogan might have cancelled his trip to express his displeasure over these developments. They argued that Erdogan might have wanted to avoid confronting Karamanlis on the Aegean and illegal immigrants’ issues (Anadolu Ajansi, June 20).

    An interrelated set of disputed claims by Ankara and Athens in the Aegean Sea has proved a major long-standing bilateral source of tension between the two countries. Due to the ongoing controversy over the delimitation of national airspace, Flight Information Regions (FIR) and military over-flight rights, Turkish and Greek fighters engage each other in tactical military provocations (so-called “dog-fights”), which frequently heighten tensions between the two countries. Greece considers the flights of Turkish jets in the disputed zones as violations of its national airspace or transgressions of the FIR. During his contacts in Brussels in the context of the E.U. Summit, Karamanlis reiterated Athens’s complaints concerning Turkish jets’ “violations of Greek airspace,” and added that he “discussed this issue with Obama and would raise it during [his] meeting with Erdogan” (www.cnnturk.com, June 19).

    The Greek attempt to use the E.U. as leverage to pressure Turkey on a different issue also reportedly angered Ankara. Last week, the European Council discussed the challenge of illegal immigrants, and ways to improve cooperation with countries of origin and transit. The presidency conclusions issued at the end of the summit announced that, as part of its external policies, the E.U. will seek to sign readmission agreements with major countries of origin and transit. By the time such agreements are concluded, the E.U. will require the implementation of existing bilateral agreements (www.eu2009.cz, June 19). Greece reportedly threatened to veto the presidency conclusions, if the European Council did not specify Turkey, along with Libya, as a key country of origin and transit. Although Turkey was not mentioned in the draft document, following last-minute changes, the final communiqué made reference to it (www.abhaber.com, June 19).

    Athens claims that a great majority of illegal immigrants arriving in Greece transit Turkey and it expects Ankara to be more cooperative in the readmission of those immigrants. Ankara claims that since the final destination of those immigrants are E.U. countries, Turkey cannot be expected to bear the heavy financial burden of readmitting them, which would cost over 1.2 million Euros and demands fairer burden-sharing (Hurriyet, June 20).

    The declared justification for Erdogan’s cancellation of his trip is perhaps true; yet, the very fact that it resulted in such speculation indicates the level of tension between the two countries. Athens has long blocked the progress of Turkish-E.U. relations, and the two neighbors even came to the brink of war over the Aegean issues in the 1990’s. In the post-1999 period, when the Turkish-E.U. talks were revitalized following the Helsinki Summit, bilateral relations entered a new phase. The resulting normalization of the relationship produced concrete results; in addition to launching diplomatic talks to discuss a resolution to the bilateral issues, Athens removed its objections to Ankara’s entry into the European Union. During the rapid wave of domestic reforms following the AKP’s accession to power in 2002, which resulted in the launch of membership talks in 2005, Erdogan developed a close working relationship with his Greek counterpart and visited Athens twice in 2004. However, parallel to the stalling of Turkey’s E.U. accession process since 2005, Turkish-Greek relations also experienced a downturn, which largely resulted from Turkey’s inability to resolve its differences with Greek Cypriots. If he is serious about his claim to revive Turkey’s E.U. bid, Erdogan must talk to his Greek counterpart and reach a consensus on bilateral and E.U. related issues. In this context, he might soon visit Athens.

    https://jamestown.org/program/health-reasons-force-erdogan-to-cancel-athens-visit/