Quo vadis Europe?
On Oct. 25, thousands of neo-Nazis in Cologne, one of the nicest and most multicultural cities in Germany, shouted slogans that all foreigners must be deported. The racist Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West (PEGIDA) organization continued its anti-Muslim acts on Monday.
Racism is rising not only in Germany, but also in most parts of Europe.
Belgium's radical right-wing government partner is suggesting making refugees sign special guarantees, which is an embarrassing implementation on behalf of humanity, as in the Netherlands. They are proposing that even though the asylum demands those who do not sign the documents will be accepted, they would still face problems in matters of family reunification and citizenship, which violates the rules of state of law.
The EU, with its Copenhagen Criteria for membership, claims it sets a model for the entire world, but it has dissolved like paper towns in the face of 1 million Syrian refugees. Turkey and some other countries in Africa and the Middle East, which Europe looks down on, have opened their gates to millions of refugees in efforts to protect them.
But the countries of people who formerly fled to the West as refugees under the pressure of the Soviet Union and communism are now displaying the greatest anti-refugee behavior. While they were previously struggling to take shelter in the West, they are now engaging in all kinds of efforts in order not to allow those who try to take refuge in their countries.
Bulgarian Prime Minister Bojko Borisov held a Balkan summit of three countries and announced that they decided to completely close their borders to refugees. Borisov said that their countries became a place where refugees frequently stop by, adding that they had no chance apart from taking joint action to prevent this. However, he said that Bulgaria, Serbia and Romania would behave in unison with the EU regarding the refugee issue.
Bulgaria and Romania are proving that some countries became EU members undeservedly when compared to Turkey, which has been kept waiting for years with all kinds of injustices in its membership negotiations. I wonder whether the citizens of the newest EU countries, who were formerly Warsaw Pact members and striving to pass to be NATO member countries, have clear consciences. How would they feel if they were in the place of Syrian refugees they now refuse to take in, and if Western European countries would have turned them away and they had not evaded communism?
So, now it is inevitable to ask: Quo vadis Europe?
The EU is responsible for the current situation of Syrian refugees that are flowing over EU borders since it remained indifferent to Syrian's, President Bashar Assad.
If numerous Syrians including women, children and elderly embarked on journeys of starvation and shivering with cold in the Balkan nights, they are in need of responsible EU leaders and politicians.
Besides, the refugees who have recently made their way to the EU took to the road before Russia's intervention in Syria. As Russian warplanes and Assad's forces keep attacking opponents in Syria, who are resisting for democracy, the number of refugees will be increasing ever more. The number of those currently walking toward Slovenia is small when compared to future numbers.
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu needed to warn the citizens of the world that thousands of people started to flee Aleppo after Russia began its air attacks. Davutoğlu also called on the EU to take measures that would prevent this new refugee influx before it is too late.
As a matter of fact, this is not the first call from Davutoğlu. Both Davutoğlu and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan have warned in anxious words for about a year that a new wave of refugees might come with the fall of Aleppo.
And now, this anxiety has turned into a realistic tragedy. According to sources in the region, about 70,000 Syrian refugees started fleeing Aleppo and its surrounding area. And according to Turkish authorities, the number of refugees would reach 350,000 if Russia and Assad maintain their air and land operations in this area, and these figures only reflect the beginning numbers.
EU countries now have to take required steps by raising their heads out from the sand.
The first step should be preventing all kinds of attacks of racists in Europe targeting refugees and not allowing those groups to provoke the public. The EU has the obligation to provide temporary living conditions compatible with human dignity to refugees.When countries like Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary, who violated the EU's humanitarian criteria, attempt to implement practices against human rights, the sacred values that constitute the EU must be embraced and some sanctions must be applied on the countries violating EU principles.
The second step must be ending indifference to what is happening in Syria. Syria should not be allowed to be turned into a playground for the antidemocratic plans of Russia and Iran. Also, the outlawed PKK's Syrian affiliate Democratic Union Party (PYD) should not be backed, which would be another mistake, because refugees are escaping not only because of Assad, but also due to the pressures of the PYD, which is trying to seize northern Syria.
By aiding organizations like the PYD and the PKK, which have been supported by the EU and the U.S. to eradicate the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), the refugee waves cannot be stopped. Contrarily, the number would increase even more. For this very reason, I believe that it would be valuable to benefit from Turkey's experience and listen to its suggestions, before it is too late.
