ASYLUM TOPICS
Deportation of Kurds once again postponed
The Federal Interior Ministry has prolonged to 28 February a temporary halt on deportations of rejected Kurdish asylum seekers to Turkey. Interior Minister Kanther justified the measure by referring to the need to further examine the human rights situation in Turkey, following the prison sentences imposed on eight Kurdish MPs. Criminal offenders and those whose asylum application has been rejected and whose deportation has already been agreed with Turkey will, however, not benefit from the measure.
In spite of the temporary halt, there is no doubt that the German government is still eager to go ahead with the deportation of Turkish Kurds. On 15 January, German-Turkish negotiations on an agreement dealing with returns began. According to the Turkish daily, Hürriyet, the agreement provides for the installation of a special "returnee office" at Istanbul's Atatürk airport. There, all returnees from Germany shall be interrogated by Turkish police and a German official, in presence of a lawyer and a medical doctor. These proceeding are intended to "calm the German public", Hürriyet says.
Gambia no longer rated as a safe country
The governing coalition of the CDU/CSU and the FDP (Liberals) intends to introduce legislation establishing that Gambia is not a safe country of origin and that refugees from Gambia must be granted full access to asylum procedures.
In the new German asylum law introduced in 1993, Gambia was listed as a safe country of origin. After last year's military coup in that country, however, the Federal Interior Minister issued an order revoking this classification.
Increased control by Border Protection
The German border protection force, Bundesgrenzschutz (BGS), has stepped up controls at the French-German border between Alsacia and Baden-Württemberg following an increase of illegal border crossings. The BGS reported that more than 200 Kosovo-Albanians were stopped and returned to France within three weeks in early January.
Agreement on return of 40,000 Vietnamese
Germany has reached agreement with Vietnam on the return of some 40,000 Vietnamese living in Germany without a legal status. In exchange, Germany offers Hanoi 100 million DM respectively in aid in 1995 and 1996. The Bonn government has also announced its intention to intensify its economic and political cooperation with Hanoi.
Negotiations on the agreement are expected to begin in March. The German government plans to return 20,000 "illegal" Vietnamese within the next four years.
Most of the Vietnamese living in Germany without a permit are former contract workers recruited by the former Honecker government in East Germany (see FECL No.21, p.8).
Restriction to "safe third country" practice
The Higher Administrative Court of Rheinland-Pfalz has restricted the use of the so-called "third country clause" in the German asylum law. Under the provision, asylum seekers entering Germany via a "safe third country" are automatically denied an examination of their asylum application. Under the law, all neighbouring states of Germany are rated as "safe countries".
The decision of the Court establishes the obligation for German authorities to prove from which "safe third country" the person concerned has entered German territory. The mere assumption that the itinerary of the concerned must have led through a safe country, does not suffice, the Court held.
Sources: Die Welt, 6.1.95, 12.1.95; Neue Zürcher Zeitung, 13.1.95; Junge Welt, 16.1.95; Frankfurter Rundschau, 18.1.95,