25 Austrians with Afghan roots and 20 Afghans with a residence permit for Austria are currently still in Afghanistan and should be evacuated as quickly as possible: Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg (VP) announced yesterday.
To this end, Austria is sending a crisis team to Kabul to help those affected get to the airport. Although everyone is in the greater Kabul area, the “volatile situation” currently makes it difficult to get to the airport at all, says Schallenberg. Austria will not send its own aircraft, “our German friends” have offered to take the return flight, said the minister.
Once again, Schallenberg emphasized the VP line, according to which deportations to Afghanistan would continue to take place – even if currently only via repatriations (for details see box).
The Chancellor’s party yesterday received criticism from the top for this position. Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen spoke up on Twitter: The debate about deportations is out of place because of the “shocking developments that are deeply affected”. Not only the Federal Constitution, but also the European Convention on Human Rights, would contradict this. Instead, Van der Bellen called for humanitarian aid: Austria and the EU would have to “support those who are now threatened and protect these people if necessary,” he said. All those who have to flee to neighboring countries should be “supported with humanitarian help”. He worries above all about “women and young girls as well as members of minorities”.
EU Minister advised
At a video conference of the EU foreign ministers yesterday, Schallenberg campaigned for a unified appearance of the EU, it needed local support and a “clear signal that the migration crisis cannot repeat itself in 2015”. Admittedly, “we will not be able to abandon the people there, but bringing them to Europe cannot be the only solution,” said Schallenberg. The EU interior ministers are discussing today.
According to Schallenberg, cooperation with the Taliban is only possible if these conditions are met, such as “observance of fundamental and human rights, equal rights for women, no lynching”.
Deportations continue
Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg (VP) did not want to talk about a deportation stop to Afghanistan yesterday either, although he spoke of an “explosive situation” in the country. It is still a “fact that we are deporting”, he referred to returns. A total of 18 Afghan citizens have been brought to safe third countries in accordance with Dublin regulations in the past few days, including Germany and Hungary.
Interior Minister Karl Nehammer (VP) confirmed that only yesterday there had been four returns of Afghans to Romania.
