Refugee card played again in Turkiye candidates’ election campaigns

Refugee card played again in Turkiye candidates’ election campaigns
Above campaign billboards in the southwest of the city center of Sanliurfa on April 28, 2023. Turkiye has officially hosted 3.7 million Syrians, probably more than 5 million in total. ( AFP)
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Updated 04 May 2023
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Refugee card played again in Turkiye candidates’ election campaigns

Refugee card played again in Turkiye candidates’ election campaigns
  • Opposition falls short of proper protection for displaced, say analysts
  • Nation Alliance’s Kemal Kilicdaroglu wants to repatriate 3.6m in 2 years

ANKARA: With only a few days until the critical ballot in Turkiye on May 14, the issue of refugees has again resurfaced during the election campaigns of candidates.

The main opposition presidential candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu recently released a video outlining his plans for refugees if the Nation Alliance is victorious.

Kilicdaroglu’s position is that normalization will be pursued with the Bashar Assad regime and a protocol signed to protect refugees.

The UN and the EU will also be included in this protocol and more funds will be asked from them for the reconstruction process, with Turkish companies tasked with rebuilding Syria.

Both in his video speech and during his previous rallies across the country, Kilicdaroglu has pledged to repatriate about 3.6 million Syrians registered in Turkiye back to their homeland within at least two years.

Turkiye cannot be Europe’s “buffer zone” for refugees, Kilicdaroglu said.

If essential measures are not taken, “hungry and thirsty” refugees from these countries would flock over Turkey’s borders, he cautioned. “The refugee issue is not a racial issue, but a resource one,” he added.

As anti-refugee sentiment has intensified in campaign rhetoric, experts argue that it is not realistic to send all Syrians back to their countries in a short time because international law has to be taken into account.

During the upcoming elections, some 167,000 Syrians will be eligible to cast their vote.

Friedrich Puttmann, doctoral researcher at the European Institute of London School of Economics, thinks that the opposition’s plans to send Syrian refugees back home within two years would inevitably lead to a new row with Brussels. This is because the European Council’s conclusions from April 2018 oppose any forced returns of the Syrian refugees or voluntary returns that are used to change the local ethnic demographics in Syria.

“Moreover, most Syrian refugees would like to stay in Turkiye, where they have built a life over the past years, and not to return to Syria, which continues to be unsafe due to the continuing civil war and especially the Assad regime,” he told Arab News.

“That is true even if the next government reaches an agreement with Assad providing safety guarantees for returning Syrians, because Assad’s dictatorial regime must be profoundly mistrusted.”

As a result, Puttmann thinks that more Syrian refugees today are considering crossing into the EU again, which may lead to another refugee crisis on the EU’s shores, and many are hoping to keep the rights they have in Turkiye at the moment.

“That is also because, as Human Rights Watch has reported, not all returns that look voluntary on paper actually also are voluntary in practice,” he said.

Although President Recep Tayyip Erdogan uses softer language with regard to Turkiye’s Syrian refugees, Puttmann said that Erdogan’s aim is the same, which is to return them to Syria with the help of the EU.

“No matter the result of the elections, it is high time for the EU to take the perspective of the Turkish host society even more into account than until now, if it wants to prevent both the Syrians’ deportation to Syria and another refugee crisis on the EU’s borders.

“The EU should proactively seek dialogue with Turkiye on this and make a proposal on how it could support the welfare of both Syrian refugees and Turkish citizens as well as their integration with each other better in the future.”

According to Metin Corabatir, president of the Ankara-based Research Center on Asylum and Migration, or IGAM, it is unrealistic to send Syrians back to their homeland by reaching an agreement with the Assad regime under the current circumstances.

“The secure conditions laid down by the UN and the EU have not been reached yet in order to allow a safe return.

“Therefore, they would not be willing to be part of any protocol,” he told Arab News.

“The ongoing oppositional rhetoric against the Syrians should only be viewed as a political move to consolidate voters ahead of the elections, and nothing more,” he said.

Corabatir also emphasized that the Assad regime would require the withdrawal of Turkish troops from its territories.

“Therefore Syrians could not be sent to the so-called safe zones where Turkish troops would be absent as well,” he said.

Dr. Begum Basdas, researcher at the Centre for Fundamental Rights at the Hertie School in Berlin, thinks Kilicdaroglu’s commitment to international human rights standards and democratic values fall short of ensuring protection for refugees, asylum seekers and migrants because he uses discriminatory terms such as “illegal” and “burden.”

“However, it is not shocking, as everywhere around the world, including in the EU and the US, we see similar trends where anti-migration policies are disregarded by the progressives to appeal to rightwing voters,” she told Arab News.

