The leader of the Turkish Victory Party, Omer Ozdag, has reiterated his commitment to stopping the influx of refugees by planting mines on the borders, while the government continues to build housing units in northern Syria to repatriate Syrians to their homeland.
From the statements of opposition parties and the government’s steps regarding refugees, it seems that there is an agreement between the two sides to reduce the presence of refugees, although the means differ.
In a tweet on Tuesday, the leader of the Nationalist Party, whose program is based on deporting refugees, stated, “The only solution to the influx of asylum seekers is to withdraw from the Ottawa Agreement and plant mines on our borders.”
Ozdag also shared a video of asylum seekers attempting to cross the borders, stating that according to Iranian sources, 20,000 Afghan citizens entered Turkey last month.
The Victory Party, along with its allied parties, in addition to opposition parties of the Nation Alliance, made the refugee issue a cornerstone of their campaign during the elections held on May 14 and 28. Refugees were accused of exacerbating the economic crisis, and it was claimed that those who acquired Turkish citizenship voted against their rivals, including Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The Turkish political analyst, Jodat Yilmaz, downplayed the impact of the Victory Party’s campaign on the refugee issue, stating to “Sky News Arabia” that it “does not resonate with the government and many Turks.”
He pointed to the weak performance of the Nationalist Movement Party, led by the Victory Party, during the parliamentary elections, where they received only around 2% of the votes.
Yilmaz attributed Ozdag’s interest in this issue to his attempt to present himself as a protector of Turkish values and a leader of nationalists in order to gain popularity, exploiting public anger over the economic situation. However, even the nationalist movement has many parties, such as the Nationalist Movement Party and the Good Party, some of which are allied with the ruling Justice and Development Party, such as the Nationalist Movement.
