Migration must be handled humanely: Turkish EU minister

By Sultan Cogalan and Ugur Cil

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey's EU Affairs Minister Omer Celik urged that the migration issue be handled in a way that shows countries' humanity instead of by using weapons or building walls.

“Migration is not a burden on humanity, it should be considered an opportunity to show our own humanity,” Celik told a joint press conference with European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Christos Stylianides.

Celik said that prohibiting migration or deporting refugees in today’s world was not humane.

He criticized some countries’ moves to build border walls and wire fences in order to keep “oppressed people behind wire fences by using the power of weapons”.

He stressed the need to establish a bridge between the civilized world and oppressed people.

Stylianides, for his part, applauded Turkey’s “extraordinary efforts and firm stance” on the migration issue.

“EU continues to see Turkey as a strategic partner,” he added.

Turkey now hosts some 3 million refugees, mostly from Syria, making it the top refugee-hosting country in the world.

The country has spent around $25 billion helping and sheltering refugees since the beginning of the Syrian civil war.

Turkey and the EU signed a refugee deal in March 2016, which aimed to discourage irregular migration through the Aegean Sea by taking stricter measures against human traffickers and improving the conditions of refugees in Turkey.