According to Basdas, increased securitization of the borders and hostile asylum procedures do not actually stop people’s movements, it only results in more deaths and further human rights violations.

“Regardless of who succeeds in the elections, the problem we continue to face is the lack of clear and comprehensive migration policies that prioritize human rights of everyone in Turkiye,” she said.

Basdas also underlined that international human rights law and Turkiye’s national legislation prohibit the violation of the principle of non-refoulement, meaning individuals cannot be transferred to countries where they risk being subject to serious human rights violations.

“Each case for both Syrians and non-Syrians must be assessed individually before a return decision is made, otherwise it might amount to collective expulsion,” she said.

“This is a serious concern particularly for non-Syrians, who already experience challenges to access registration and asylum procedures in Turkiye,” she added.

It is therefore still unclear how the opposition presidential candidate will ensure voluntary and safe returns.

“The safeguards cannot be guaranteed merely through negotiations with other countries or rebuilding strategies,” Basdas said.

In his video statement on May 2, Kilicdaroglu also warned about what he argued were the effects of climate change in the Mediterranean basin that could lead to an influx of refugees to Turkiye.

With the UN predicting climate change and potential water scarcity displacing 700 million people globally by 2030, Basdas said that “a stronger collaboration in the region on climate change with mutual respect is crucial, however Kilicdaroglu’s framing of the problem risks further stigmatization and discrimination against migrants and asylum seekers.”

“In the end, as he said, climate change affects us all regardless of our status and we might all be displaced one day,” she added.

“For that reason, besides progressive climate policies, Turkiye must instead call on and lead the international community for a humanitarian approach to migration to ensure protection of rights in the long run, rather than proposals focused on returns and militarized borders,” she said.


Lebanese military court sentences Daesh official to 160 years in prison

Lebanese military court sentences Daesh official to 160 years in prison
Updated 27 September 2023
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Lebanese military court sentences Daesh official to 160 years in prison

Lebanese military court sentences Daesh official to 160 years in prison
  • Imad Yassin, a Palestinian in his 50s, confessed to all 11 charges against him

BEIRUT: Lebanese military court has sentenced an official with the extremist Daesh group to 160 years in prison for carrying out deadly attacks against security forces and planning others targeting government buildings and crowded civilian areas, judicial officials said Wednesday.

The officials said Imad Yassin, a Palestinian in his 50s, confessed to all 11 charges against him, including joining a “terrorist organization,” committing crimes in Lebanon’s largest Palestinian refugee camp of Ein El-Hilweh, shooting at Lebanese soldiers, and transporting weapons and munitions for militant groups.

Yassin, also known as Imad Akl, said he was planning several other attacks, including blowing up two main power stations, the headquarters of a major local television station in Beirut, killing a leading politician, as well as planning attacks on hotels north of Beirut, the officials said on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

Before joining Daesh, Yassin was a member of other militant groups, including Al-Qaeda-linked Jund Al-Sham, which is still active in Ein El-Hilweh. In later years, he became Daesh’s top official in the camp.

Yassin was detained in Ein El-Hilweh, near the port city of Sidon, six years ago and has been held since. The total 11 sentences that he received count to up to 160 years in prison, the officials said.

The session during which he was sentenced started on Monday night and lasted until the early hours of Tuesday. 

At the height of its rise in Iraq and Syria in 2014, Daesh claimed responsibility for deadly attacks in different parts of Lebanon that left scores of people dead.


Morocco aims to become key player in green hydrogen

Morocco aims to become key player in green hydrogen
Updated 27 September 2023
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Morocco aims to become key player in green hydrogen

Morocco aims to become key player in green hydrogen

RABAT: Morocco has voiced ambitious plans to become North Africa’s top player in the emerging “green hydrogen” sector, with plans to export the clean-burning fuel to Europe.

Hydrogen is seen as a clean energy source that can help the world phase out fossil fuels and reduce atmospheric carbon emissions in the battle to slow global warming.

Morocco, which already runs large solar power plants, also hopes to harness green hydrogen — the kind made without burning fossil fuels — for its sizeable fertilizer sector.

Around 1.5 million acres of public land — nearly the size of Kuwait — have been set aside for green hydrogen and ammonia plants, the economy ministry says.

King Mohammed VI has hailed a national green hydrogen plan dubbed l’Offre Maroc (the Moroccan Offer) and called for its “rapid and qualitative implementation.”

Speaking in July, before the country’s earthquake disaster, he said Morocco must take advantage of “the projects supported by international investors in this promising sector.”

Local media have reported about investment plans by Australian, British, French, German and Indian companies.

Hydrogen can be extracted from water by passing a strong electrical current through it.

