Turkish municipality to charge extra for all foreigners using services

The northwestern Turkish municipality of Bolu voted on Monday for a dollar-based water bill system and exorbitant civil marriage ceremony costs for foreigners living in the city.

The measures were proposed by opposition Mayor Tanju Ozcan, who is known for his anti-refugee stance. A majority on the municipal council approved plans to charge foreigners 100,000 liras ($8,500) to marry and $2.5 per cubic meter for water use – 11 times higher than average water fees.

Bolu is a popular destination for Arab tourists coming to Turkey. The measures cover all foreign nationals living in the city with a residence permit.

The move has sparked controversy across the country. Many people have called them populist and racist but some see them as a way to deter a new influx of migrants from Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria.

“We do not want foreigners to settle in Bolu and raise their children here. We are doing this to prevent more Syrians or Iraqis from getting married here. They overstayed their welcome,” Ozcan said recently.

Legal experts say that the measures go against Article 10 of the Turkish constitution, which stipulates equality for all before the law regardless of nationality.

Turkey’s main opposition Republican Peoples’ Party (CHP) has not made an official statement about the move by a mayor affiliated with the party.

“There is no ambiguity about the mayor’s stance on immigrants, made clear by his remarks in the last few months, yet CHP has not been willing to take a clear position on this issue, leaving people perplexed about where CHP stands,” Ferhat Zabun, lecturer at Queens College, City University of New York, said.

He thinks CHP’s ambiguous reaction from could lead to a domino effect in the main opposition party, if other party members were to feel more comfortable making this kind of discriminatory statements in public, fueling a more xenophobic discourse.

Party sources say CHP is holding a disciplinary process about the mayor, which will take this last decision into account.

Turkey has about 5 million migrants, with nearly 4 million from Syria, according to the latest figures from the migration authority.

Metin Corabatir, president of the Research Center on Asylum and Migration in Ankara, said this decision not only breaches the constitution but is also against all the anti-discriminatory clauses of the international conventions that Turkey has signed.

“The universal declaration of human rights requires us to observe the equality of all before the law regardless of their social status. The municipalities are tasked with delivering basic services to those who live within their territories,” he said.

Experts also say that forms of xenophobic and racist discourses, which have been fueled by Turkey’s economic woes, can easily be used for domestic consumption ahead of elections.

Corabatir said that if other municipalities follow this example, it could lead to the forced return of refugees to their countries of origin where conditions may not be safe.

“Depriving foreigners of basic services or making these services 11 times more expensive means cutting these people from economic benefits and pushing them out of the town. It is a dangerous game and can easily escalate into hate crimes,” he said.