German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has rejected the demand of Christian Social Union (CSU) leader Markus Söder to hold immediate talks with the Afghan authorities to facilitate deportation flights to Afghanistan.
Baerbock told the ARD’s “Bericht aus Berlin” that she believes it is essential to differentiate between serious criminals who have no right to asylum in Germany and those who have fled Afghanistan, particularly from the clutches of radical Islamists. For the latter group, a deportation flight had already taken place, which she considered to be the right approach.
In contrast to Baerbock, not everyone has rejected Söder’s demand. The Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the Free Democratic Party (FDP) and the Bavarian State Welfare (BSW) have expressed support for the proposal.
The CDU’s parliamentary leader, Thorsten Frei, criticized Chancellor Olaf Scholz for only speaking about deportation flights to Afghanistan before elections, but not taking concrete action. “Germany cannot be led around by the nose by states that refuse to take back their own citizens and at the same time, receive generous aid from Berlin” he said.
The FDP also backed Söder, stating that Germany must “consequently deport serious offenders and dangerous individuals, even to Afghanistan.” A state that fails to enforce its laws loses its credibility, the party’s leader, Christian Dürr, added.
The BSW also supported Söder, citing that over 200,000 people in Germany are obliged to leave the country and that more than 100,000 asylum seekers without a right to stay were admitted to the country last year.
In contrast, the Alternative for Germany (AfD) and its leader, Alice Weidel, dismissed Söder’s proposal as a “public relations show” and “plain electoral deception.” Weidel claimed that the CDU’s and CSU’s uncontrolled mass migration policy since 2015 has led to a collapse of internal security in Germany.
The Left Party, on the other hand, strongly rejected Söder’s demand, with its leader, Ines Schwerdtner, stating that the CSU leader is misusing the tragic event in Munich, where a woman and a two-year-old child were killed, for his own political purposes. “Söder should be ashamed” Schwerdtner added.