European Union – Turkey: hard negotiations and tough bargaining for immigrants and refugees

This short post is long due, but still usefull for anyone to understand why Turkey is not Libya, in other words, why the externalisation of Fortress Europe borders to Turkey is a stake in a complex and hard bargaining between the EU and the regional megapower (in which money is not everything for the latter).

According to the Turkish newspaper Hürriyet, the European Union is ready to offer political advantages to Turkey in exchange for signing a readmission agreement. We found out what readmission means for Turkey, when Oktay Durukan, member of the Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly of Turkey, analytically presented (in Greek) Turkey’s policies during the conference “Suspended people”, that took place in Thessaloniki on October 30th, 2009. It is worth pointing out a little known fact that was mentioned in the conference: Turkey can only offer asylum to European Union member state nationals!

Turkey was one of the countries that negotiated about the Refugee Status in the 1951 Refugee Convention, and was one of the first countries to sign it. However, Turkey has retained one of the Convention’s paragraphs, the so-called “geographical limitation”, thus still offering protection only to migrants involuntarily displaced “as a result of events in Europe”. Therefore and according to the aforementioned paragraph, Turkey welcomes only EU member states’ nationals as refuge applicants.

Third country nationals, also referred to as “non-Europeans”, claiming refugee status in Turkey have to apply in a Turkish police station for a “temporary asylum status” regardless of their application to UNHCR, which has to pre-exist. If they are arrested before managing to apply for refugee status, then they reach a dead end: the police will not accept an application for the temporary refugee status and consequently deny them access to any refugee status application at all.

The ”lucky” ones who are recognized as asylum seekers by the UNHCR are then dispersed across the country, hosted in 30 so-called “satellite towns”. There they live in average for two to three years while the final decisions on their requests for asylum and resettlement are pending. They are obliged to find shelter on their own and receive little assistance with regards to daily expenses or health-care. The chances for declared work are minimal thus many of them are forced into illegal work, mainly as sex workers. Last but not least, they are obliged to pay a resident fee in order to obtain a residence permit.

+ the article of last November at the Hürriyet newspaper

EU to grant visa flexibility in return for readmission agreement

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

DÖNDÜ SARIIŞIK

BRUSSELS – Hürriyet Daily News

The European Union is reportedly ready to introduce some visa flexibility if Turkey signs a readmission agreement to tackle the flow of illegal immigrants to Europe.

The European Union and Turkey will discuss the readmission agreement again Dec. 4. Visa flexibility will be introduced once Ankara agrees to sign the agreement to deal with illegal immigration to Europe, a high-ranked official from the European Commission in Brussels has revealed.

“We will start the new round of discussions between [the commission] and Turkey on the readmission agreement in Ankara on Dec. 4,” a senior official from the commission said under condition of anonymity during a meeting with Turkish journalists. “This is certainly a critical issue.”

A significant number of people fleeing their poverty-stricken or war-torn countries of origin seek an opportunity to live in Europe. Turkey is the main route for thousands of illegal immigrants coming from Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Middle East.

The agreement would be binding for the entire union, as no individual solution is envisioned, the official said, adding that the financial burden would be shared. “The EU will grant support to Turkey to tackle the problem. We have expressed our readiness to look into all means to help,” the official said. “Of course we have budgetary limitations, but we are ready to help you.”

EU officials held the first round of talks Nov. 5 in Ankara to convince their Turkish counterparts to sign a readmission agreement. The EU member states, which apply a common asylum policy in line with the Dublin-2 Convention, have been seeking cooperation from candidate countries. According to Chapter 24 of negotiations between the EU and Turkey, Brussels is increasing pressure on Ankara with a call to adopt more deterrence measures or grant asylum to immigrants.

The readmission bargain may result in visa flexibility for Turkish citizens, the official said, adding, “As soon as the readmission agreement is signed, we will offer a lot of new opportunities in terms of visas.”

Some EU member countries set a pre-condition of readmission in order to facilitate visa-free travel, he said. “We cannot consider any visa facilitation with Turkey if we do not have a readmission agreement between the EU and Turkey,” the official said. “Once we have a readmission agreement, we will be very open to negotiate visa facilitation. Journalists, academics, business people and scientists will be able to travel easily to the EU.”

