Anti-refugee sentiment ahead of Turkish presidential election

Ahead of the runoff in the Turkish presidential election on May 28, the refugee issue is high on the agenda of both candidates. The refugee policies of the candidates became crucial for the support of other political parties. This has led to a change in the tone and promises of presidential candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu. During the electoral campaign for the first round of the presidential election, Kilicdaroglu’s posters featured slogans such as ‘Spring is coming’ and ‘I am Kemal, I am coming’ with his picture where he is smiling. He was known for making a heart-shaped gesture with his hands that went viral.

However, his campaign did not gain enough traction, resulting in fewer votes than his opponent Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Since then, Kilicdaroglu has been leading a different strategy in his election campaign. The new posters feature slogans such as “Syrians will leave” and “The border is our honor” with a photo of Kilicdaroglu with serious looks. The declaration of Kilicdaroglu in his election speech before the 14 May elections was: “We will send our Syrian brothers and sisters back to their countries within 2 years.” However, in a statement he made with far-right politician Ümit Özdag, the presidential candidate changed his words and said that all refugees, especially Syrians, will be sent back to their countries within 1 year at the latest. He also announced in a speech that if he were to become president, he would send all 10 million refugees back home. He accused Erdogan of letting in too many refugees. Although Kilicdaroglu and other opposition parties speak of 10 million refugees, according to the UNHCR, there are 4 million refugees in Turkey, including 3,5 million Syrians.

Earlier this week, Erdogan made a pact with far-right Sinan Ogan, who declared his support for him. Soon after the meeting, Erdogan gave an interview at a pro-government channel. “After Sunday, we will present a plan on how quickly we can send Syrians back,” he said. The rhetoric of the far-right, which has been used repeatedly to win the support of nationalist voters, further intensifies the growing anti-refugee stance. After the 6 February earthquake in Turkey, refugees became a major public issue. Racist attacks escalated after lies were spread that Afghan refugees had cut off the arms of corpses from the rubble and stolen their gold. Amnesty International also made a statement on this issue: “There have been credible reports that Syrian refugees have been targeted by both civilians and state actors for physical abuse and verbal harassment in racist attacks and/or with hate speech.” After both candidates’ statements on the refugee question, it is a matter of great urgency what will happen to the fate of millions of refugees, especially Syrians after the election.