Germany to deport Turks 'en masse': Agreement reached between the two countries

12PUNTO FOREIGN NEWS

13,500 people who traveled from Turkey to Germany are expected to leave the country. Following long negotiations, Berlin and Ankara have reached an agreement. In the coming period, it is planned to deport an average of about 500 people every week.

The individuals to be sent back will be those who entered Germany through either legal or illegal means and subsequently applied for 'asylum seeker' status, but whose applications were rejected.

According to a report by the Frankfurter Allgemeine (FA) newspaper, which cited government sources, months of negotiations took place between Ankara and Berlin before the mass deportation decision was made.

Furthermore, it is alleged that Germany has already begun sending back those whose asylum requests were rejected to Turkey.

On the other hand, preparations are underway for flights that will bring 500 people back to Turkey per week so that those to be sent back can be deported in groups and more quickly. In total, 13,500 Turks are required to leave the country.

Germany deported 871 Turks last year.

Since deportation procedures have been carried out via scheduled flights until now, Germany had to keep most asylum seekers in the country for a long time. The remaining individuals were entitled to various rights under German law. For example, the 'Duldung' (toleration) document received by most asylum seekers granted these people the right to legal residence.

ASYLUM REQUESTS INCREASED AFTER ERDOĞAN WAS RE-ELECTED

The report states that 'due to the poor economic situation in the country, there was also a significant increase in the number of people coming from Turkey to Germany last year.'

According to FA's claim, the re-election of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan also caused an increase in the number of asylum seekers.

In recent years, Turkey had risen to second place after Syria among countries whose citizens applied for asylum in Germany.

According to the newspaper, a large portion of the Turks who need to leave the country were currently maintaining their residence with a 'Duldung' (Toleration) Document because they did not have valid documents.

It is said that Ankara is now signaling a willingness to cooperate significantly more.

More than one and a half million Turks live in Germany. Most of these people are German citizens. On the other hand, the German government had granted 'asylum seeker status' to many people who came through illegal means, in addition to those who came to the country through legal channels in recent years.

'A SOLUTION WAS SOUGHT TO SAVE TURKEY'S REPUTATION'

FA claimed that Turkey had previously 'refused to have those being deported sent en masse on the same planes' on the grounds that its 'reputation would be damaged.'

Deportations could only be carried out via scheduled flights until now. From now on, 'flights specifically conducted for returns' (charter flights) will be officially called 'special flights.'

In its report, FA wrote, 'Finding a solution that would save Turkey's reputation was also discussed... Ankara can live with this.'

It was also reported that in exchange for accelerated deportation procedures, the German government promised to process visa applications more quickly.

Finally, the newspaper included the statement, 'The change of the responsible ministry in Turkey (although the report does not specify which ministry is meant, it likely refers to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) has noticeably accelerated many processes that were previously slow.'

DENIAL OF CLAIMS IN THE GERMAN PRESS

Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Öncü Keçeli denied the claims in the German press in a statement on his social media account.

Keçeli used the following expressions:

“The reports in the German press regarding the return to Turkey of our citizens who do not have the right to legal residence in Germany are not true.

No approval has been given for any practice regarding the mass deportation of our citizens.

This issue was not brought up during the meeting between our President and German Chancellor Scholz in New York on September 23.”

News Source: 12punto