More migrants fleeing Syria & victimisation by Turkish state

[Anthea]

Turkish coast guard seizes 63 migrants at sea

The Turkish coast guard intercepted some 63 migrants, mostly Syrians, off Turkey's western coastal town of Dikili on Saturday (April 2) as they tried to sail to the Greek island of Lesbos.

The migrants waited at the port of Dikili for registration before being sent to repatriation centers.

Turkey agreed with the EU this month to take back all migrants and refugees who cross illegally to Greece in exchange for financial aid, faster visa-free travel for Turks and slightly accelerated EU membership talks.

The returns are supposed to begin on April 4 under the plan, which aims to close the main route by which a million migrants and refugees poured across the Aegean Sea to Greece last year before heading north mainly to Germany and Sweden.

But uncertainty remains over how many will be sent back, how they will be processed, and where they will be housed. The plan risks being overwhelmed by the continued flow of migrants to Greece, where arrivals rose sharply on Wednesday (March 27).

The first returnees are expected to be taken by boat from the Greek islands to Dikili, north of the city of Izmir on Turkey's Aegean coast, Turkish officials said. But where they will be housed in the longer term remains unclear.

Mayor of Dikili Mustafa Torun said, "Dikili is making investments on geothermal and ecological tourism and this will be an obstacle on the way. We had investors. They filed an application to the Gendarmerie tourism desk and started investment. But they will now withdraw their investments after years."

Residents of Dikili also voiced their concerns about hosting large number of migrants.

The U.N.'s refugee agency, which says nine in 10 of refugees arriving on rickety boats are fleeing for their lives, has voiced concern that Turkey may deport refugees en masse to Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq, where they could face persecution or violence.