Syrians in Istanbul concerned over increased tight security campaigns

The Turkish city of Istanbul has recently seen security and deportation campaigns against Syrians living in the Turkish capital. The Turkish authorities have deported dozens of migrants back to Syria in spite of having legal documents issued by Istanbul State Administration . This dubious action has spread tension and horror among many Syrians; not only those without any documents or who have received papers from other states and live in Istanbul, but also those who have identity papers issued in Istanbul.

Last week, Turkish Interior Minister, Suleyman Soylu, met with a number of Syrian journalists and representatives of Syrian civil society organizations operating in Istanbul. He stated that those who hold a temporary protection paper, known as ‘kimlik’, and are not registered in Istanbul will be repatriated to the states that had issued those documents. He pointed out that the procedure would be in accordance with the local laws. He also stressed that the situation did not require deportation outside Turkey.

According to several media sources, Soylu confirmed that the Turkish foreign companies law, which states that the percentage of Turkish employees to the foreign ones should be 5 to 1 , would not be applied to the Syrians. He stressed that Turkey would not renounce the Syrians' support. However, according to him, there should be adherence to the rules and procedures In order to ensure a better long-lasting impact of such assistance.

Samar (pseudo), a Syrian resident of Istanbul, said, "I do not have a kimilk. I came to Turkey four months ago and I tried to reach the process owners to issue one, but I was rejected and dodged." She said she was concerned about herself and her family, "We can not even get out of the house, so how can we go to another state to issue the kimlik? What if we got arrested? They would take us back to Idlib and I do not want to go there."

The Levant News has spoken with several young men who were deported to Idlib. They said they had the kimlik, but they were either not carrying it with them or it was issued from other states. Yet, they were deported to Idlib after being forced to sign papers without understanding its content. This is totally contrary to what the Turkish Interior Minister had stated during his meeting with the journalists as he confirmed then that all kimlik holders that does not relate to Istanbul would be returned to the state where the paper was issued, and will not be deported to Syria.

The administration of Syrian Forum Associations declared earlier that what several media outlets had reported about the end of deportation campaign in all Turkey was far from the truth. The administration added, "the campaign is still on... Please don’t spread false news. It is not correct. All brothers and sisters must correct their legal status and move to Turkish cities which allow Syrians to issue a new kimlik.”

The administration continued, "whoever has a kimlik issued outside the city where they reside should either stay in a safe place or return to the city where the Kimlik was issued until the end of this campaign." The administration also assured that they were cooperating with the Immigration Department in Istanbul to bring back the deported young men from Syria in spite of holding the kimlik with them; either inside or outside Istanbul.

The forum published several links to forms that would help to obtain information about these deportation cases. The most recent of which was a link published earlier this week. In coordination between the Turkish Immigration Department and the Syrian Forum Association, a link has been allocated to collect information regarding those who had received temporary protection card and were deported from their dwellings in Istanbul to Syria during the recent security campaign in Istanbul.