TURKEY: Syrian ambassador to Turkey says refugees have nothing to fear from authorities and should return, but one refugee from Jisr al Shughour says he will not go home until the army withdraws

Record ID: 276241

  • Title: TURKEY: Syrian ambassador to Turkey says refugees have nothing to fear from authorities and should return, but one refugee from Jisr al Shughour says he will not go home until the army withdraws
  • Date: 23rd June 2011
  • Summary: HATAY, TURKEY (JUNE 22, 2011) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF REFUGEE CAMP WITH POLICE AT BARRIERS POLICE OFFICERS TALKING TO REFUGEES VARIOUS OF REFUGEES SEATED UNDER TREES ANKARA, TURKEY (JUNE 22, 2011) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF SYRIAN AMBASSADOR TO TURKEY WORKING IN HIS OFFICE (SOUNDBITE) (English) SYRIAN AMBASSADOR TO TURKEY NIDAL KABALAN SAYING "We have also asked our Turki
  • Embargoed: 8th July 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Turkey, Turkey
  • Country: Turkey
  • Topics: International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVAC2240SAOPWRK3BYXBVO42KJ9
  • Story Text: Syria on Wednesday (June 22) said it was looking for a way to reassure refugees it was safe to return home.
    "We have also asked our Turkish friends to work together on finding a mechanism whereby everybody is reassured, okay, that nobody is going to arrest them. Of course, (people) talking about they would kill you, they will rape you. This is all propaganda, I don't want even waste my breath, but nobody will arrest you. Nobody is going to cause you any harm. On the contrary we are ready to provide all necessary help and reassurance that those families could go back to their villages and towns and live in dignity," the Syrian ambassador to Turkey, Nidal Kabalan told Reuters.
    Syrian President Bashar al-Assad promised reforms and called for national dialogue in a speech on Monday (June 20) in his third address to the nation since the outbreak of protests that have claimed the lives of 1,300 civilians according to rights groups.
    The embattled Syrian leader called on refugees in Turkey to return as soon as possible, as he announced a parliamentary election due August and pledged to complete a reform package by September. His appeal was renewed by Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem who urged Turkey to reconsider its stance on the latest developments and said Syria wanted the "best relations with Turkey".
    Ambassador Kabalan accused some of the refugees of being smugglers and said his country was humiliated by its fleeing citizens.
    "We are not used to Syrians living in tents. This is not Syria. We have been housing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians for sixty years and one and a half million Iraqis for six years. We are not used to.. this is a humiliation to the mentality and to the dignity of Syrians, okay? Syrians normally die and do not live in tents. Syria is very upset about that," he said.
    Rights groups say the crackdown against protesters has intensified since the first amnesty was announced on May 31 and hundreds of people have been arrested.
    Syrian refugees were doubtful about returning home.
    Sadik, a refugee from the town of Jisr al-Shughour, said the Syrian army should leave all town and villages before they consider going back.
    "We want to return but soldiers should withdraw from villages. Everybody wants to return but soldiers are still proceeding, they have to withdraw but not only soldiers, Shabihas should also withdraw," he said.
    "I witnessed what happened in Jisr al-Shughour with my own eyes. They have turned a sugar factory to a prison where they are holding men and women separately and they are literally removing people's skin and the army is doing nothing to stop it," he added.
    More than 10,000 Syrian refugees have already crossed into Turkey and Turkish officials say a further 10,000 are sheltering close to the border just inside Syria in the olive groves and rich farmland around the town of Jisr al-Shughour.
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