In yet another instance of illegal pushback by Greece, the Turkish Coast Guard Command rescued 73 irregular migrants who were forced into Turkish territorial waters on Tuesday.
In the first incident, Turkish teams were dispatched off the coast of Ayvacık in the northwestern Çanakkale province after the coast guard received information about irregular migrants on a rubber boat. The Coast Guard Command said in a statement that 48 foreign nationals from Yemen, Syria and Palestine were rescued.
Türkiye and global rights groups have repeatedly condemned Greece’s illegal practice of pushing back irregular migrants, saying it violates humanitarian values and international law by endangering the lives of vulnerable migrants, including women and children.
Separately, 25 irregular migrants who were pushed into Turkish territorial waters by Greek forces were rescued off the coast of Ayvalık in Balıkesir, the coast guard said in a statement. After learning about the migrants, a coast guard TCSG-6 boat was dispatched to the area, and the irregular immigrants were rescued.
Türkiye has been a key transit point for irregular migrants wanting to cross into Europe to start new lives, especially those fleeing war and persecution.
Greece is a major entry point for migrants seeking a better life in the European Union, most entering illegally from Türkiye in unseaworthy boats provided by smuggling gangs. The Greek government has tightened patrols, significantly reducing arrivals, but has been repeatedly accused by human rights groups and Turkish officials of migrant pushbacks. Athens steadily denies these claims.
A New York Times report, which was based on a video provided by an activist, that was made public two days before Greece's parliamentary election earlier this month, alleged that in early April migrants were brought by van to a Lesbos beach and then taken by speedboat to a coastguard vessel. The coast guard allegedly left the migrants on a raft at sea from which the Turkish coast guard picked them up before being taken to Türkiye. Ylva Johansson, the EU Commissioner for Home Affairs said after the report was released that the EU has formally asked Athens to "fully and independently” investigate the incident. "It is necessary that proper follow-up is initiated by Greek authorities,” she said, adding that the EU's executive branch "stands ready to take formal steps.”
