President
Erdogan of Turkey wants to repatriate a large number of Syrian refugees. His
plan is to create several resettlement camps on the Syrian side of the border,
in the “safe zone” his troops control, between the towns of Tel Abyad and Ras
al-Ain.
He
is putting a lot of pressure on the UN Secretary-General António Guterres. The
President wants the Secretary-General to bless the plan and convene a donor
meeting to raise money for its implementation. Erdogan met Guterres yesterday
and the meeting was vintage Erdogan: either the UN does it, or I will.
Things
do not work like that when it comes to repatriation of refugees and the role of
the UN. The Secretary-General must make it clear. Repatriation must take place
on a voluntary basis, with strong security guarantees, and it cannot disturb
the very fragile ethnic balances that define Northern Syria. It is also true
that traditional donors are not ready to finance any plan imposed by force. But
that is not the key issue. The point is that people must be willing to go back.
I am sure that point is not met today.
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