Spain's 'Migrant Friendly' Border Fences

by Soeren Kern • December 11, 2019 at 5:00 am

Critics say that the razor wire functions as a significant deterrent to illegal immigration and that by removing it, the Spanish government not only risks unleashing new waves of mass migration from Africa, but also gives effective control of the Spanish border to Morocco, with which Spain has a tense relationship.
The border fences in question involve those at Spain's North African exclaves of Ceuta and Melilla — magnets for Africans seeking a better life in Europe.
The removal of razor wire is in line with the current Socialist government's pro-immigration stance.
"We are not against immigration. We are not even against the illegal immigrant. It is not their fault that an irresponsible government has called them to come here illegally." — Iván Espinosa de los Monteros, Parliamentary Spokesman for the conservative party Vox.

Spanish authorities have begun removing razor wire from border fences along Spain's frontier with Morocco. The Socialist government ordered their removal after migrants who tried to jump the fences to enter Europe illegally suffered injuries. Pictured: Spain's double-fence separating the Spanish exclave of Ceuta from Morocco, photographed on August 23, 2018. (Photo by Alexander Koerner/Getty Images)

Spanish authorities have begun removing razor wire, known as concertina wire, from border fences along Spain's frontier with Morocco. The Socialist government ordered their removal after migrants who tried to jump the fences to enter Europe illegally suffered injuries after coming into contact with the wire.

Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska justified the removal by saying that Morocco had recently installed concertina wire on fences on its side of the border, and that therefore it was no longer necessary on the Spanish side.

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Turkey: Murder of Women Reaches Epidemic Proportions

by Uzay Bulut • December 11, 2019 at 4:00 am

The cause of 50% of the killings was not determined, but 16% of the women were killed because they wanted to make decisions about their lives, such as wanting a divorce, rejecting offers of reconciliation or even for not answering the phone when called by their men. 13% of the women were killed for "economic reasons."
According to the Turkish women's-rights platform, "We Will Stop Femicide," 652 women were killed by men in the year-and-a-half period prior to November 2018 -- 36 of whom were murdered in October of that year.
"One of the reasons why such a large number of women fall victim to violence is the reluctance and even prevention of relevant institutions to implement current laws." — The Central Women's Committee of Turkey's Human Rights Association (HRA), "Violence against women is a result of discriminatory policies," August 26, 2019.
"There was no finger left unbroken, no women left unbeaten for the last two seasons of a show aired on a pro-government TV channel..." — İlhan Taşcı, Republican People's Party deputy and Radio and Television Supreme Council Member.
"In our religion, the life, dignity and rights of women are untouchable and entrusted [to men]." — Ali Erbaş, President of Diyanet, Turkey's Directorate of Religious Affairs.

The murder of women by male relatives -- particularly spouses or former spouses -- has become a dangerous trend in Turkey. 652 women were killed in Turkey by men in the year-and-a-half period prior to November 2018, according to the Turkish women's-rights platform, "We Will Stop Femicide." (Image source: iStock)

On November 25, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, thousands of Turkish women took part in demonstrations at Istanbul's Taksim Square. The women were protesting the increasing number of murders in the country committed by men against female family members. After reading a statement to the press, the demonstrators were attacked by police with tear gas and plastic bullets.

The murder of women by male relatives -- particularly spouses or former spouses -- has become a dangerous trend in Turkey. The brutal murder, on August 18, of 38-year-old Emine Bulut by her ex-husband -- in front of their 10-year-old daughter -- is one particularly noteworthy case.

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