After the European Court of Human Rights granted two Turkish drivers visa-free travel for business purposes, Turkish diplomats kicked off a campaign to widen visa flexibility in cooperation with business associations. Turkey advocates that the court ruling be applied to students, academics, artists, scientists and businessmen under the Customs Union agreement.

Germany has already introduced new regulations in line with the court verdict, but most of the other EU member states are still reluctant to take any further steps.

Last year, Turkey detained some 68,000 illegal immigrants attempting to make their way into the European Union. According to official statistics, up to 18,000 asylum seekers are waiting in Turkey for acceptance to a third country.

Existing Turkish regulations do not allow the country to grant asylum to people from outside the European Council member states.

PS: in April last year, in a case that received widespread publicity, 18 Syrians and Iranian citizens, including 5 recognized as refugees by the UNHCR, were forced by threat of weapons by Turkish soldiers to cross borders swimming through  a non-guarded  part of the river that separates Turkey from Iraq.

This is an example of a unilateral, ‘black’ expulsion of people to a third country they have nothing to do with. 4 of them died, including one Iranian of the recognized ones by the UNHCR . The latter condemned the incident in a press release, based on testimonies received by survivors. To date, however, no serious investigation into the incident has taken place.

UK: Refugee and Migrant Justice Lawyers call on the UK Government to stop removing asylum-seekers to Greece

>>> SOURCE/READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE AT http://refugee-migrant-justice.org.uk <<<

10 November 2009

RMJ asks UK to stop removing asylum-seekers to Greece, following international complaint to European Commission against Greece

Refugee and Migrant Justice (RMJ) today calls on the UK Government to stop removing asylum-seekers to Greece until conditions there improve.

Fifteen European refugee NGOs, led by Refugee and Migrant Justice and the Dutch Refugee Council, are calling for the Greek Government’s treatment of asylum-seekers to be referred to the European Court of Justice. The complaint will be presented to the European Commission today, 10 November, and will be heard at the end of November 2009.

Many asylum-seekers travel by sea to Greece. The Greek authorities often try to prevent them from entering Greek territory by turning boats back at sea or sometimes puncturing inflatable rafts. Life threatening situations have occurred in the process. When asylum-seekers do make it to Greek territory, many of them are detained upon arrival. Conditions in some of the detention centres are appalling – most of them are warehouses that are severely overcrowded and lack adequate sanitation and cooking facilities.

There is a severe shortage of reception facilities and no specialist social care for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children. Many migrants end up sleeping rough where they often experience ill-health.

The Greek authorities make it very difficult for asylum seekers to gain access to the Greek asylum procedures, a clear violation of EC law, as well as international human rights instruments. In 2008 22,100 asylum applications were lodged in Greece, yet less than one per cent of asylum applicants were granted refugee status or other forms of protection, compared with 31 per cent in the UK.

The Greek authorities regularly deport asylum-seekers back to Turkey from where they may be removed to their countries of origin.

Caroline Slocock, Chief Executive of Refugee and Migrant Justice, says

“The inhumane conditions facing asylum-seekers in Greece are a scandal. Greece’s system is not just unfair to asylum seekers, it places unreasonable burdens on other European countries, like the UK, that have more respect for European and international obligations to identify and protect those who fear persecution.. . Many asylum-seekers end up travelling across Europe to France and the UK because they cannot get a fair hearing in Greece. We are appealing to the European Commission to put this right but in the meantime the UK Government should stop returning asylum-seekers to Greece under EU laws, as their safety cannot be guaranteed.”

Case studies

RMJ has collated witness statements of asylum-seekers who have come to the UK via Greece…

>>> SOURCE/READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE AT http://refugee-migrant-justice.org.uk <<<

Stop another 5 year program of death and detention!30 Nov – 1 Dec 2009, Brussels – Transnational Protests against Justice and Home Affairs Meeting

SOURCE: NO RACISM NET

Stop another 5 year program of death and detention!

