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Turkish
Refugee Camps - Unsafe |
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By
Stephen Lendman |
| Last month, Germany’s Angela Merkel urged EU
support for Turkish refugee camps, saying her country intends providing
its own. She praised Turkey for “not only…provid(ing) a safe haven for millions of refugees, but also…provid(ing) them with opportunities and perspectives” - an outrageous perversion of truth. Her photo-op with former Turkish prime minister Ahmet Davutoglu was willful staged deception, covering up regime crimes against humanity against defenseless, largely Syrian, refugees. European Council president Donald Tusk called “Turkey…the best example for the whole world for how we should treat refugees. Nobody should lecture Turkey on what to do.” Amnesty International accused EU officials of ignoring horrific abuses refugees receive in Turkey - facilities more like concentration camps than safe havens, hellholes of mistreatment. Turkish media reported about 30 boys, aged 8 - 14, were raped or sexually abused by a Nizip refugee camp worker - the country’s so-called model facility Merkel and Tusk were shown during their visit last month. What they were allowed to see was polar opposite reality, an illusory snapshot unrelated to horrors refugees face. Opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) lawmaker Elif Dogan Turkman called child abuse in the camp the tip of the iceberg. Soldiers obstructed a CHP investigation team member and her colleagues from freely examining camp conditions, he said. They prevented them from speaking to parents of victimized children. He accused Erdogan’s regime of “tolerat(ing) bribery, poverty, the threat of terrorism, and now, depravity and immorality…” BirGun newspaper journalist Erik Acarer broke the story of mass rapes at Nizip by one camp worker identified only as “EE.” He was indicted and faces longterm imprisonment if convicted. How many others like him remain to be outed perhaps in all Turkish camps? On May 24, Fars News reported on Turkish refugee camps “turned into centers for raping children and selling refugees’ body organs.” BirGun’s Ankara correspondent Yashar Idan reported on mass rapes and sexual abuse at Nizip, organs of a number of refugees sold for profit. Ankara knows what’s going on in its “model” Nizip camp, yet does virtually nothing to stop it, EE’s indictment an exception proving the rule. The Prime Ministry Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) in charge of refugee camps turns a blind eye to rape and other crimes against defenseless refugees. Brussels has no interest in protecting their rights, just keeping as many as possible out of Europe. Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. His new book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III." http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com. Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network. |
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