<p>As I wrote in a previous article, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is responding to last weekend&rsquo;s failed military coup without mercy. America and the EU are begging him not to use the attempted coup as an excuse to downgrade Turkey&rsquo;s civil rights &ndash; but Erdogan isn&rsquo;t listening.</p>
<p>After ;purging the nation&rsquo;s military and police forces of thousands of &ldquo;traitors,&rdquo; Turkey&rsquo;s president has decided to grant 300,000 Syrians citizenship. Those 300,000 people will be able to vote in the next election and &ndash; when the EU grants Turkey visa-free access &ndash; travel to Europe.</p>
<p><em>In one fell swoop, Presdient Erdogan has stacked the next election and threatened the fragile stability of the EU.</em></p>
<p>Sharing a border with Syria has made Turkey that #1 destination for Syrian refugees. As of September 2015, Turkey had absorbed 1.9 million migrants ;&ndash; nearly half of all who had fled the war-torn country at the time.</p>
<p>In it&#8217;s most recent bid to join the EU, ;Turkey agreed to help stem the flow of migrants crossing through Turkey into Europe. It also agreed to outlaw the death penalty. ;Last weekend&rsquo;s failed coup has led President Erdogan to reconsider using the death penalty, a decision that would bar him from joining the EU.</p>
<p>President Erdogan&rsquo;s decision to naturalize 300,000 Syrians comes as the Turkish government starts to realize that many of the migrants are never going to return to Syria. Erdogan&rsquo;s Premier Binali Yildirm argues that the president&rsquo;s controversial decision is a &ldquo;turning point&rdquo; for Turkey&rsquo;s approach to the migrant crisis and Syrian civil war. ;The Turkish government has long opposed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, but Erdogan&rsquo;s decision appears to signify a change in attitude. ;</p>
<p>As I mentioned above, many believe the decision to naturalize 300,000 Syrians is nothing more than a way for Erdogan to secure 300,000 loyal voters. Opposition leader Kemal Ataturk begs Erdogan to present the issue as a referendum and notes that most Turks oppose the idea. ;</p>
<p>The deal Turkey made with the EU grants all Turkish citizens visa-free access into Europe. If those 300,000 Syrians become Turkish citizens, there will be no way to stop them from traveling en masse to Europe and seeking asylum upon arrival. ;</p>
<p>Many politicians worry that granting visa-free travel to Turkish citizens will guarantee a new wave of migration even without the 300,000 Syrians. It is likely that oppressed minority groups like the Kurds would travel to Europe seeking new homes. ;Horst Seehofer, an ally of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, warns that granting visa-free access to the Turks could result in ;millions of Turks moving into Europe &#8211; a situation that Europe absolutley cannot handle right now. ;</p>
<p><strong>Editor&#8217;s note:</strong> This is a frightening development. Europe is just starting to realize its mistake in allowing so many refugees. This series of events that not only locks Erdogan into power but could be a devastating influence on Europe.</p>