30th of November and 1st of December 2009 in Brussels – Transnational Protests in front of the EU – Justice and Home Affairs – Meeting

Refugee Protection and Migrants Rights instead of a brutal EU-Border-regime! No to the repressive Stockholm program! After Tampere and The Hague, the Stockholm program will constitute the next 5-year-framework for Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) within the EU and its memberstates. The new program claims to build up the ‘area of freedom, justice and security’. But in fact it will continue to implement an even tighter regime of surveillance and control and will promote a securitisation of social life, undermining all civil rights and privacy despite contrary claims.

Event in the Micropolis social space on immigrants & refugees

The event is organised by the Antiauthoritarian Movement at Micropolis, Thessaloniki.

WEDNESDAY 2nd of SEPTEMBER, 19.00

IMMIGRANTS AND REFUGEES enmeshed in the social conflict
From the myth of solidarity to the pogroms and concentration camps
The refugee as an active participant in the society and not as a subject

Speakers

• Philemon Patsakis
• Costas Despiniadis (Panoptikon journal)
• Vassilis Ladas (Author-Lawyer)
• Forum of Immigrants in Crete

Anti-immigrant terror in Greece: attempts for pushbacks of refugees, sweep operations, police – fascist collaboration, forced evictions…

Sachtouri street - athens indymedia photo

ABDUCTIONS AND PUSHBACKS

After a police abduction that took them from the southern end of the country to the northern, the Kurdish refugees who reached the shores of  Crete seem to have been transferred to Rodopi, Thrace.  There is an ongoing campaign against their deportation, especially the deportation of the children among them and of the ones that have already filed asylum applications in Chania.

In Greek, see http://fmkritis.wordpress.com/

Same with the Chios refugees, who are now detained in Tychero, Evros,  near the border with Turkey.  The police chief of Alexandroupolis has been contacted by journalists and there are two important facts : first, that there were children among the immigrants, who have now been tranferred to Thessaloniki (the exact place is unknown) and, secondly, that he does not want to give a clear answer on what they plan to do. However, it is considered certain that the police wants to «return» them to Turkey.

In Greek see http://indy.gr/newswire/sto-ty3c7ero-toy-ebroy-kratoyntai-oi-prosfyges-poy-ekdi3c7thikan-apo-ti-3c7io/tyxero-b.jpg

There are also reports of ca. 61 arrested immigrants reaching Peireus port with the “Mykonos” F/B. http://athens.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=el&article_id=1064479

SWEEP OPERATIONS AND POLICE – FASCIST SCUM COLLABORATION

According to the police, yesterday, 109 people were arrested during one more storming of the center of Athens by various police forces.  About 90 of them were sans papiers.  What is more, at  21.00 in the evening,  fascists went down in Attikis square – around which many immigrants live -, without even previously announcing their presence with the infamous “committees of residents” rally calls.  The fascists came to the square and began to bludgeon whatever laid ahead of them; they also sprayed faces with some unknown gas.   At least three refugees were transported to hospital, many others were injured.  Among the injured people was an American professor who was in the area and attempted to photograph the racist pogrom. He spent the night in the hospital, with blows to his head. The fascists took his camera.  Around the square there was a large police force, who not only did nothing, but went on to mass arrest mainly Afghan refugees!

In Greek, see http://indy.gr/newswire/agria-epithesi-fasistn-kai-mazikes-syllpseis-apo-tin-astynomia-3c7thes-brady-stin-pl-attiks

EVICTIONS, MASS ARRESTS AND CLASHES

Today the police evicted immigrants en masse from two buildings in the center of Athens, which had been designated by the prefecture of Athens as dangerous for the public health or something.  Police forces  invaded the buildings at Sachtouri 7, and at Veranzerou str. near Omonia, and arrested a total of 86 immigrants.

During the eviction at Verantzerou street neighbors and immigrants with flags of Somalia were gathered in support of the arrested people, as well as some ΠAME (Communist Party trade union) members and a Communist Party MP (many Somalis who work as builders have links with their organised in ΠAME colleagues).  The Somali women at some point reacted vocally and attempted a sit-in protest, but the cops confined them again in the building to isolate them from journalists.  According to the cops, the building was rented to a company which sub-letted it illegally to immigrants for of 5 euros a day per person.

