The German interior minister, Nancy Faeer, has advised that some Syrians who sought safe refuge in Germany, under certain conditions, return to her country, after the fall of President Bashar Assad.
Faeser’s comments follow a decision by Germany taken just days after rebel groups in Syria, led by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), overthrew the former president following a decadelong conflict, to put a pause on processing asylum applications for Syrians.
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“As our law stipulates, the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) will review and revoke protection grants if people no longer need this protection in Germany because the situation in Syria has stabilized,” Faeser told the Funke Media Group, a major publisher of German newspapers, in a report published on Sunday.
“This will then apply to those who do not have a right of residence for other reasons such as work or training and who do not return to Syria voluntarily,” she added.
However, Faeser under pressure that “those who are well integrated, employed, learned German and have discovered a new space here, can afford to stay in Germany. “
He added that Syrians who need to return will be supported, while criminals and Islamists will be expelled as temporarily as possible.
“We have greatly expanded the legal options for this and will use them as soon as the situation in Syria allows,” Faeser added.
There are currently around 975,000 Syrians in Germany, according to the Ministry of Interior.
The majority arrived after 2015, fleeing the Syrian civil war. More than 300,000 have been granted subsidiary protection status, meaning authorities recognize they would face serious danger if returned to their homeland.
Despite Faeser’s comments, Germany has not yet indicated what stance it will take on Syria’s new leadership. So far it has proceeded with caution, stressing the importance of inclusive governance to the former rebels.
The German Foreign Affairs Minister Annalena Baerbock went to Damascus on Friday to “discuss whether such an inclusive political procedure is imaginable and if human rights can really be guaranteed. “
However, Faeser’s statements can also be noted in the context of the upcoming German elections, where debates on immigration occupy a place in the classic parties’ messages to the electorate.
ess/ab (AFP, Reuters, dpa)