German Chancellor Angela Merkel visited a refugee camp on the
Turkish-Syrian border Saturday, kicking off a high-stakes visit aimed at
boosting a month-old migrant deal plagued by moral and legal concerns.
Merkel, who was accompanied by European Council head Donald Tusk and
European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans, headed to the Nizip
2 camp near Gaziantep after touching down in the country's south-east.
"Welcome to Turkey, the country that hosts the most refugees in the
world," read a huge banner hanging over the entrance to the camp, which
hosts some 5,000 people in row upon row of white and beige prefabricated
houses.
The aim of the visit is to promote the six-billion-euro ($6.7 billion)
deal to return migrants arriving on Greek shores to Turkey, which has
come under fire from rights groups, the UN refugee agency and some EU
leaders.
The funds are aimed at helping Turkey improve conditions for the 2.7 million refugees it is hosting.
Diplomatic relations are strained following President Recep Tayyip
Erdogan's warning that the deal to curb the migrant flow to Europe would
fall through if the EU did not keep up its end of the bargain by
allowing visa-free travel for Turkish citizens.
The bloc promised to present a visa recommendation on May 4 if Ankara
complies with its side of the accord, but there has been growing unease
in Europe over fears that security concerns are being fudged to
fast-track Turkey's application.
US President Barack Obama on Saturday hailed Merkel's "courageous" leadership in handling the Syrian refugee crisis.
But Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban said the EU had "sold out to
Turkey" and the consequences were "impossible to predict", adding: "The
security of the European Union cannot be in the hands of a power outside
the EU."
The success of the deal, which sharply reduced the number of people
crossing from Turkey to Greece, was also called into question, with the
International Organisation for Migration (IOM) saying the numbers were
"once again ticking up".
Merkel has said the Turkey visit is a chance to take stock of the
implementation of the migrant deal and discuss the next steps, as well
as evaluate conditions on the ground for those who have fled the
devastating five-year war in Syria.
Judith Sunderland, Human Rights Watch's acting deputy director for
Europe, said that instead of "touring a sanitized refugee camp", the
delegation "should go to the detention centre for people who were
abusively deported from Greece".
Amnesty International on Friday also urged the European delegation not
to "close their eyes to the catalogue of human rights abuses faced by
refugees" in Turkey, repeating claims it had documented Syrians being
shot at by Turkish soldiers.
"We have schools and hospitals, life is good here," Mohamed Tomos, 49,
who fled Damascus with his wife and four children and now lives with
them in Nizip 2, told AFP.
"But we want to know what our future holds. If the war ended today, tomorrow I would go to Syria," he said.
The European leaders are expected to visit a child protection centre
before retiring for talks and winding up with a joint press conference
with Turkey's Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu at 8pm (1700 GMT).
Many in Europe will be watching closely to see if the delegation takes a stand against the deterioration of rights.
Tusk set the tone for a confrontational visit on Friday, when he
insisted "our freedoms, including freedom of expression, will not be
subject to any political bargaining. This message must be heard by
President Erdogan."
His comments came as Turkish scholars and journalists, who have
criticised the state's policies on Kurds and Syria, stood trial in
Istanbul accused of betraying the state.
The cases have sounded alarm bells over the growing restrictions on
free speech under Erdogan and increased pressure on Merkel to show more
spine after allowing a German comedian to be prosecuted for a crude poem
about the Turkish leader.
