EU violates rights of asylum seekers: Turkish group

ANKARA

A Turkish jurists group has slammed the EU for violating the rights of asylum seekers flocking to the Turkish-Greek border.

“EU countries announced that they support Greece's human rights violations under the pretext of protecting its borders,” Necati Ceylan, head of Turkey’s International Jurist Union, said in a statement late Friday.

Asylum seekers flocking to the Turkish-Greek borders caused great panic in the governments of European Union countries, he said.

“The United States and EU countries stress the possibility of asylum seekers coming to their countries and affecting their economic well-being, so they do not see asylum seekers as people,” he said.

This proves that the EU talk of values and human rights is empty, he argued.

Ceylan also called on international organizations and NGOs “to stop the humanitarian plight and crimes against humanity.”

Saying that the EU failed to keep its promises on supporting migrants in Turkey, Ankara recently announced it would no longer try to stop asylum seekers from reaching Europe.

Thousands of asylum seekers have since flocked to Turkey’s Edirne province – which borders Greece and Bulgaria –­ to make their way to Europe.

The Greek reaction to the asylum seekers has been harsh, with many battered, attacked, and tear-gassed, and several killed by Greek forces.

Turkey, which already hosts nearly 4 million Syrian migrants, more than any other country in the world, said it cannot absorb another refugee wave.