STRICTER VISA OBLIGATIONS FOR AFRICAN COUNTRIES
On 5 December, the German Interior Minister, Manfred Kanther, introduced a visa obligation for nationals of several African countries by "legal ordinance". The measure aims at reducing "illegal immigration" from Africa. The ordinance came into effect on 7 December and affects nationals from Togo (a former German colony), Benin, Burkina Faso, the Ivory Coast and Niger. The Interior Minister argued that the measure was necessary due to the cunning of smugglers who had opened a route via Moscow to Germany.
More asylum seekers
The number of asylum seekers rose to 12,056 in November as compared with 10,237 in October. The rise is due above all to arrivals from the former Yugoslavia, Turkey and Togo.
Of a total of 26,300 asylum decisions between November 1993 and November 1994, 8.3 per cent were positive, But the number of asylum seekers has decreased by 62 per cent in the same period.
Source: DPA and Reuter, 5.12.94