When the cops tried to transfer the arrested immigrants from the rear street where they thought they would face no obstruction.  Once this was understood by the assembled immigrants, some óf them moved to the rear of the police vehicle to prevent it from departing.  Some of them clashed with riot police men and other police forces with sticks, punches, etc.  The police vehicles made it to leave afterwards, leaving behind women and children.   A few minutes later the large police forces withdrew from the point and concentrated their attention to guarding the nearby police department.

During the operation, a passer-by  woman of about 50 years complained loudly about the police brutality calling the cops  fascists for behaving this way to the immigrants.  An undercover cop grasped her by the head and attempted to take her to the police station  but people  protested and intervened and the woman managed to escape.

Angry Somali men and women broke the window of a  shop on the ground floor of the building where the immigrants lived.  The squads were on the corner and intervened directly and there were more clashes.  Indeed, the shop-owner had been insulting the immigrants everyday by calling them racist names, and has been a pioneer member in the “committees of residents and shop-owners” of the center –  perhaps this is why the passing police patrols salute him.

The building was not completely evacuated, there were immigrants left inside when the police left.

About the evictions read in Greek http://athens.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=el&article_id=1064260

The Somalis took it to the street on a protest march later in the day, together with ΠΑΜΕ – photos at http://athens.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=el&article_id=1064493

As an Athens Indymedia user commented, this day was an Ode to the Barbarity of Democracy -5 days ago was the anniversary of 35 years of Greek Democracy after the fall of colonels’ junta back in 1974.

TVXS.gr video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjPAN762lj4&eurl=http://www.tvxs.gr/v17277&feature=player_embedded

Many photos at:

• http://indy.gr/newswire/odos-beranzeroy-i-ellinik-dimokratia-giortazei-ta-35-3c7ronia-apo-tin-apokatastasi-tis-dimokratias-gyrizontas-piso-to-3c7rono
• http://athens.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=el&article_id=1064459
• http://athens.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=el&article_id=1064459

45 refugees reach the shore of southern Crete οn boats – solidarity campaign by the Forum of Immigrants in Crete

a hand through a window - a photo from an action at Kissamos, Chania, where 113 refugees where detained in September, 2006

Around 45 refugees reached yesterday night the shore of Palaiochora and Lafonisi οn boats.   Men, women and children.

In these times, when, according to some, the greatest evil society has to deal with are the “sans papiers”, what might be the fate of these wretched souls? The fate of those who, according to some, are not refugees, neither exiled, but clandestine, illegal, criminals, more dangerous, even than the network of gangsters-constructors-authorities who parade through TV screens the last few days, and appear to have been calling government ministers by their surname …

The sea washed 45 “utterly evil” people of this sort, refugees that is, ashore, yesterday, the 20th of July, 2009 on the south of the Prefecture of Hania.  These refugees have escaped some country of terror and death, presumably Iraq. Families with children, a pregnant woman… Wage labourers, mothers and children, who made it out of war, poverty and juntas… The politics that wants them illegal, clandestine, will detain them for months in prison cells, though they’ve commited no crime, it ‘ll keep them unemployed, it’ll force them work for 2 euros an hour. This politics goes against society’s interests.

The interests of us all working people, lay in the granting of asylum to all these people, so that they live in dignity with their families, to join unions, to join common struggles with their Greek colleagues against the real enemy: the cartel of political and economic power-holders, who set “criseis” up, who create unemployment, in order to cut down wages.

The 45 refugees are in a hotel in Georgioupolis.  The next days we will try to contact them, along with the Medecins du Monde and Amnesty International. Some first aid in clothes, especially underwear, would be very much appreciated. The office of the Forum of Immigrants in Crete (Chatzimihali Daliani 67, Chania) will be open for anyone who wishes to aid.

