Erdogan says Greece’s treatment of migrants at border ‘murderous’

Turkey intends to take Greece to task over its alleged “maltreatment” of refugees and migrants spurred on by Ankara to push into the European Union through the Greek-Turkish border, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on a flight back from Brussels on Tuesday, according to the pro-government Daily Sabah.

“Greece is not aware of international law; [Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos] Mitsotakis needs to look at the universal declaration of human rights. They need to know and accept that their treatment at the border is murderous. We will expose again the pictures of refugees stripped of their clothes this year at the UN General Assembly,” Erdogan was quoted by the Daily Sabah as saying.

The Turkish president also reiterated claims that Greek forces at the border in northeastern Evros have been using excessive force to prevent the passage into the country of tens of thousands of migrants and refugees gathered on the other side of the frontier. He also repeated claims that four or five refugees have been killed in the push, allegations that Greece has repeatedly denied.

“Greece should open its borders and let refugees go to other countries. Yet, they cannot voice this, which results in Turkey carrying all the burden. We want a fair, humanitarian and equal share of burden,” Erdogan said.