Dubai, United Arab Emirates (CNN) – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced, on Thursday, the start of the process of voluntary return of Syrian refugees to their country.
Erdogan added in a speech in Ankara, which was reported by the official Turkish news agency, Anatolia: “Turkey is a country 99 percent of its population is Muslim, and there are Syrian people who were forced to leave their country because of the war and terrorist organizations… So far, we have built more than 100,000 homes in northern Syria through our government institutions and civil organizations.” Migrants have started returning to these homes.”
Erdogan criticized the statements of opposition leaders regarding the deportation of Syrian refugees to their country in the event that they assumed power in Turkey, saying: “I do not support this concept, this is unfair. Especially since the voluntary return of Syrians has already begun, and we will provide the necessary support for them.”
-He added, “There are no facilities for Syrian students, as the opposition claims. There are students with Turkish citizenship who strive hard, get good grades, and pass exams… There are doctors, engineers, and human rights activists among the Syrian refugees who came to Turkey, so is it reasonable for us to expel them? This is an inhumane and immoral act.” And most importantly, it is not Islamic.
In its report, Anatolia stated that Turkey “hosts about 3 million and 700 thousand Syrian refugees, according to figures from the General Directorate of Migration.”
