Published : 08-11-2016
Germany’s Interior Ministry has hardened its refugee policy, with media quoting it as proposing intercepting migrant boats trying to reach Europe from across the Mediterranean and sending them back to Africa.
German Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière said he believed the European Union should intercept refugee vessels at sea and deport them to such North African countries as Tunisia so as to rein in the wave of mass exodus from conflict zones. Refugees could then apply for asylum in Europe from those camps and, if granted approval, be taken to Europe safely, according to the ministry, though it said the notion is merely a proposal so far.
If enacted, Germany’s refugee policy could become as harsh as that of Australia, which allows virtually no asylum seekers to cross its borders and instead redirects them to a distribution camp on the Pacific island of Nauru.
The move sparked a backlash from Germany’s opposition and asylum-seeker advocates, who said that the Australian authorities are being too harsh in dealing with refugees.
Bernd Riexinger, head of the leftist opposition Die Linke party, branded the bid “a humanitarian scandal and a further step toward the elimination of the right to asylum.”
“The asylum check must take place in Germany, because the right to asylum also means the right to legal resources, that is, to lawyers, counseling centers, etc. The handling of refugees in Australia is absolutely unacceptable, and Germany and the EU must not be guided by it,” Riexinger stressed.
According to statistics by AGPS, at least 80,000 Palestinian refugees fleeing beleaguered Syria have reached Europe by sea. Thousands of other refugees, including toddlers and children, have died in attempting to do so.
Germany’s Interior Ministry has hardened its refugee policy, with media quoting it as proposing intercepting migrant boats trying to reach Europe from across the Mediterranean and sending them back to Africa.
German Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière said he believed the European Union should intercept refugee vessels at sea and deport them to such North African countries as Tunisia so as to rein in the wave of mass exodus from conflict zones. Refugees could then apply for asylum in Europe from those camps and, if granted approval, be taken to Europe safely, according to the ministry, though it said the notion is merely a proposal so far.
If enacted, Germany’s refugee policy could become as harsh as that of Australia, which allows virtually no asylum seekers to cross its borders and instead redirects them to a distribution camp on the Pacific island of Nauru.
The move sparked a backlash from Germany’s opposition and asylum-seeker advocates, who said that the Australian authorities are being too harsh in dealing with refugees.
Bernd Riexinger, head of the leftist opposition Die Linke party, branded the bid “a humanitarian scandal and a further step toward the elimination of the right to asylum.”
“The asylum check must take place in Germany, because the right to asylum also means the right to legal resources, that is, to lawyers, counseling centers, etc. The handling of refugees in Australia is absolutely unacceptable, and Germany and the EU must not be guided by it,” Riexinger stressed.
According to statistics by AGPS, at least 80,000 Palestinian refugees fleeing beleaguered Syria have reached Europe by sea. Thousands of other refugees, including toddlers and children, have died in attempting to do so.