Racism is rising not only in Germany, but also in most parts of Europe.
Belgium's radical right-wing government partner is suggesting making refugees sign special guarantees, which is an embarrassing implementation on behalf of humanity, as in the Netherlands. They are proposing that even though the asylum demands those who do not sign the documents will be accepted, they would still face problems in matters of family reunification and citizenship, which violates the rules of state of law.
The EU, with its Copenhagen Criteria for membership, claims it sets a model for the entire world, but it has dissolved like paper towns in the face of 1 million Syrian refugees. Turkey and some other countries in Africa and the Middle East, which Europe looks down on, have opened their gates to millions of refugees in efforts to protect them.
But the countries of people who formerly fled to the West as refugees under the pressure of the Soviet Union and communism are now displaying the greatest anti-refugee behavior. While they were previously struggling to take shelter in the West, they are now engaging in all kinds of efforts in order not to allow those who try to take refuge in their countries.
Bulgarian Prime Minister Bojko Borisov held a Balkan summit of three countries and announced that they decided to completely close their borders to refugees. Borisov said that their countries became a place where refugees frequently stop by, adding that they had no chance apart from taking joint action to prevent this. However, he said that Bulgaria, Serbia and Romania would behave in unison with the EU regarding the refugee issue.
Bulgaria and Romania are proving that some countries became EU members undeservedly when compared to Turkey, which has been kept waiting for years with all kinds of injustices in its membership negotiations. I wonder whether the citizens of the newest EU countries, who were formerly Warsaw Pact members and striving to pass to be NATO member countries, have clear consciences. How would they feel if they were in the place of Syrian refugees they now refuse to take in, and if Western European countries would have turned them away and they had not evaded communism?
So, now it is inevitable to ask: Quo vadis Europe?
The EU is responsible for the current situation of Syrian refugees that are flowing over EU borders since it remained indifferent to Syrian's, President Bashar Assad.
If numerous Syrians including women, children and elderly embarked on journeys of starvation and shivering with cold in the Balkan nights, they are in need of responsible EU leaders and politicians.
Besides, the refugees who have recently made their way to the EU took to the road before Russia's intervention in Syria. As Russian warplanes and Assad's forces keep attacking opponents in Syria, who are resisting for democracy, the number of refugees will be increasing ever more. The number of those currently walking toward Slovenia is small when compared to future numbers.
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu needed to warn the citizens of the world that thousands of people started to flee Aleppo after Russia began its air attacks. Davutoğlu also called on the EU to take measures that would prevent this new refugee influx before it is too late.
As a matter of fact, this is not the first call from Davutoğlu. Both Davutoğlu and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan have warned in anxious words for about a year that a new wave of refugees might come with the fall of Aleppo.
And now, this anxiety has turned into a realistic tragedy. According to sources in the region, about 70,000 Syrian refugees started fleeing Aleppo and its surrounding area. And according to Turkish authorities, the number of refugees would reach 350,000 if Russia and Assad maintain their air and land operations in this area, and these figures only reflect the beginning numbers.
EU countries now have to take required steps by raising their heads out from the sand.
The first step should be preventing all kinds of attacks of racists in Europe targeting refugees and not allowing those groups to provoke the public. The EU has the obligation to provide temporary living conditions compatible with human dignity to refugees.When countries like Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary, who violated the EU's humanitarian criteria, attempt to implement practices against human rights, the sacred values that constitute the EU must be embraced and some sanctions must be applied on the countries violating EU principles.
The second step must be ending indifference to what is happening in Syria. Syria should not be allowed to be turned into a playground for the antidemocratic plans of Russia and Iran. Also, the outlawed PKK's Syrian affiliate Democratic Union Party (PYD) should not be backed, which would be another mistake, because refugees are escaping not only because of Assad, but also due to the pressures of the PYD, which is trying to seize northern Syria.
By aiding organizations like the PYD and the PKK, which have been supported by the EU and the U.S. to eradicate the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), the refugee waves cannot be stopped. Contrarily, the number would increase even more. For this very reason, I believe that it would be valuable to benefit from Turkey's experience and listen to its suggestions, before it is too late.
Last Update: October 28, 2015 01:59