Amid growing debates and concerns on irregular migration in the country, the spokesperson of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) on Thursday underlined that the government is following such considerations closely while fighting irregular migration effectively.
"Our citizens, who have rightfully expressed their concerns about Turkey’s demographic security, should know that this issue is being followed. We are highly sensitive about Turkey’s demographic security," said Ömer Çelik during an AK Party Central Decision and Executive Board meeting chaired by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Çelik decried recent provocations against Turkey over the issue of migration, saying: "Turkey has both experience and a policy on migration management. The country is effectively fighting against irregular migration."
Turkey hosts more Syrian migrants than any other country in the world. The country also leads humanitarian aid efforts for Syrians in Turkey and opposition-controlled areas of northern Syria, while making large investments for Syrians in Turkey in social cohesion policies to help them integrate into society smoothly.
"On the one hand, Turkey is making efforts to solve the problem at its source. On the other hand, effective security measures are taken at the border," he said.
Çelik noted that Turkey always has a policy that takes into account its demographic security, adding that efforts are underway to send asylum-seekers to their countries voluntarily and with dignity.
Turkey has already inaugurated several thousand briquette houses in the Idlib region – the last opposition bastion in northwestern Syria – to facilitate the return of Syrians to safe zones along the border.
At the same time, the Turkish leader has vowed to "protect up to the end our brothers who fled the war and took refuge in our country," refusing to throw them into the "lap of murderers."
His comments run contrary to the radical argument of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), whose leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu promised to send Syrians back if elected in 2023.
Meanwhile, international solidarity is waning after 11 years of civil war. Donors pledged $6.7 billion for Syria at a conference in Brussels Tuesday – well below the $10.5 billion the United Nations had sought.
On the other side, Russia, a major ally of Bashar Assad, has announced that it will oppose the renewal of a U.N. resolution in July authorizing the passage of humanitarian aid through Turkey.
Conference on document fraud, irregular migration
On the same day, an international conference on detecting travel fraud and combating irregular migration kicked off in Istanbul.
The two-day EU-funded conference was organized as part of a project to enhance the capacities of the Turkish national police force and other law enforcement agencies in risk analysis and detecting travel document forgery.
In cooperation with the Turkish National Police, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Turkey held the event, titled "International Conference on Travel Document Fraud Detection and Combating Irregular Migration."
Speaking at the event, Tommaso de Cataldo, the head of migration management at the IOM branch in Turkey, said that according to current regional and global trends, the use of fraudulent travel documents and IDs at air, land and sea border crossings remains one of the most common methods of facilitating the irregular movement of people.
The Turkish national police force is "one of the key front line actors" in the country responsible for the effective identification and investigation of forged documents, de Cataldo underlined.
A joint effort from both national and international stakeholders and partners is needed for the effective identification and investigation of forged documents and to ensure safe, orderly and regular migration, he added.
De Cataldo stressed that the IOM is also committed to supporting Turkey and all its member states in strengthening their border management efforts "with an aim of increasing effectiveness in reducing irregular migration across their borders."
He also voiced support for Turkey’s "tremendous efforts to address irregular migration," adding that they were "especially honored" to do so.
Also speaking at the event, Deputy Interior Minister Muhterem Ince underlined Turkey’s success in detecting forged travel documents.
"Our fight against document forgery, which plays a key role in the fight against irregular migration at our border gates and against the migrant smugglers who provide these documents, continues intensely," Ince said, pointing out that document forgery is common among irregular immigrants.
He also stressed that Turkish police receive training requests from the police of other countries to help them detect document forgery due to their success in this field.
In addition to the nationwide measures taken against irregular migration, Turkey also actively participates in international action, Ince said, adding that Ankara cooperates with Germany, the U.K., Italy, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Serbia, Iran and Pakistan in preventing migrant smuggling.