to Afghanistan and Syria - Djir-Sarai: Greens should not block deportation offensive
FDP General Secretary Bijan Djir-Sarai has urged the Greens and their Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbock, to clear the way for more deportations. "Mrs. Baerbock and the Greens should not hinder the deportation offensive announced by the Federal Chancellor," said the FDP politician to the German Press Agency. Anything else would cause head-shaking among the population and benefit populists.
Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) had announced, as a consequence of the fatal stabbing attack in Mannheim, that the deportation of serious criminals and terrorist threats to Afghanistan and Syria would be resumed. The federal government does not maintain diplomatic relations with either the Islamic Taliban in Kabul or the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. However, according to the Federal Ministry of the Interior, it is conducting confidential negotiations with third countries that could potentially facilitate a deportation. On May 31, an Afghan man injured five men with a knife on the Mannheim market square, and 29-year-old police officer Rouven Laur died two days later from his injuries.
Baerbock warned against empty promises
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) had expressed fundamental skepticism on Friday without directly referring to Scholz or others. She said: "I believe that it is not a contribution to security in such uncertain times to promise things that one can no longer keep the next day."
The FDP General Secretary, on the other hand, is convinced that deportations to Syria and Afghanistan, especially when it comes to Islamic "threats", are absolutely necessary. Germany has not deported anyone to Syria for over twelve years. The last deportations to Afghanistan took place before the Taliban took power in 2021.
Such returns would serve to make Germany safer and relieve the social security system, said Djir-Sarai. He therefore has no understanding for the "blockade stance of the Foreign Minister". Returns to these countries are also possible via neighboring countries. The FDP politician also referred to a recent ruling by the Higher Administrative Court of Münster, which found that there is no longer a serious, individual threat to the lives or physical integrity of civilians in Syria due to arbitrary violence within an internal armed conflict.
A total of 16,430 people were deported from Germany last year. There have been 4,791 deportations in the first quarter of 2024.
Women's rights organizations have expressed concern about the potential impact of increased deportations on vulnerable individuals, particularly women and children. Annalena Baerbock, the Women's Minister in addition to her Foreign role, has repeatedly emphasized the need to consider humanitarian aspects in migration policies.
