The first batch migrants, mostly Pakistani and some Bangladeshis, were deported from Greek islands under a disputed EU-Turkey deal were shipped back to Turkey on Monday in a drive to shut down the main route used by more than a million people fleeing war and poverty to reach Europe in the last year.
Two Turkish-flagged passenger boats carrying 136 people arrived from the island of Lesbos in the Turkish town of Dikili, accompanied by two Turkish coast guard vessels with a police helicopter buzzing overhead.
The returnees from Lesbos were mostly from Pakistan and some from Bangladesh and had not applied for asylum, according to a spokeswoman for EU border agency Frontex.
A third ship carrying 66 people, mainly Afghans, arrived there later from the island of Chios.
Under a pact criticised by refugee agencies and human rights campaigners, Ankara will take back all migrants and refugees who cross the Aegean Sea to enter Greece illegally, including Syrians.
For non-Syrians, Turkey would apply to their home countries and send them back systematically, Turkish EU Affairs Minister Volkan Bozkir said in a recent interview with Turkish broadcaster Haberturk.
In return, the European Union will take in thousands of Syrian refugees directly from Turkey and reward it with more money, early visa-free travel and progress in its EU membership negotiations.
The EU-Turkey deal aims to discourage migrants from perilous crossings, often in small boats and dinghies, and to break the business model of human smugglers who have fuelled Europe’s biggest influx since World War II. Under the pact, the EU will resettle thousands of legal Syrian refugees directly from Turkey - one for each Syrian returned from the Greek islands.
EU authorities said none of those deported on Monday had requested asylum in Greece and all had left voluntarily. They included two Syrians who had asked to return to Turkey.
The UNHCR and rights groups have said the deal between the European Union and Turkey lacks legal safeguards.
Thursday, April 25, 2024
