News / Interviews

EU dodging responsibilies amid refugee crisis: Pundit

Sunday, 24 April 2016 5:35 AM [ Last Update: Sunday, 24 April 2016 5:33 AM ]

Refugees try to catch a glimpse of German Chancellor Angela Merkel (unseen) visiting a refugee camp on the Turkish-Syrian border in Gaziantep on April 23, 2016. ©AFP

Press TV has interviewed Shabbir Hassanally, a political analyst from Leicester, and Ian Williams, with the Foreign Policy in Focus from New York, to discuss Europe’s handling of the refugee crisis in the continent.

Hassanali criticizes the controversial EU-Turkey refugee deal and says the Europeans are shunning their responsibilities concerning the refugees by pushing the problem somewhere else.

The analyst slams the European Union for providing “tacit support” to Turkey and Saudi Arabia, which have been the root cause of the bloodshed in Syria.

“The refugee crisis is a symptom of an underlying problem,” says Hassanally, adding that the US, the EU, Turkey and Saudi Arabia are seeking to destabilize Syria by supporting the terrorist groups operating there.

The analyst also says the EU has been complicit in creating wars in the Middle East and North Africa, adding that if it weren’t for such conflicts, no one would leave his homeland and take such a dangerous journey to Europe, where the refugees are not welcome.

“We need external actors such as the United States, such as Israel, such as London, such as Saudi, such as Turkey to stop further compounding the problem by giving support and sustenance to the cancer,” which is the rise of extremism and militant groups.

Williams, for his part, lays the blame of the refugee influx on the Syrian government, which is engaged in fighting with extremists and militants; however, he says, the European Union has a duty under international law and its own conscience to aid the genuine refugees.

The commentator also describes the deal between the EU and Turkey to stop the inflow of refugees into Europe as “cynical” and “bad in so many different ways,” adding that the agreement is a mere “political Band Aid” being put on a problem.

Under the deal, the EU is granting visa waiver to Turkey despite Ankara’s crackdown on dissent, says Williams.

He adds that the Turkish authorities have supported the Daesh Takfiri group in Syria; thus, Ankara “is hardly a credible actor” in efforts to address the refugee crisis.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk