For deportation of criminals
Brandenburg’s Interior Minister calls for contacts with Taliban
16.06.2024, 09:20
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Should serious criminals be deported to their homeland, even if repressive regimes are in power there? Brandenburg’s Interior Minister is calling for deportations to Syria and Afghanistan. He does not believe that scruples about Taliban contacts are appropriate.
In the debate about deporting criminals, Brandenburg’s Interior Minister Michael Stübgen is calling on the federal government to quickly advance negotiations with Syria and also with the Taliban, who are ruling in Afghanistan. “I like to hear announcements, but now they finally have to be implemented and facts really have to follow,” said the CDU politician. He believes that cooperation with the Islamist Taliban is justifiable. Stübgen is chairman of the Conference of Interior Ministers, which will be discussing the course of migration policy at its meeting in Potsdam next week.
After the fatal knife attack in Mannheim, Chancellor Olaf Scholz of the SPD announced that he wanted to make it possible to deport serious criminals to Afghanistan and Syria again. His party colleague, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, is looking into it.
Stübgen said that the German government must now move forward and establish diplomatic relations with Syria in order to be able to deport the most serious criminals. An embassy could be set up there. Some European countries have also long since established diplomatic relations with Damascus. “And it has long been known that there is no longer a war in the heartland of Syria.” Even if Syria is not a constitutional state, there are state regulatory structures. “There is nothing to prevent us, like Sweden, from starting to return serious and repeat offenders there,” said Stübgen. Security there has improved.
According to the CDU politician, the subsidiary protection for people from Syria that has been in place since the beginning of the Syrian war must be reviewed. Subsidiary protection applies to people who are not recognized as refugees but who provide compelling reasons why they face serious harm – such as human rights violations – if they return to their country of origin.
Stübgen sees no concerns about contacts with Taliban
Stübgen also believes that negotiations with the Taliban about deporting Afghans who have committed serious crimes are necessary. He said that negotiations are already underway with the Taliban, “specifically about allowing certain people to leave Afghanistan.” There are also international aid programs for the population, for example for food. “That means there are a wide variety of contacts. And these contacts, and that is my demand, can also be used to repatriate serious criminals.” According to Stübgen, these will be isolated cases. Since the Taliban regained power in Kabul in August 2021, there has been a ban on deporting Afghans in Germany.
Stübgen believes that quid pro quos are normal when it comes to readmission agreements. “That is a normal basis for negotiation.” When asked whether this would be abetting a criminal system, he said: “But then we could stop pretty much all the economic aid we provide. Because the Development Ministry is not only dealing with poor countries, but also with highly corrupt countries.” The aid has not yet reached only those people who really need it most.
Critics warn against negotiations with the Islamist Taliban, as they should not be recognized and no money should be allowed to flow that could then be used to build up terrorist networks in Germany. Humanitarian aid for Afghanistan is supported through the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. However, the ministry says it is not negotiating with the Taliban and is not making any financial commitments.