Erdoğan vows to protect demographic structure

ISTANBUL

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has pledged to safeguard Türkiye’s demographic structure while condemning what he called inhumane practices in global migration management.

"Although it is mostly the policy of Western powers that forces people to migrate, you cannot see any of them around when it comes to burden sharing," Erdoğan told an event organized by the Interior Ministry's Migration Management Presidency on April 28.

He was addressing an audience alongside Syrian migrant children during the gathering in Istanbul.

"We will not compromise on the security of our country and the protection of our demographic structure," Erdoğan said.

"However, we will not condemn Türkiye to the hate speech of a handful of racist lumpen figures that constantly spread fear in society."

Erdoğan criticized former opposition leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu for pledging to repatriate Syrian migrants if elected, dismissing claims about the scale of Türkiye’s migrant population.

"There is never and has never been a number of migrants in our country as claimed by the opposition, especially some fascist circles that are enemies of humanity," he said.

Erdoğan said there are currently 4.03 million migrants in Türkiye, including 2.76 million Syrians under temporary protection, 1.9 million with residence permits and 176,000 under international protection.

The president also highlighted efforts to curb illegal migration, noting that in the last two years, security forces prevented 270,000 irregular migrants from entering Türkiye.

"However, we are determined not to allow inhumane behaviors such as the mistreatment of migrants that we often witness in Western countries," he added.

Additionally, Erdoğan said the number of Syrians returning home has risen, with 200,000 having returned since the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in last December.

He congratulated Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya and his team for their work on migration issues.

Türkiye hosts the world’s largest population of Syrian refugees. The government has recently expanded border crossing capacities to facilitate returns amid a surge in departures amid the political shift in Syria.

A notable increase in returns is expected to begin in June, coinciding with the end of the school year.

Yerlikaya said earlier a similar boost in capacity to accommodate the anticipated surge in border crossings could be expected during the summer months as well.

"The issue of migration has been on the agenda of the entire world, especially in recent years, as a global phenomenon," Erdoğan said. "Due to wars, instability, terror, poverty and climate change, millions are forced to leave their homelands every year."

Citing recent data, Erdoğan said the global refugee population has reached 120 million, and at least 20 people are forced to migrate every minute due to conflict, oppression and terror.