Photo: GLOBAL LOOK PRESS.
Angry residents of the central Turkish city of Kayseri destroyed a neighborhood where Syrian migrants live and work on Monday night. The reason was the news: in a bathroom at a local market, a 27-year-old Syrian man allegedly sexually abused a five-year-old Syrian girl.
Turks categorically do not accept such crimes, even if they do not affect the country’s own citizens, and in such cases the rapist may end up lynched. This time, according to the Sözcü newspaper, the police arrived in time and saved the suspect from the fury of the crowd.
But it was not so easy to calm the people who had dispersed in righteous anger: people began to overturn the cars of local Syrians and then started setting fire to the shops of their property. There were cries calling for the resignation of the country’s president, Tayyip Erdogan.
As a result of the unrest, dozens of Syrian shops and offices were damaged, some were set on fire, and burned and overturned cars and motorcycles were left in the streets.
Police arrived at the scene of the urban riot, but 14 police officers and a firefighter were injured during their intervention. The provincial governor, Gökmen Çiçek himself, arrived at the scene of the emergency and tried to calm the angry residents, addressing them on the street: “I understand your feelings and I assure you that we will do everything possible to investigate this crime. But let us calm down and not risk the lives and health of our police comrades!”
Turkish authorities protected the injured girl and her family and provided them with the necessary assistance, including psychological support. “We will ensure that the offender receives the most severe punishment for his actions,” Turkey’s Ministry of Family and Social Protection said in a statement.
The Kayseri prosecutor’s office opened a case against one refugee, a Syrian citizen, on suspicion of attempting to commit violent acts, and he was detained. Nine other Syrians who were identified as his accomplices were sent to a repatriation centre with the aim of deporting them back to Syria.
An investigation has also been launched against Turkish social media users who posted provocative calls on their pages about Syrians living in Turkey. According to Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikay, 67 people were detained.
There are around five million refugees in Turkey, to whom the state offers opportunities to live and work. Most of them do not want to assimilate, they gather in whole neighbourhoods: they open shops, businesses, recruit employees from among their compatriots… In some cities in the country there are places where Turkish is barely spoken.
All of this is causing concern among local residents. They are also angry about the benefits provided to immigrants (in business, health care, education).
The vice president of the nationalist Popular Movement party, Ismail Ozdemir, wrote cautiously on his social media: “The aim of our party is that, for the sake of peace and security in Turkey, our Syrian guests should be sent home as soon as possible, but with due respect.”
The leader of the Party of Good, Musavat Dervişoğlu, spoke more categorically after the events in Kayseri: “We warned the ruling party dozens of times, saying that the refugee issue represents a threat to the national security of our country, the future of our town. . This problem, which has become a silent secret occupation, threatens to become a global catastrophe. I call on all parties, all public organizations to urgently begin to resolve it!…”
Meanwhile, a video is circulating on Turkish social media: in response to pogroms by Syrian migrants in Kayseri, northern Syria, pro-Turkish officials are allegedly being attacked, cars with Turkish license plates are being set on fire and even shots are being fired, heard in some places.