FORUM OF IMMIGRANTS IN CRETE

ΦΟΡΟΥΜ ΜΕΤΑΝΑΣΤΩΝ ΚΡΗΤΗΣ ,

Χατζημιχάλη Νταλιάνη 67 , Chania, Crete, 73100

tel. 00302821058851, mobile. 00306973525049- 00306982445088

forum.kritis@yahoo.gr

Patras Refugee Camp Burned to the Ground

source: Occupied London Blog:

Sunday, July 12, 2009

(to be updated)

In the early hours of Sunday, July 12 the refugee settlement adjacent to the port of Patras was “mysteriously” set on fire during a police operation. According to eye-witness reports, the police cordoned off the area surrounding the settlement at about 5 a.m. Four greek citizens in solidarity who were near the settlement were immediately detained. Moments later the cops started ID’ing and arresting the refugees inside the camp. At the same time, a fire “mysteriously” started from one end of the settlement  – while the police were present in the settlement. The fire burnt for a few hours, destroying a large part of the settlement. The houses not burnt were demolished later.

The smoke of the fire makes it evidently clear: The greek state is resorting to totalitarian, fascist practices as a last resort to cover up the lack of whatever legitimacy it previously enjoyed – and to desperately grip control of the situation. Through the flames, we can see: The state’s “social peace” is war; the tranquility and quiet safeguarded by the ”ordinary people just doing their job”, is death.

relevant bbc video at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8146597.stm

UNHCR: Greece’s new immigration policies based on “dangerous generalizations”

source

Q&A: Greece’s new immigration policies based on “dangerous generalizations”

10 Jul 2009 15:47:04 GMT

Source: UNHCR

ATHENS, Greece, July 10 (UNHCR) – Greece has introduced strict policies aimed at combating irregular immigration and passed legislation that could compromise the effective protection of people applying for asylum for the first time or on appeal. Charis Karanikas of the Ta Nea daily newspaper recently met Giorgios Tsarbopoulos, head of UNHCR’s office in Athens, to talk about the implications of this new legislation and a police crackdown on alleged illegal immigrants.

Excerpts from the interview:

What do you think of the latest measures?

The reasoning behind them is based on dangerous generalizations. We cannot speak only about “illegal” immigrants. Amongst them are many people who are in need of protection and whom the state is obligated to protect.

Should police measures be beefed up?

Yes, as regards the smugglers and the traffickers. But the problem cannot be handled only by police measures. Harsher policing at the border must be coupled with the creation of reception facilities.

What can be done in neighbourhoods inundated by immigrants?

Firstly, all those who are entitled to it under the law should be referred to special accommodation facilities. They include asylum-seekers and unaccompanied minors. Today, hundreds of people who have a right to this are homeless. In general, there is a need for shelter planning, regardless of whether people are legal or illegal.Will the violence seen in the central Athens neighbourhood of Agios Panteleimon, home to many homeless Afghan migrants and asylum-seekers, spread to other areas?I hope not.

How can this be avoided?

By isolating the extreme reactions, which simply serve to shift the problem. And through a dialogue between the government and the political parties, initiatives taken by the municipalities as well as talks with organizations of immigrants and refugees.

Do you agree with transforming military camps into reception centres?

Reception facilities and administrative detention centres for immigrants in view of their deportation are two separate things. It’s not enough to turn some installations into detention centres if you pretend to create proper reception conditions.

Can Greece address this problem alone?

No.

What’s your opinion about the European Union’s stand on the matter?

It is steering clear of establishing binding mechanisms and practices for fairer responsibility sharing among the member states.

How many immigrants arrive in Greece each year?

In 2008, 146,337 people were arrested for “illegally entering and residing” in the country. There are, of course, others who have not been arrested. On the other hand, an unknown number of those who have been arrested were already residing in the country. Therefore the official data needs further analysis.

How many of them end up in existing reception centres?

All those who enter the country without papers are detained for up to three months at the administrative detention centres. Those who request asylum are transferred to open reception centres, which are too few to meet demand.

What are conditions like at these centres?

Most of the detention centres do not meet the basic conditions of human rights. The exceptions include the new centres on the island of Samos and in the Evros region [Filakio], however both are faced with problems of overcrowding.

What about reception conditions?

