Spokesman Hami Aksoy made a written statement on the allegations of Notis Mitarakis, Greece’s Minister for Immigration, that he did not follow the March 18 Accord. Aksoy stated the following in his statement:
* Turkey has fulfilled its obligations under the Memorandum of March 18. In this way, illegal crossings to Europe decreased by 92 percent. In this context, the European Union does not fulfill its obligations.
18 MARCH COMPETITION
* Within the framework of the 18 March Consensus, our country accepts only the return of the refugees who have reached the Greek islands, those whose international protection applications are rejected or who do not need international protection. To date, 2,139 irregular migrants in accordance with these conditions have been withdrawn from Greece.
* Greece, on the other hand, has suspended asylum applications for 1 month in contravention of EU founding agreements and international obligations, and tries to send it to our country in contravention of the March 18 Consensus without registering asylum-seekers and evaluating asylum applications.
ALL MEASURES ARE TAKEN
* Greece’s criticisms that the new asylum law does not comply with international standards and EU directives have been clearly demonstrated by international organizations. On the other hand, measures are taken to protect public health and safety due to the COVID-19 outbreak worldwide.
As a matter of fact, the European Union temporarily suspended the resettlement program, which is an important element of the March 18 Consensus, in order to protect public health. Our country also temporarily stopped the repurchase stipulated in the March 18 Reconciliation for the same reason and reported this to the Greek authorities.
* Inside the refugee camps in deplorable condition and Greece it was also expressed by a Greek journalist who review our camp should take an example to Turkey in this regard.
* Our recommendation to Greece is to take urgent measures in order to prevent humanitarian disaster in the refugee camps due to the epidemic and to respect the right of refugees to life and health. DHA