He affirms that the shipwreck in the Ionian Sea is “a shameful example” and calls for “responsibility” from the international community
June 21 () –
The President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has denounced that the Mediterranean Sea “has become a huge refugee cemetery” because of “an arrogant position rooted in colonialism” on the part of European countries.
“The Mediterranean Sea, the cradle of civilizations throughout history, has become a huge refugee graveyard in recent years, largely due to the influence of an arrogant stance rooted in colonialism,” he said.
“The most recent and shameful example of this was the humanitarian tragedy that took place last week, in which hundreds of innocent people, most of them children, lost their lives,” he said, referring to the sinking of a fishing boat off the shores of Greece, which left nearly 500 dead and missing.
Thus, he stressed that “the problem of refugees can be resolved by eliminating the underlying causes of migration and forced displacement”, before adding that the international community, and especially the countries that “give lessons to others on Human Rights and democracy “, they must assume their “responsibility”.
Erdogan has also stated that Turkey rejects “hate speech, neo-Nazi ideology and xenophobic and anti-Muslim rhetoric” against refugees that “spreads to other societies like poison after taking root in Western countries”, while asserting that ” A stance that does not accept those who are not of their race, culture and belief is a threat to humanitarian values and the common future of humanity.”
In this sense, he has defended that migrants are forced to flee their homes due to terrorism, conflict, civil war and famine, among other factors, and has recalled that close to 110 million people are permanently displaced currently forced.
“Our position on irregular migration and the issue of refugees, which represent a global challenge, is to protect human life and dignity while protecting the security of the country,” he argued, according to a statement published by the Turkish Presidency to through their website.
“Our nation, which has supported without discrimination those fleeing persecution for centuries, has once again shown the same position in the face of the crises in our region, from Syria to Ukraine,” Erdogan said, stressing that Turkey ” he always fulfills his humanitarian and neighborly duty”.
