Germany: Asylum and immigration
01 January 1991
Germany: Asylum and immigration
artdoc July=1994
Deportation programmes Less refugees, more deportations
The government has announced a 4-point plan to deal with the
`asylum-seeker problem': it will secure the eastern border;
reduce the attraction of the stay in Germany; encourage other
countries to share the burden of refugees; increase repatriation.
The number of refugees registered by the Federal Office for
Asylum-Seekers has dropped considerably since the change of the
constitution in June 1993, a drop of 72.5 per cent in those
seeking asylum. 3.2 per cent of applicants only are accepted as
refugees. Furthermore, the German government spent 9,75 million
DM on deportations in 1993, compared to 4,5m DM in 1992. More
money is to be spent tightening the controls of eastern Europe's
borders. A spokesperson for the office of the Chancellor said
that 1650 out of 2200 arrests on the borders were due to the
introduction of new technology, including infra red cameras (Die
Tageszeitung 12.2.94 Suddeutsche Zeitung 18.2.94, Frankfurther
Rundschau 11.3.94, Berliner Morgenpost 13.3.94).
Court rules in favour of deportation of Vietnamese
A Berlin court has ruled that Vietnamese refugees are not
threatened by political persecution at home and can therefore be
deported under GermanyØs asylum laws. The decision will effect
20,000 Vietnamese who came to the former east Germany as
guestworkers (Guardian 16.3.94).
Deportations to former Yugoslavia
The Ministry of the Interior has announced that more than 100,000
refugees from Serbia, Montenegro and Kosovo should be sent back,
via Romania, by the end of April and that they see no reason for
loosening the visa-policy toward Bosnian refugees.But pressure
from Amnesty International has forced the government to extend
the deadline for the repatriation of Croatian refugees to June
1995. Mostly threatened by the deportations are young deserters,
Romany and Albanian refugees from Kosovo. According to Pax
Christi and Pro-Asyl, Serbian deserters have to face prison
sentences and even the death penalty. The German foreign ministry
has confirmed that up to the 11 March, 5000 Albanians were
deported from Germany to the former Yugoslavia. They were taken
to Skopje by plane and then by bus to Serbia (RFE/RL Daily
Report, no. 52, 16.3.94,Die Tageszeitung 11.2, 6.3.94).
Meanwhile, the German government's plans have led to friction
with the Romanian foreign ministry which denies that Romania has
agreed that the airport at Timisoara can be used for the return
of refugees to Serbia. Apparently, officials in North-Rhine
Westphalia and German federal officers have had to cancel the
first flight of deportees while it sought clarification with the
German authorities (RFE/RL Daily Report, no. 52, 16.3.94).
Particularly affected by the deportation programme are the
Romany. Representations made to the United Nations and the
European parliament by the Roma National Congress helped prevent
a nationwide deportation programme due to commence on 8 March.
The plan was to arrest 10,000 Romany refugees and escort them by
plane or train to Dusseldorf airport where they would then be
transported by chartered plane to Timisoara in Romania. From
Timisoara they would then be deported to the former Yugoslavia.
The Roma National Congress, whose members say they are being
victimised by the police and by racists since they launched their
campaign (see below), believes that Germany has promised the
Romanian government economic aid in return for its cooperation
in breaking boycott regulations for Yugoslavia (Press release of
the Roma National Congress 2.3.94).
Meanwhile, in Cologne, the authorities have stepped up attempts
to deport the surviving members of a Romany family who were the
victims of a fascist attack in 1993 that left two dead (RNC press
release 23.3.94).
Angolans protest deportations
Fifteen Angolan refugees have taken sanctuary<