The first signs of sending refugees back?

A headline in the July 5 edition of daily Hürriyet drew my attention.

Let's go back to the beginning of the week. There had been incidents in Istanbul and Ankara involving Syrian refugees. The atmosphere was very tense.

First of all, on this day, Deputy Prime Minister Veysi Kaynak said the following: "We should not forget that these people are in Turkey temporarily, that Turkey has been hosting them according to its traditions, and that Turkey has been making a huge sacrifice."

Who do you think these words were directed at? 

Clearly they were directed at people in Turkey angry about Syrians. What was Kaynak saying to try to calm them down? "Don't worry, they are not permanent. They are only here temporarily." 

This was actually the first time we had ever heard this from a government official in Turkey.

Then, one day later, Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım personally declared the following: "Whoever commits a crime will find themselves sent across the border."

Who do you think these words are directed at? They are not for the ears of Syrian refugees; these words are for the ears of angry Turks. He was telling them that they should not worry or make any problems out of the issue, as anyone involved in any negative incident would be deported.

So it seems the government has recognized the Syrian refugee problem for the first time in four years. That is how I am interpreting these two declarations that came one after the other.

They are effectively voicing variations of the policy of main opposition leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu before the April referendum. "We will help Syrian refugees return to their countries," he said.

Of course, the final decision on the issue will be made by...