Reception facilities in border areas should include services and specialized staff in order to ensure the identification of people who are entitled to protection, assessment of their needs, information about their rights and obligations, and facilitation for their access to the asylum procedure.

Do you think the number of people who apply for asylum is less than the number who need it?

Those who deserve asylum are fewer than those who request it. And those who request it are not all refugees who genuinely deserve it.

Why don’t those who need asylum apply for it?

It’s because they don’t get the right information or legal advice, especially in the border areas. It’s also because they don’t manage to submit their application . . . or because they don’t trust Greece’s very problematic asylum system.

What are the main problems with Greece’s asylum system?

The initial processing and decision-making is unreliable, and the refugee recognition rate is almost zero. Not all asylum claims are registered swiftly, while many asylum-seekers lose their right to appeal. The procedure for adjudicating the claims is extremely slow.

What are the most common complaints you get from immigrants and refugees?

Delays in the adjudication of their asylum applications; lack of shelter and social care; informal push-backs or returns to Turkey across the Evros River [in north-east Greece], cases of ill-treatment.

And what do you do about them?

It depends. We address formal letters to the authorities; we try to solve the problem in an ad hoc way if possible; and we often refer individual cases to non-governmental organizations which provide legal and social support.

Fortress Europe’s “dissuasion effects” – FRONTEX predicts decrease in immigrants numbers

source

FRONTEX: ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION DOWN, -25% EXPECTED IN 2009

(ANSAmed) – ROME – In 2009 illegal immigration into Europe could fall by as much as 20 – 25% compared to 2008, says Gil Arias-Fernandez, deputy executive director of EU border agency, Frontex. Today he presented figures on illegal immigration in Europe regarding the first three months of 2009. Compared to the first quarter of 2008, there has been a 16% drop in the number of illegal immigrants arriving in Europe, and a 20% drop in Italy.

Overall in this period 20,200 illegal immigrants are thought to have arrived in Europe, 2,586 (13%) of whom arrived in Italy. The amount of people entering Europe by land or air has fallen particularly, considering that 8% of illegal immigrants arrived by boat.

The total number of illegal immigrants in the EU in January, February and March 2009 was 90,800 (11,080 in Italy), 16% fewer (12% for Italy) than in the first quarter of 2008. Last year 145 thousand illegal immigrants came to Europe. Italy had the greatest number of immigrants arriving by boat, 37 thousand, or 41% of the total.

In 2009, Frontex is expecting to see trends change. ”The trends of the last few months, along with forecasts,” the deputy director said, ”show that illegal immigration could fall by as much as 20-25%. If sea routes change, it could remain stable at 16% or drop to 10%.”

Arias-Fernandez believes that numbers have fallen due to the economic crisis and the fact that some countries have been repatriating illegal immigrants, as well as the agreements made between Italy and Libya.

Meanwhile, the arrival of illegal immigrants in Sicily and Sardinia has fallen by 54% and 56% respectively. The decrease in the number of arrivals, according to Arias-Fernandez, was also influenced by the agreements made between Italy and Libya.

”From January 1 2009 to July 5,” he affirmed, ”there were 333 illegal arrivals according to our people in the field. For the same period last year there were 776.

As for Sicily, including Lampedusa, the figure passed from last year’s 14,806 to 6,760 this year. From May 15 on, that is from when the agreements became effective, our agents noticed even more of a decrease.

The decrease in this last month and a half may have even reached -70%.” A positive vote therefore for the agreements between Italy and Libya. ”Based on our statistics,” Arias-Fernandez concluded, we are able to say that the agreements have had a positive impact.

On the humanitarian level, fewer human lives have been put at risk, due to fewer departures. But our agency does not have the ability to confirm if the right to request asylum as well as other human rights are being respected 3in Libya.” The arrivals from sea on Italy’s shores from the Mediterranean represent around 5% of the total of illegal migrants, while the other 95% come from the East, often carrying tourist visas (ANSAmed).

Concentration Camps Everywhere! – Group of Immigrants and Refugees – Clandestina network at the 12th Antiracist Festival Thessaloniki