7 min.
Amnistía Internacional (AI) ha asegurado este jueves que Turquía ha obligado a miles de refugiados a regresar a Siria en los últimos meses. Asímismo, ha acusado a la Unión Europea (UE) de "ignorar a propósito prácticas "ilegales" como ésa por parte de Ankara.
Según una investigación de la organización, las autoridades turcas han expulsado "casi a diario" a grupos compuestos por cerca de un centenar de hombres, mujeres y niños hacia Siria desde mediados de enero.
El acuerdo UE-Turquía adolece de "defectos fatales"
"En su desesperación para sellar las fronteras, los líderes de la UE han ignorado a propósito el más simple de los hechos, que Turquía no es un país seguro para los refugiados sirios", ha señalado el director para Europa y Asia Central de la organización, John Dalhuisen, en un comunicado emitido desde su sede en Londres.
Amnistía Internacional ha reunido múltiples testimonios que atestiguan una operación a "gran escala" para devolver refugiados a Siria desde la provincia turca de Hatay, un plan que según la organización humanitaria es "un secreto a voces" en la región.
La Comisión Europea (CE) ha reiterado que prevé iniciar el próximo lunes el mecanismo pactado con Ankara por el cual se devolverán a Turquía los refugiados que alcancen suelo griego.
Ante las devoluciones de refugiados sirios desde Turquía a su país de origen, sumido en el conflicto, Amnistía Internacional considera que el acuerdo entre la UE y Turquía adolece de "defectos fatales".
''I am a pediatrician. I tried to stay in Syria for as long I could so I can help until no place was safe for us anymore and left,â¿¿ said Rami, pictured here with his 12-year-old son Hussein. â¿¿We fled death.'' His wife and three other children are still in Syria, at the borders with Turkey but cannot cross yet.
Refugees like this little boy from Syria can see no way forward and no way back after Macedonian authorities officially announced the complete closure of the border with Greece on Wednesday, leaving thousands in despair. Everybody kept asking us, â¿¿Is the border going to stay closed? What are we supposed to do?â¿¿
Children face Greek police officers after the border with Macedonia was closed. Asylum-seekers grew increasingly agitated as news of the EU-Turkey deal reached Idomeni. â¿¿Are they going to send us back to Turkey?â¿¿ many people kept asking us. Greek authorities announced that the Idomeni camp would be evacuated and people would be placed in state-run camps. But with all existing camps at full capacity and the borders closed, where will the 13,000 people go?
As EU leaders prepared a deal with Turkey that would effectively barter refugees, the humanitarian crisis is worsening in places such as the Greek border crossing of Idomeni, where up to 13,000 refugees and migrants have been stranded. The border restrictions and gradual closure imposed here by neighouring Macedonia, effectively shutting the Western Balkans route, have fueled an increasingly desperate situation for asylum-seekers. Here are some of the scenes captured by Amnesty Internationalâ¿¿s Fotis Filippou.
As EU leaders prepared a deal with Turkey that would effectively barter refugees, the humanitarian crisis is worsening in places such as the Greek border crossing of Idomeni, where up to 13,000 refugees and migrants have been stranded. The border restrictions and gradual closure imposed here by neighouring Macedonia, effectively shutting the Western Balkans route, have fueled an increasingly desperate situation for asylum-seekers. Here are some of the scenes captured by Amnesty Internationalâ¿¿s Fotis Filippou.
As EU leaders prepared a deal with Turkey that would effectively barter refugees, the humanitarian crisis is worsening in places such as the Greek border crossing of Idomeni, where up to 13,000 refugees and migrants have been stranded. The border restrictions and gradual closure imposed here by neighouring Macedonia, effectively shutting the Western Balkans route, have fueled an increasingly desperate situation for asylum-seekers. Here are some of the scenes captured by Amnesty Internationalâ¿¿s Fotis Filippou.
As EU leaders prepared a deal with Turkey that would effectively barter refugees, the humanitarian crisis is worsening in places such as the Greek border crossing of Idomeni, where up to 13,000 refugees and migrants have been stranded. The border restrictions and gradual closure imposed here by neighouring Macedonia, effectively shutting the Western Balkans route, have fueled an increasingly desperate situation for asylum-seekers. Here are some of the scenes captured by Amnesty Internationalâ¿¿s Fotis Filippou.
