Syrians in Turkey not allowed return home for Eid al-Fitr
IDLIB, Syria (North Press) – Turkey isconsidering not to allow Syrian refugees to go home for the Eid al-Fitr holiday, Turkish Interior Minister Suleiman Soylu said on Tuesday.
The Eid al-Fitr festival marks the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
In statements to journalists, Soylu stressed that they are considering restricting visits during this Eid as well as the next one (Eid al-Adha), according to Turkish media outlets.
Earlier in the day, leader of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) Kemal Kilicdaroglu said that his party would work to send refugees voluntarily to their country if he came to power.
“We will make peace with their country and send them home,” he added.
Soylu accused Kilicdaroglu of adopting a provocative method and bringing forward the issue of refugees as election entitlement approaches.
Speaking at his party’s weekly parliamentary group meeting on Tuesday, Chairman of the Turkish National Movement Party (MHP) Devlet Bahçeli said, “There’s no need for those who go to Syria for the upcoming Eid al-Fitr holiday to come back to Turkey.”
On Tuesday, Jarablus border crossing announced the suspension of granting vacation permits to a small category of Syrians refugees and those who are willing to go back to Syria.
“The border crossing suspended receiving Syrians who have the Temporary Protection/TP ID (Kimlik) from Gaziantep or those who have the dual citizenship,” on its official Facebook account, Jarablus border crossing said.
The crossing said the suspension will last from April 25 to May 13.
Meanwhile, Bab al-Salam crossing point on the Syrian-Turkish border denied the issuance of a any Turkish decision to prevent granting the Syrians permissions for the Eid holiday to enter their country.
“Movement from and to Turkey is very normal…We have not received any orders to suspend or delete the visits,” Director of Bab al-Salam crossing Colonel Qasim Qasim said.
At a meeting with ambassadors at Justice and Development Party (AKP) headquarters in Ankara on Monday evening, President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, “We are making our best efforts for the voluntary and dignified return of our Syrian sisters and brothers to their homeland.”
According to Turkish Directorate General of Migration data published on early April, 3,7 million Syrian refugees have got TP, 109,000 have got residence permits, and 193,000 have got the Turkish citizenship. 1,7 million of the Syrians are children.