Turkey is facing a tough dilemma over Afghan refugees fleeing from the violence of the Taliban, which has gained control of the war-torn country, former foreign minister Yaşar Yakış said. Already home to the world’s largest number of displaced people, Turkey may strike a new deal with the European Union to accommodate a certain number of the Afghan refugees in exchange for a grant of a few billion euros, but the longer-term social effects of the influx are more important, Yakış wrote in the Arab News on Sunday. If millions of new Afghan exiles are added Turkey’s 4 million Syrian population, Yakış wrote, around seven percent of the country’s population will be made up of refugees. “Turkish government agencies are simply not organised or equipped to handle the influx of such a large group,” according to the former foreign minister. Taliban claimed a military victory in the country over the weekend as NATO forces prepare to withdraw from Afghanistan by the end of the month. Last week, the U.S. State Department announced a refugee action plan for Afghan nationals and family members who could be targets of Taliban violence because of their affiliations with Washington. It identified Turkey as a possible relocation destination for the dissidents. Ankara has so far rejected any such plan saying it would cause another mass arrival of migrants. Ankara has established a geographical limitation for the refugees from non-European countries because it was unable to stop their influx mainly from Middle Eastern countries and it may send Afghan refugees back to their homeland, Yakış said. Citing Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s statement last week that Turkey has no plan to reject every Afghan refugee, however it will not keep its borders open to all, Yakış said, “Erdoğan’s words indicate that the country will try to strike a balance between the urgent need of Afghans to escape the looming disaster in their country and Turkey’s limited means to accommodate them or channel them toward their final destination in the EU countries.” The Afghan refugee issue is a complicated one for Turkey, according to Yakış. Among the exiles are Uzbeks, who have a linguistic kinship with Turks, and Turkey is unlikely to oppose their arrival in the country, he said. “Another reason for Turkey to be selective is that the refugees may include Taliban agents. Taliban prisoners have been freed in several provinces seized by the militia, so scrutiny is a must,” he said. Striking a financial deal with the EU for Afghan refugees “would help alleviate Ankara’s desperate need for foreign currency on the one hand and meet Turkish industry’s need for cheap labour on the other,” Yakış said, but the bloc is willing to finance only projects designed to meet refugees’ basic needs and welfare, he said. “Any funding will have a limited effect in alleviating Turkey’s foreign currency problems,” Yakış wrote.
Ahval