ANKARA: Opposition lawmakers in Turkey have taken their concerns about a passport scam to parliament, after alleging that some municipalities were helping people to bypass the European visa regime.
The scam first surfaced two weeks ago after reports that 43 out of 45 people who traveled to Germany last September for an environment workshop never returned.
The workshop was organized by Malatya municipality, which is run by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
The attendees were allegedly taken to Germany in exchange for a fee, up to €8,000 ($9,620) each, on service or gray passports that are reserved for the visa-free travel of Turkish public servants.
The scandal then expanded to other municipalities, which arranged similar methods for foreign visits including participation in folk dance festivals. Officials used the special travel document to circumvent the Schengen visa requirements for regular Turkish passport holders.
About 1,000 Turks are believed to have entered Germany so far using the same tactic, with many reported to have sought asylum. Germany is investigating the allegations.
The AKP and its coalition partner the Nationalist Movement Party recently voted down a parliamentary motion put forward by the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) to investigate the matter.
“Thanks to the AKP, the world has become familiar with a new human smuggling scheme,” said CHP lawmaker Veli Agbaba. “They have smuggled people to Germany through municipalities, using the state’s official gray passport.”
A couple working at the Turkish consulate in Hanover were called back to Ankara after they noticed and tried to reveal details of the racket.
Mehmet Fidan, who is vice consul at the diplomatic mission, posted on Saturday that his wife Guler became suspicious about a group of 45 people with gray passports who came to the city in late 2020.
“Then she began going into the case,” he wrote on his personal Facebook page. “She identified that those who came to Germany did not return back. She warned the consul general several times, and insisted on the fact that it is merely a human smuggling case. She even prepared an urgent notice to be sent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Ankara. However, the consul general dragged this out and did not let her send a notice to Ankara. We will explain everything we know once we are in Ankara. They are trying to strangle us within the ministry. We won’t let this happen further.”
Tulay Hatimogullari, a lawmaker from the People’s Democratic Party, submitted a parliamentary enquiry on Monday to Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu about whether the ministry would take into account allegations that had been confirmed by its own diplomats.
“Why was no measure taken in the Hanover consulate following the revelation of human smuggling?” he asked. “Will the Foreign Ministry make a public announcement about the reason behind calling back its two diplomats to Ankara rather than trying to clarify the situation?”
