'They fooled us': Municipalities respond to human smuggling allegations

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The Ministry of Interior opened an investigation into six district municipalities after reports about "human smuggling" to Europe through various municipal programs.

It was revealed last week that 43 of the 45 people didn't return to Turkey after being sent to Germany as part of an environmental program by the Yeşilyurt District Municipality.

Soon after, it was understood that it wasn't an individual case but a widely used method for smuggling people to Europe. All the people who went abroad as part of such programs were granted service-stamped passports, also known as grey passports.

Do municipalities in Turkey organize human smuggling to Europe? Here is what we know 

The six district municipalities under investigation are led by three political parties represented in the parliament:

• The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP): Korgan (Ordu province)
• The main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP): Gömeç (Balıkesir), Gölbaşı (Adıyaman), Yeşilova (Burdur)
• İYİ (Good) Party: Yerköy (Yozgat)
• Suruç district municipality in Urfa province had been led by the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) until the government replaced its mayor with a trustee seven months after the March 2019 local elections.

The ministry found that these municipalities had made protocols with non-governmental organizations and sent people abroad as part of various projects such as "folk dance performances," "culture tours" and "youth programs."

In response, the mayors denied allegations that they were involved in the irregular issuance of grey passports.

Yeşilova Mayor Mümtaz Şenel said on Twitter that grey passports were requested for 397 people as per a decision taken by the previous municipal administration and 387 went to Rome as part of the Erasmus program.

Twenty-three of them hadn't returned their passports to the municipality and they didn't know what action was taken regarding them, he said.

Yerköy Mayor Ferhat Yılmaz said in a written statement that all the people who went to Poland for a "folk festival" with grey passports had returned to the country.

"They fooled us"

Gömeç Mayor İrem Himam told daily Sözcü that they were "fooled" by the people who went to Ohri, North Macedonia.

The municipality sent 34 people for a festival that was held between January 30 and February 2.

"They said they were going to participate in a festival. They said 'It would be easier to get a visa if we get a grey passport," she said. "They went with two vehicles because of corona measures. One returned, one didn't. In one word, they fooled us."

Gölbaşı Municipality sent an Ottoman military band, known as mehter, to a folk festival that was held in Salonika, Greece, between February 21 and 25. One of the 64 people hadn't returned, he said. (AS/VK)