This separates the hydrogen from the oxygen, a process called electrolysis.

If the power used is clean — such as solar or wind — the fuel is called “green hydrogen,” which is itself emission-free when burnt.

But there are problems: Hydrogen is highly explosive and hard to store and transport. This has set back hydrogen fuel cell cars in the race against electric vehicles using lithium-ion batteries.

However, experts say green hydrogen also has a big role to play in decarbonizing energy-intensive industries that cannot easily be electrified such as steel, cement and chemicals.

Powering blast furnaces with hydrogen, for example, offers the promise of making “green steel.”

Hydrogen can also be converted into ammonia, to store the energy or as a major input in synthetic fertilizers. Morocco is already a major player in the global fertilizer market, thanks mainly to its immense phosphate reserves.

It profited after fertilizer shortages sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent prices up to 1,000 euros ($1,060) per ton.

Morocco’s state Phosphate Office has announced plans to quickly produce a million tons of “green ammonia” from green hydrogen and triple the amount by 2032.

Analysts caution that Morocco still has some way to go with its ambitious green fertilizer plans.

The sector is “embryonic and the large global projects will not see the light of day until three to five years from now,” said Samir Rachidi, director of the Moroccan research institute IRESEN.

Morocco’s advantage is that it has already bet heavily on clean energy over the past 15 years.

Solar, wind and other clean energy make up 38 percent of production, and the goal is to reach 52 percent by 2030.

For now green hydrogen is more expensive than the highly polluting “brown hydrogen” made using coal or “grey hydrogen” produced from natural gas.

The goal is to keep green hydrogen production below $1-$2 per kilogram, Ahmed Reda Chami, president of the Economic, Social and Environmental Counsel, told the weekly La Vie Eco.


Israel says it foiled Iranian plot to target, spy on senior Israeli politicians

Israel says it foiled Iranian plot to target, spy on senior Israeli politicians
Updated 27 September 2023
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Israel says it foiled Iranian plot to target, spy on senior Israeli politicians

Israel says it foiled Iranian plot to target, spy on senior Israeli politicians
  • The Shin Bet security service alleged that an Iranian security official living in neighboring Jordan had recruited three Palestinian men in the Israeli-occupied West Bank
  • The targets included National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Yehuda Glick, an American-born far-right Israeli activist

JERUSALEM: Israel arrested five Palestinians in a plot allegedly hatched in Iran to target and spy on senior Israeli politicians, including Israel’s far-right national security minister, the country’s internal security agency said Wednesday.
The Shin Bet security service alleged that an Iranian security official living in neighboring Jordan had recruited three Palestinian men in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and another two Palestinian citizens of Israel to gather intelligence about several high-profile Israeli politicians.
The targets included National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir — a firebrand Israeli settler leader who oversees the country’s police force in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ultranationalist government — as well as Yehuda Glick, an American-born far-right Israeli activist and former member of parliament.
The plan was foiled by Israeli intelligence officials, the Shin Bet said, without offering evidence.
Iran’s mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the allegations.
Ben-Gvir, who draws inspiration from a racist rabbi, has provoked outrage across the wider Middle East for his particularly hard-line policies against the Palestinians, anti-Arab rhetoric and stunts and frequent public visits to the holiest and most contested site in the Holy Land. The hilltop compound in Jerusalem, revered by Jews as the Temple Mount and by Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary, is at the emotional center of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Glick is a leader in a campaign that pushes for increased Jewish access and prayer rights at the sacred Jerusalem compound, the holiest site in Judaism home to ancient biblical Temples. Today, the compound houses the Al Aqsa Mosque, the third-holiest site in Islam. Since Israel captured the site in 1967, Jews have been allowed to visit but not pray there. Glick survived a 2014 Palestinian assassination attempt.
The Shin Bet did not elaborate on the identity of the Iranian official in Jordan who allegedly orchestrated the plot. He is not in custody and apparently remains at large.
But the Shin Bet accused three Palestinian men in the West Bank — identified as 47-year old Murad Kamamaja, 34-year-old Hassan Mujarimah and 45-year-old Ziad Shanti — of gathering intelligence and smuggling weapons into Israel. The security service also said that it charged two Palestinian citizens of Israel over their involvement in the plot. It did not specify how the men planned to target Ben-Gvir and the other politicians.
Ben-Gvir claimed that the Palestinian suspects had conspired to “assassinate a minister in Israel,” without clarifying whether he meant himself or another minister. He thanked Israeli security forces for uncovering and capturing what he called the “terrorist squad.”
Ben-Gvir, who has pushed for harsher treatment for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, also vowed to double down on his hard-line policies in response to the revelations. “I will continue to act fearlessly and even more vigorously for a fundamental change in the conditions of the terrorists’ imprisonment,” he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Israel has considered Iran to be its greatest enemy since it became a Shiite theocracy during the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Iran is a main patron of Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group, which Israel considers the most potent military threat on its borders, and also backs Palestinian Islamist militant groups in the Gaza Strip.


