Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Anti-Austerity Alliance) | Oireachtas source

The immediate backdrop to this debate is the recent deal struck between the European Union and Turkey to contain the flow of refugees into the European Union via Greece. The President of the European Council, Mr. Donald Tusk, accompanied the German Chancellor, Ms Angela Merkel, to a refugee camp on the Turkish-Syrian border and stated at a press conference that Turkey was the best example for the whole world in how we should treat refugees and that no one had the right to lecture Turkey on what to do. I ask the acting Minister whether she agrees with that statement. As things stand, it is a fair interpretation of the Government's position that it thinks the Erdoğan regime deserves the praise meted out by President Tusk. However, I would like to draw the Government's attention to the credible claims made by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights that at least 16 refugees, including three children, were shot dead in the first three months of the year by Turkish forces, all in Kurdish areas. An officer of the free Syrian police which is supported by western powers told The Timesthat the number of refugees killed by Turkish forces was actually far higher, as many had been killed on the Syrian side of the border.

The activities of Turkish forces in bombing Kurdish settlements in Syria, greatly hampering the armed resistance to ISIS in the region, shows the Erdoğan regime's opposition to ISIS is exceeded by its fear of Kurdish nationhood. Amnesty International reports that Turkey has illegally forced thousands of refugees back into Syria in the past two months. Amnesty International's director for Europe and central Asia was quoted in The Independentas stating the large-scale return of Syrian refugees it had documented highlighted the fatal flaws in the EU-Turkey deal, which can only be implemented with the hardest of hearts and blind disregard for international law.

Despite the 200,000 refugees living within Turkey's borders, the Turkish authorities have deliberately cut back on the registration of refugees, which is necessary for them to access basic public services. Amnesty International reports that some refugees have told it that they are scared of coming forward to register in case they are sent back to Syria by the Turkish authorities. Notwithstanding the fact that there are 200,000 refugees in Turkey, the deal with the European Union caps at 72,000 the number to be received by the Union. What is to become of the rest?

The Government cannot wash its hands of the legacy of imperialism. The ongoing use of Shannon Airport on the watch of the outgoing Government and its predecessor makes nonsense of the claims of neutrality. Likewise, the scandal of direct provision, whereby thousands of asylum seekers continue to languish in deplorable conditions which occasionally provoke very justified protests, should be high on the agenda of the next Government. It is clear that the continued shameful treatment of asylum seekers in Ireland is a cynical attempt to deter and discourage people from seeking refuge in this country. We can have no confidence that this will change on the initiative of the incoming Government. Instead asylum seekers in Ireland, with the backing of the wider communities in which they are located, will need to step up their campaign for residency. They will have the full support of AAA-PBP in this struggle.

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