AFGHANISTAN CRISIS
Foreign minister slams opposition over 'refugee hub' claims in UK media
Photo: AA
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Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has criticized opposition parties over the claims that the UK and the US will set up" processing hubs" for Afghan refugees in Turkey.
"BBC understood its mistake. It deleted the tweet and apologized for the erroneous report ... But the opposition of the Republic of Turkey shouldn't be in that position. They shouldn't jump on a fake, unreal report," Çavuşoğlu said at a joint press conference in Ankara with his counterpart from Uruguay.
In an article published in the Mail on Sunday, UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said that they were planning to establish "processing hubs" for Afghan refugees in third countries.
CLICK - Foreign Ministry responds to UK plan to set up asylum center in Turkey
The Daily Mail reported that Turkey and Pakistan were among these countries. In a UK media roundup, the BBC Turkish service attributed the newspaper's claim to the minister.
After the BBC article was published, opposition leaders lashed out at both President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the UK government.
Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) Chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu asked Erdoğan whether he made a secret deal with the UK. Also addressing the UK government, he said Turkey won't pay the price for "the Afghans you left for dead."
İYİ (Good) Party Chair Meral Akşener addressed UK's PM Boris Johnson Twitter, saying, "When Mr. Erdoğan is gone after the next election, we will not allow such camps on our soil."
Mr. Prime Minister @BorisJohnson;
— Meral Akşener (@meral_aksener) August 22, 2021
Such agreements on Afghan refugees are against the will of Turkish people and thus illegitimate in our regards.
When Mr. Erdoğan is gone after the next election, we will not allow such camps on our soil.
Be warned. https://t.co/ZVxaBreTCr
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs late Sunday denied the reports, saying that Ankara hadn't been approached about the issue. "Should there be such a request, we would not accept it anyway," it stated.
Yesterday, BBC Turkish stated that it had made a "citation error" and apologized for the mistake. It also deleted the relevant tweets.
Presidency Communications Director Fahrettin Altun claimed that the BBC Turkish had to delete the tweets after "we exposed their lies."
The reports in question are still online on the websites of The Guardian and The Daily Mail and the UK's Ministry of Defense has not denied them.
Previously, the US Department of State suggested Turkey as an application spot for Afghans who had worked for it during the 20-year occupation.
After this statement, opposition leaders accused the government of making a "secret deal" with Washington, which was denied by both the US Department of State and Turkey's Foreign Ministry.
Evacuations from AfghanistanAsked about Ankara's evacuations from Afghanistan's capital Kabul, Çavuşoğlu said Turkey has evacuated over 1,400 people from Afghanistan with about 200 more in line to leave. Of the evacuees, he said, "1,061 of them are our citizens and others are nationals of other countries." He also noted that there are about 4,500 citizens of Turkey in Afghanistan. "We have contacted each of our citizens, called them one by one," he said. Underscoring the need for stability in Afghanistan, Çavuşoğlu said: "Our hope is that peace and stability in Afghanistan will be permanently established within the framework of democracy and human rights. If steps are taken in this direction, Turkey will give our best support." "I would like to note that we are in contact with all parties, not just with a particular group," he added. Taliban seized control of Afghanistan after taking Kabul on Aug. 15, with the president and other top officials leaving the country. The unexpectedly fast shift to Taliban rule triggered a rush to flee Afghanistan, with the future in the war-torn country unclear. |
(AS/VK)