US targets Iran drone procurement network, accuses it of aiding Russia

 The US has accused Tehran of supplying Russia with drones to support Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. (File/AFP)
The US has accused Tehran of supplying Russia with drones to support Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. (File/AFP)
Updated 27 September 2023
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US targets Iran drone procurement network, accuses it of aiding Russia

 The US has accused Tehran of supplying Russia with drones to support Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. (File/AFP)
  • “Iranian-made UAVs continue to be a key tool for Russia in its attacks in Ukraine, including those that terrorize Ukrainian citizens,” Treasury said

WASHINGTON: The United States on Wednesday imposed sanctions on a network it said was helping procure sensitive parts for Iran’s drone program, and accused Tehran of supplying Russia with drones to support Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
The network has facilitated shipments and financial transactions in support of the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps’ (IRGC) procurement of a critical component used in Iran’s Shahed-136 drones, the Treasury Department said in a statement.
The move is the latest in a series of recent sanctions on Iran. Wednesday’s action targets entities and individuals in Iran, China, and other countries.
“Iranian-made UAVs continue to be a key tool for Russia in its attacks in Ukraine, including those that terrorize Ukrainian citizens and attack its critical infrastructure,” Treasury official Brian Nelson said in a statement.


More than 100 dead, scores more injured in Iraq wedding inferno

More than 100 dead, scores more injured in Iraq wedding inferno
Updated 27 September 2023
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More than 100 dead, scores more injured in Iraq wedding inferno

More than 100 dead, scores more injured in Iraq wedding inferno
  • The fire ripped through a large event hall after fireworks were lit during the celebration
  • civil defense authorities say prefabricated panels inside hall were 'highly flammable'

QARAQOSH: At least 100 people were killed and more than 150 injured when a fire broke out during a wedding at an event hall in the northern Iraqi town of Qaraqosh, officials said early Wednesday.

At the main hospital in the predominantly Christian town east of Mosul, an AFP photographer saw ambulances arriving with sirens blaring and dozens of people gathering in the courtyard to donate blood.

Others could be seen gathering in front of the open doors of a refrigerated truck loaded with black body bags.

Citing a “preliminary tally,” Iraq’s official INA news agency reported that health authorities in Nineveh province had “counted 100 dead and more than 150 injured in the fire at a marriage hall in Hamdaniyah,” as the town is also known.

The casualty toll was confirmed to AFP by health ministry spokesman Saif Al-Badr.

Badr said most of the injured were being treated for burns or oxygen deprivation, adding that there had also been crowd crushes at the scene.

In a statement, civil defense authorities reported the presence of prefabricated panels inside the event hall that were “highly flammable and contravened safety standards.”

The danger was compounded by the “release of toxic gases linked to the combustion of the panels,” which contained plastic.

“The fire caused some parts of the ceiling to fall due to the use of highly flammable, low-cost construction materials,” the statement said, with “preliminary information” suggesting fireworks were to blame for the blaze.

Wedding guest Rania Waad, who sustained a burn to her hand, said that as the bride and groom “were slow dancing, the fireworks started to climb to the ceiling (and) the whole hall went up in flames.”

“We couldn’t see anything,” the 17-year-old said, choking back sobs. “We were suffocating, we didn’t know how to get out.”

Emergency crews were seen sifting through the charred remains of the event hall early Wednesday, inspecting the scene by flashlight.

In a brief statement, Prime Minister Mohamed Shia Al-Sudani called on the health and interior ministers to “mobilize all rescue efforts” to help the victims of the fire.

The health ministry said “medical aid trucks” had been dispatched to the area from Baghdad and other provinces, adding that its teams in Nineveh had been mobilized to care for the injured.

Safety standards in Iraq’s construction sector are often disregarded, and the country, whose infrastructure is in disrepair after decades of conflict, is often the scene of fatal fires and accidents.

In July 2021, a fire in the Covid unit of a hospital in southern Iraq killed more than 60 people.

And in April of the same year, exploding oxygen tanks triggered a fire at a hospital in Baghdad — also dedicated to Covid patients — that killed more than 80 people.

Like many Christian towns in the Nineveh Plains, northeast of Mosul, Qaraqosh was ransacked by jihadists of the Daesh group after they entered the town in 2014.

Qaraqosh and its churches were slowly rebuilt after the group’s ouster in 2017, and Pope Francis visited the town in March 2021.