As EU leaders prepared a deal with Turkey that would effectively barter refugees, the humanitarian crisis is worsening in places such as the Greek border crossing of Idomeni, where up to 13,000 refugees and migrants have been stranded. The border restrictions and gradual closure imposed here by neighouring Macedonia, effectively shutting the Western Balkans route, have fueled an increasingly desperate situation for asylum-seekers. Here are some of the scenes captured by Amnesty Internationalâ¿¿s Fotis Filippou.
As EU leaders prepared a deal with Turkey that would effectively barter refugees, the humanitarian crisis is worsening in places such as the Greek border crossing of Idomeni, where up to 13,000 refugees and migrants have been stranded. The border restrictions and gradual closure imposed here by neighouring Macedonia, effectively shutting the Western Balkans route, have fueled an increasingly desperate situation for asylum-seekers. Here are some of the scenes captured by Amnesty Internationalâ¿¿s Fotis Filippou.
Mohammed, a 45 year old pharmacist from Deir ez-Zor, Syria has been stranded with his 18-year-old son in Idomeni for over a week. â¿¿Look at me, look how I look and the surroundings. Do you know Victor Hugo, â¿¿Les Miserablesâ¿¿? This is what we have become. But I will wait here until the European leaders meet next week, and then decide what to do.â¿¿
As EU leaders prepared a deal with Turkey that would effectively barter refugees, the humanitarian crisis is worsening in places such as the Greek border crossing of Idomeni, where up to 13,000 refugees and migrants have been stranded. The border restrictions and gradual closure imposed here by neighouring Macedonia, effectively shutting the Western Balkans route, have fueled an increasingly desperate situation for asylum-seekers. Here are some of the scenes captured by Amnesty Internationalâ¿¿s Fotis Filippou.
As EU leaders prepared a deal with Turkey that would effectively barter refugees, the humanitarian crisis is worsening in places such as the Greek border crossing of Idomeni, where up to 13,000 refugees and migrants have been stranded. The border restrictions and gradual closure imposed here by neighouring Macedonia, effectively shutting the Western Balkans route, have fueled an increasingly desperate situation for asylum-seekers. Here are some of the scenes captured by Amnesty Internationalâ¿¿s Fotis Filippou.
"Falta de humanidad" en las devoluciones
"Es un acuerdo que solo puede ser implementado por los corazones más duros, con una enorme indiferencia por la legalidad internacional", ha sostenido Dalhuisen.
"Lejos de presionar a Turquía para que mejore su protección a los refugiados sirios, la Unión Europea está incentivando lo contrario. Es altamente probable que Turquía haya devuelto a Siria a varios miles de refugiados en las últimas nueve semanas", ha indicado el director para Europa y Asia Central.
Si el acuerdo se pone en marcha, "hay un riesgo muy real de que algunas de las personas que la Unión Europea envíe a Turquía acaben sufriendo el mismo destino", dijo el responsable de AI.
Entre los casos que la organización humanitaria ha documentado, Dalhuisen ha destacado la devolución a Siria de tres menores de edad, sin la compañía de sus padres, y una mujer embarazada de ocho meses.
A muchos sirios se les niega la condición de refugiados
La mayoría de las personas que han sido obligadas a regresar al país en guerra no se han registrado como refugiados, según Amnistía, si bien algunos de ellos han sufrido ese mismo destino al ser interceptados por fuerzas turcas sin llevar con ellos los papeles necesarios.
"La falta de humanidad de esas devoluciones es francamente chocante. Turquía debe detenerlas inmediatamente", afirmó Dalhuisen.
Amnistía Internacional reflejó en otra investigación reciente cómo Turquía ha rebajado la cantidad de personas que registra como refugiados en las provincias fronterizas con Siria.
La organización ha advertido de que en algunos casos se ha negado el registro a personas provenientes del país vecino, que no han podido acceder a tratamientos médicos vitales al carecer de esa documentación.
De acuerdo con algunos testimonios citados por la organización, las autoridades turcas han detenido y enviado de vuelta a Siria a personas que trataban de registrarse como refugiados, lo que ha provocado que muchos sirios en suelo turco prefieran esconderse.