Ankara using migration to tarnish Athens

With the latest border incident involving 92 migrants that were stripped naked and sent over the Evros river to Greece, Turkey’s leadership is seen to be adopting two-pronged strategy to malign Greece’s reputation on the international stage while at the same time demonstrating decisiveness to a domestic audience.

More than two years after the attempted mass invasion of migrants from Evros at the behest of Ankara, the analysts that interpreted the move as the start of a multifaceted hybrid war by Turkey are being vindicated, as suggested by the transfer to the border of 92 naked people. 

Despite the evidence to the contrary, Ankara has sought again to pin the blame on Greece, as part of its wider effort to incorporate the migration issue into its strategy aimed at building a narrative against Greece vis-a-vis the international community. Thus, apart from the escalating rhetoric emanating from Ankara that Greece is violating international treaties, does not respect agreements and principles and is a factor of instability in the region, Turkey, which is often under fire for weaponizing migratory flows, is now also trying to cultivate the image that Greece consistently violates human rights.

It was seen as no coincidence that the Turkish presidency’s communications director, Fahrettin Altun, intervened on social media on Monday, accusing Greece of lying about the issue.

Altun is considered the mastermind behind Ankara’s strategy of blaming Greece regarding the tragic consequences of weaponizing the flows, and is believed to be behind the implementation of an organized plan to channel false news to Turkish and international media regarding Greece’s  supposed negative role in the refugee/migration issue. 

The main narrative is that Greek authorities are refusing to assist people in need of protection who are on Greek territory – allegations that have been adopted by some foreign media.

That this strategy is a choice at the highest level of the Turkish leadership is demonstrated by a series of moves by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has consistently sought to discredit Greece to international audiences and decision-making centers. At the same time, he often accuses the international community of not taking action against Greece. 

The latest example was Erdogan’s speech at the UN in October when he accused Greece of “burying” migrants in the Aegean and the Mediterranean, while Turkey saves them “because we are Muslims and we are fulfilling the requirements of Islam.”