Scholz wants to facilitate deportations to Afghanistan – “U-turn”

On Thursday, as a consequence of the fatal knife attack on a police officer in Mannheim, Chancellor Scholz proposed making it possible to deport serious criminals to Afghanistan and Syria again. “Such criminals should be deported – even if they come from Syria and Afghanistan,” he said in the Bundestag. “Serious criminals and terrorist threats have no place here.” He did not say exactly how he intends to make this possible in his government statement. The Federal Ministry of the Interior is working on the practical implementation and is already in talks with Afghanistan’s neighboring countries.

“More political leadership”

“General Newspaper” (Mainz): “Deportations of rejected asylum seekers to a country controlled by terrorists such as Afghanistan are and remain questionable, but the responsibility for the safety of those affected must end where they have abused their right of hospitality in the most serious way. This certainly applies to a police murderer, and to Islamist and anti-Semitic agitators as well. It is to be hoped that the Greens see it this way too and do not stand in the way of the rapid adjustment of the deportation practice ordered by Scholz. What Germany absolutely cannot use now is a traffic light dispute over the issue.”

“Rhein-Zeitung” (Koblenz): “Scholz is the head of government of a very unsettled country – even more so after the terrible knife attack and the death of a young police officer in Mannheim. Until now, one had the impression that Scholz had not really grasped the mood in the country and the situation. (…) In these difficult times, people expect more political leadership. Scholz has so far been very disappointing in this regard. But not with his speech. All one can say to him is: more of that.”

“Augsburg General”: “Whether the Chancellor’s announcement will become reality is another matter. Both the Taliban and Syria’s dictator Assad will have to be offered something if they are to take back their criminal citizens. Nevertheless, the decision is the right one. Anyone who is guilty of serious crimes cannot claim protection. The fact that these perpetrators are being deported is an important symbol for the acceptance of other refugees – and also for the morale of the police officers who defend the freedom of the constitution and the security of citizens.”

“Südkurier” (Constance): “Even if this would hardly have prevented the Mannheim attack and a possible deterrent effect on potential perpetrators is more than questionable: this announcement is long overdue. Above all for the citizens’ sense of security and justice and also to counteract the impression that politicians are not taking their anger and fears seriously. It is to be hoped that it is not only the view of the upcoming election Sunday that has led the Chancellor to finally state clearly what should actually be a sheer matter of course: that the security interests of Germany and the citizens of this country outweigh the interest in protecting perpetrators.”

“People’s Voice” (Magdeburg): “The FDP have the Chancellor and SPD on their side, and the Union is also keen to get involved. The Greens, however, have something against it. The next traffic light dispute is developing. The Green coalition partner is benefiting from the fact that nobody really knows how to handle the matter. It is uncertain whether the Afghan neighbours will help. The Greens, however, are using the technical problems to disguise their adherence to principles. Watering down the deportation ban contradicts pure Green doctrine. Arming Ukraine with tanks and missiles to the point of pain is apparently not.”

“Ludwigsburg District Newspaper”: “The parties of the traffic light coalition, the Left Party and also the Union are very concerned that the AfD, which has recently been on the defensive, will benefit from the heinous crime on the Mannheim market square in the European elections. The horror and shock can be felt throughout Germany. For this reason alone, the coalition of the SPD, the Greens and the FDP is making a U-turn on deportations to Afghanistan and Syria.”

“Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung”: “The German state should have taken more decisive action against the extremism brought by migrants and the violence associated with it long ago, even and especially under Chancellor Merkel. Surprisingly, it was not only angels of peace that came to the promised land of Germany from the world’s war zones. (…) And why did a young policeman have to be stabbed to death by a rejected but tolerated asylum seeker before the Chancellor and his Interior Minister declared that Germany’s security interests outweighed the interests of protecting the perpetrators?”

“Paying millions to inhumane regimes to enable deportations – that’s a horrifying prospect”

“The Bell” (Oelde): “Negotiating with the radical Islamist Taliban and the government of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad is politically very delicate. Paying millions to inhumane regimes to enable deportations is a real horror story. And it is more than uncertain whether Afghanistan’s neighbouring countries Pakistan and Uzbekistan have an interest in taking in terrorists and serious criminals. But it doesn’t help. We need tangible results. Anything else would increase political disillusionment and play into the hands of extremist forces.”

“Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung” (Heidelberg): “Yesterday’s debate in the Bundestag dealt with those who are here. It is actually a given that criminals – after serving their sentence – have to go. But where does this criminality begin? Is it enough to demand a caliphate? Surfing on Islamist websites? As understandable as the reflex is to protect the country from fanatics: a wave of deportations loudly announced in the Bundestag changes nothing. Criminal law, on the other hand, can be applied at any time.”

“New Osnabrück Newspaper”: “Even if in the specific Mannheim case – the man had apparently not attracted attention before – stricter laws would probably not have changed anything: The fact that Islamist threats live undisturbed in the country is too high a risk. What, one must ask, are they actually seeking protection from here? Many people have run out of patience in providing support to violent criminals in Germany by referring to the unsafe situation in their country of origin.”