Turkish politician vows planting mines to hinder Syrians from entering Turkey
IDLIB, Syria (North Press) – The head of the opposition Turkish far-right Victory Party, Umit Ozdag, vowed on Sunday to plant mines on the Syrian-Turkish border to prevent the Syrian refugees from entering Turkey.
Ozdag is known for his hostile rhetoric against Syrian refugees, who number about 3.7 million in Turkey, according to official government statistics.
Ozdag posted a video on June 26 on his Twitter account showing him while delivering a speech in the city of Adana, in which he said that if his party assumed power, it would “withdraw from the mine ban treaty that resulted in the removal of mines from the Turkish borders.”
“Tomorrow I will go to the Reyhanli area in the state of Hatay in southern Turkey and I will place the first mine on the Turkish-Syrian border, and here I am announcing this to the whole world,” he added in a figurative way.
In mid-April, Ozdag said that every Turkish citizen wants the Syrian refugees to stay in Turkey is a “traitor”.
Ozdag said in a televised interview, “Go to hell, if you want to stand with Syrians, just go with them.”