Because of “illegal border crossings”
Turkey forbids Syrians, Iraqis and Yemenis to travel to Belarus
Migrants in a camp on the Polish-Belarusian border: Thousands of people camp outside on the EU’s eastern external border with Belarus.
© Nasibulin / BelTA / AP / DPA
Turkey has now intervened in the migration dispute with Belarus. Syrian, Iraqi and Yemeni nationals are now banned from booking flights from Turkey to Belarus.
After threats of sanctions by the EU, Turkey no longer allows citizens of several Arab countries to fly to Belarus from its national territory. The civil aviation authority of Turkey announced on Friday that people with Syrian, Iraqi and Yemeni passports are no longer allowed to buy tickets and board until further notice. The EU had previously threatened punitive measures against airlines transporting migrants to Belarus with the intention of illegally entering the EU.
According to an EU official, one-way tickets for flights from Turkey to Minsk will no longer be sold. Belavia will also no longer be able to use Turkish Airlines’ Middle East network to fly travelers via Istanbul to Minsk, it said in Brussels.
With these measures, the EU wants to ensure that not so many people come to Belarus from poor or conflict-ridden countries. The leadership in Minsk is accused of deliberately bringing migrants into the country in order to then bring them to the border with Poland for onward travel to the EU. The assumption is that the ruler Alexander Lukashenko wants to take revenge for the sanctions that the EU has imposed because of the repression of civil society and the democratic opposition.
The situation at the borders is tense
In addition to Poland, the Federal Republic of Germany is also heavily affected by the developments. This is because the majority of the migrants who make it across the border to Poland travel on to Germany.
The situation on the border between Belarus and Poland was also very tense on Friday. According to police reports, Polish security forces intervened several times during the night to prevent illegal border crossings. The PAP agency quoted local police spokesman Tomasz Krupa as saying that Belarusian soldiers tried to force a group of around 35 migrants across the border near the town of Kuznica on Thursday evening.
Accordingly, the majority of the migrants were women and children. Much of the information from the border area cannot be verified because independent journalists have so far been denied access.
The group of migrants was driven in the direction of the border system made of barbed wire, it said. Polish police officers, border guards and soldiers prevented them from crossing the border. According to the Polish police, there are still around 200 people in the area who are guarded by Belarusian soldiers.
EU agrees on a new sanction instrument against smugglers
If Turkey had not participated in the crackdown on illegal migration, the state-owned airline Turkish Airlines could shortly have been subject to sanctions. This could have meant, for example, that their planes were no longer allowed to land or take off at airports in the EU.
In order to enable such measures, the EU states agreed in the past few days on a new sanction instrument against airlines and other parties involved in illegal smuggling activities. It is to be formally decided on next Monday at a meeting of EU foreign ministers. In the next step, specific penalties could then be imposed.
The team of EU Council President Charles Michel, who had been in close contact with the Turkish authorities over the past few days, welcomed the voluntary commitments. “If these measures are implemented, it will have a real impact on the current situation,” said one official. Michel himself thanked the Turkish authorities on Twitter “for your support and cooperation”.