HDP Immigrant and Refugee Commission co-spokesperson Gülsüm Ağağolu said in a written statement: “The government's highly volatile politics on refugee status resulted in refugee deaths and smuggling bringing the issue on top of the agenda.”

Ağağolu added: “The government wanted to change the agenda because of the tragedy it faced in Idlib and therefore said: we are opening borders you can go to Europe”

The statement continued: “Refugee casualties are experienced in the mountains, especially in winter. Traffic accidents on the roads or death in sinking boats are happening almost on a daily basis. The public still has no information about the number of refugees who died on the boat that sank in Lake Van on 26 June: only 7 out of 100 refugees have been recovered so far.

We urge the government to immediately implement a proper refugee policy and recognize the status of refugees in line with international law and convention it has signed.