[KAPIKULE, TURKEY, May 24th, 9:00 GMT] - Over 100 members of The Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light, a persecuted religious minority, who have presented themselves at the Turkish-Bulgarian border claiming asylum this morning have just been refused entry, violently beaten, pushed back and taken to Edirne public safety office. Gunshots were fired at them, they were threatened and their belongings thrown away. The group includes women, children and elderly. The 103 individuals have been subjected to extreme and systematic forms of religious persecution all across Muslim-majority countries because of their faith. They had been beaten, imprisoned, kidnapped, humiliated and terrorized in countries like Iran, Iraq, Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Azerbaijan and Thailand. They had gathered in Turkey and were on their way to the Turkish-Bulgarian border to assume their human right to request asylum directly from the Bulgarian Border Police, in line with Article 58(4) of the Law on Asylum and Refugees (LAR), which states that asylum can be applied for with a verbal statement submitted in front of the border police. This comes after all attempts to obtain a visa on humanitarian grounds had been unsuccessful. Article 18 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, the 1951 Geneva Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights state that refugees have the right to asylum and to a full and fair individualised assessment with the right to appeal. The members of this religious minority have followed legal procedures in order to seek asylum as per internationally agreed-upon human rights laws.

Dialogue for Europe, in partnership with Ankara-based European Union and Global Research Organisation (ABKAD), is currently implementing a project called “Strengthening Dialogue between the EU and Turkey in the Area of Migration and Security”. The project is funded by the European Union under “Supporting Civil Society Dialogue Between EU and Turkey Grant Scheme” and is aimed at fostering greater understanding. At a conference in the Brussels Press Club, on EU-Turkey relations: ‘Integration of Refugees, Migration Deal and Future Relations’ a panel of experts discussed the current situation and the potential for improved relations and cooperation between Turkey and the EU. EU Reporter interviewed some of the panellists to get a picture of the current situation. Eli Hadzehieva, director of Dialogue for Europe and the co-ordinator of the project said: “We are focusing on migration and security, because we think that these are the most urgent areas to increase co-operation. This is likely to become a bigger challenge with the situation in Afghanistan. This article was published as part of an EU-funded programme

Today (26 April) European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen made a strong statement on her treatment during her visit to Ankara to meet with Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, with the European Council president to discuss EU-Turkey relations. The statement was part of a joint briefing to MEPs with European Council President Charles Michel on the recent EU summit and the controversial EU-Turkey meeting where the Commission president was denied equal standing with her peer, in an incident referred to as “sofagate” where Von der Leyen was offered a place on a sofa, while Michel and Erdogan sat on chairs. “I am the first woman to be president of the European Commission. I am the president of the European Commission and this is how I expected to be treated when visiting Turkey two weeks ago, like a commission president, but I was not. I cannot find any justification for the way I was treated in the European treaties,” she concluded that it was because she was not wearing a suit and a tie. She said: “In the pictures of previous meetings, I did not see any shortage of chairs, but then again I did not see any women in these pictures either. Many of you will have had quite similar experiences in the past, especially the female members of this house. I'm sure you know exactly how I felt hurt and I felt alone as a woman and as a European, because it is not about seating arrangements or protocol. This goes to the core of who we are. This goes to the values our union stands for. And this shows how far we still have to go before women are treated as equals always and everywhere.” Von der Leyen acknowledged that she was in a privileged position compared to other women and underlined how it was even more important that she spoke up for those women who are not heard: “When I arrived at the meeting, there were cameras in the room. Thanks to them, the short video of my arrival immediately went viral and caused headlines around the world. There was no need for subtitles. There was no need for translations, the images spoke for themselves. “We all know that thousands of similar incidents go unobserved, nobody ever sees them or hears about them, because there is no camera, because there is nobody paying attention. We have to make sure that these stories are told and that they are acted upon.” She used the statement to call for adoption of the Istanbul convention on violence against women and children. Von der Leyen described it as a groundbreaking legal text and an inspiring document. It is the first internationally binding instrument to take a broad approach to combating violence against women and children. Von der Leyen used the meeting in Ankara to reiterate her concerns about Turkey withdrawing from the convention, but added that to be credible all EU states need to ratify the convention. At this moment Bulgaria, Hungary and Poland are among the countries that have opposed formal ratification. Von der Leyen said that she would like the EU itself to become a signatory.

In a follow-up to the recent European Council (25 March), Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (6 April), in Ankara, in the hope of giving the EU-Turkey relationship “new momentum”. Michel said he discussed the situation in the eastern Mediterranean and other areas of dispute. He said that although differences between the two sides remain, there were also new opportunities for peace and stability, especially in Libya. The EU's key message in this regard was that all foreign fighters and troops must leave Libyan territory. On Cyprus, the EU remains committed to the relaunch of the UN-led process, which will restart in a few weeks’ time with an informal meeting. ‘Progressive, proportional, and reversible’ The key phrase in Michel’s statement following the meeting is that engagement will be “progressive, proportional, and reversible”. Von der Leyen underlined this point, saying that while the EU has seen the beginning of a road together, it would have to see where the road leads and would depend on a “clear commitment from Turkey to maintain positive momentum, the sustainability of what we’ve seen over the last weeks has to be proven”. The Commission president summed up the discussions on four main areas of co-operation: The prospect of closer trade ties; high-level dialogues on climate and health issues, especially the use of the Digital Green Certificate, important to Turkey’s tourism sector and the mobility of Turkish citizens; enhanced people-to-people co-operation through Erasmus+ in particular; and, on refugees and migration, where von der Leyen underlined that the EU-Turkey statement of 2016 “remains valid and has brought positive results”. On future funding for refugees, von der Leyen said that this should increasingly power better opportunities for refugees to earn their own livelihood. Von der Leyen will also be meeting with the Jordanian king today (7 April) to discuss a proposal on Syrian refugees that covers Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon. ‘Human rights are non-negotiable’ Von der Leyen described the discussion as “very frank” on what divides the EU and Turkey, with both EU leaders raising their concern about human rights and the rule of law. Von der Leyen said she was deeply worried by Turkey’s decision to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention on protecting women and children from violence, especially since Turkey was a founding member of the Council of Europe. When asked about the convention by a journalist, von der Leyen said that they did not convince Erdogan.

At the December 2020 European Council, EU leaders invited the EU’s High Representative to submit a report on the state of play of EU-Turkey political, economic and trade relations, and on instruments and options on how to proceed. Ahead of today’s European Council Borrell said that the EU has seen some positive developments over the last month on the part of Turkey, but that the situation remains fragile. Borrell said that he will lay out what he described as a double-track approach: “On the one hand positive measures and on the other hand measures that can be taken if the situation deteriorates. Those measures have to be implemented in a gradual and progressive way to make them reversible. We're trying to look for a positive engagement.” The current EU-Turkey relations will be assessed in the broader context of recent developments in the Eastern Mediterranean and on other regional issues. Over recent years Turkey has escalated its rhetoric against the EU and taken unilateral actions including oil exploration activities in the Eastern Mediterranean. Turkey also took steps to open Varosha a contested area subject to UN council resolutions on the island of Cyprus. The European Union has consistently supported the resumption of negotiations, under the auspices of the UN to reach a comprehensive settlement on Cyprus.