Germany:Kurdish deportation ban rescinded
01 March 1995
In Germany Kurdish people have until recently been protected from being deported by virtue of a ban on deportations in all Länder (regional governments). In order to prolong the ban on deportation beyond the initial period of 6 months the Länder needed the consent of the Minster of the Interior. Following recent events in Turkey - notably the trial of Kurdish MPs - a debate started on whether the ban on deportations should be prolonged and the German Bundestag held an expert hearing on the situation in Turkey. However, even before this hearing Mr Kanther, the Minister of the Interior, announced that he would not agree to extending the ban. In a vote in plenary session, following the hearing in the Bundestag on 14 March the German Parliament voted by 333 votes to 307 to withdraw the moratorium on the deportation of Kurdish people back to Turkey. The Social Democratic Party and the Alliance 90-Greens opposed the decision because people deported could face imprisonment and persecution. A number of Länder, notably the ones which are run by the Social Democrats, have announced that they would nevertheless not initiate deportations, regardless of the position taken by the Minister of the Interior.
The move followed a series of reported firebombings of Turkish businesses and mosques and an exchange of letters between German Interior Minister Manfred Kanther and the Turkish government. The attacks on Turkish targets has been attributed by the police to the Kurdistan Workers' Party - the police now claim they are responsible for some of the attacks thought to have been carried out by fascist groups. Bavarian Prime Minister Edmund Stoiber said: "Anyone who commits arson and violent acts forfeits his right to be Germany's guest". The Kurdish Community in Germany - a nationwide association of Kurdish groups - said: "Kurdish people are being held responsible without proof.The fact that attacks are also taking place against Kurdish businesses and community centres is not being reported".
Prior to the vote in the parliament the Interior Minister, Mr Kanther, said there had been an exchange of letters between him and the Turkish Minster of the Interior, Mr Mentese, as they wanted to stop the "illegal" migration of people from Turkey to Germany. Mr Kanther said the Turkish government were offering guarantees for those deported on their return to Turkey. Human rights organisations and the opposition parties in the Bundestag responded that Turkey had ratified many international conventions but consistently ignored them in practice.
International Herald Tribune, 18 & 20.3.95; Balkan News, 19.3.95; Berlin Antiracist Information Network, March 1995.