Police officers in Berlin and Hamburg are under investigation after they were accused of discriminatory practices, and assault and battery of foreigners.
Spiegel 6.3.95 // Zeit 10.3.95

Airlines earn on deportations

The Green Party Bundestag Representative Such reports that according to information of the Ministry of the Interior, airline earnings from deportations have amounted to 45 million marks in the last five years. In 1994 alone the transports cost 17,5 million marks. 60% of the sum was spent on the approximately 6,000 officers of the BGS who were present on 3,800 flight to accompany foreigners thought likely to resist.
taz 8.3.95 // NN 8.3.95

Talks on repatriation in Belgrad

The federal government of Germany and the government of rump Yugoslavia held their first round of talks in Belgrad on the repatriation of 120,000 Yugoslavian citizens who are living illegally in Germany. Facing deportation are conscientious objectors, army deserters and a large group of Kosovo-Albanians whose Yugoslavian citizenship is disputed by the government in Belgrad. The government has not agreed to repatriate these citizens but is now discussing the possibility of financial compensation.
dpa 7.3.95 // FAZ 10.3.95

Case against asylum for Algerian extremist leaders

The Administrative Court in Aachen is deliberating on whether or not Algerian Islamic activists will be deprived of their rights of asylum. Under consideration are especially the foreign speaker of the FIS Kebir and the two sons of the Islamic leader Abassi, who have enjoyed the right of asylum in Germany for several years.
dpa 9.3.95 // FAZ 10.3.95

New debate on the right to asylum

The discussion about the consequences of the Basic Law amendments has sparked renewed debate about asylum. Bavarian politicians, lawyers and churches are engaged in this controversy. The representative of UNHCR, Cumin, faults the German law of asylum with diverting rather than distributing the burden of asylum. Especially Eastern European states have been adversely affected. Catholic bishops as well as the Protestant Bishop Loewenich feel that the asylum law has to be reformed. In the question of deporting asylum seekers, the parties are in disagreement, and deportation practices vary greatly among the Laender. The President of BAFl Gross, in Nürnberg warns that a new debate about asylum and a modification of the law by the constitutional court in Karlsruhe would lead to a drastic increase in the number of refugees.
SZ 18.3.95 // NN 16.3.95 // SZ 21.3.95 // Focus 20.3.95 // NN 28.3.95

Turkish political conflicts transported to Germany

Clashes between hostile Turkish ethnic and religious groups are increasingly becoming a problem for German security authorities. In adddition to the public activities of Kurds there are now demonstrations of Alawites (a Shiite minority) who fear attacks in Germany after the recent violent riots against their brethren in Turkey. The Authority for the Protection of the Constitution (BVS) suspects that not all of the 70 attacks on Turkish clubs which have taken place this year in Germany were carried out by PKK (Kurdish) groups. Not only Kurds but also various factions of the Turkish extreme left, Islamic and nationalist groups are fighting out inner-Turkish antagonisms in Germany.
Spiegel 20.3.95 // SZ 18.3.95 // FAZ 21.3.95

German-Turkish agreement on repatriation of PKK convicts

The federal government and the Turkish government agreed on March 10, 1995 to new procedures in the deportation of PKK offenders of German law. The deportation of Kurds who face prosecution in Turkey will be carried out on a case by case basis. Turkey will provide information on the individual cases. Turkey has committed itself to treat these individuals in a just manner and to assist in investigating cases in which the state has been said to infringe on the rights of individuals. The Federal Ministry of the Interior considers Turkey a reliable partner. Amnesty International criticizes the agreement as they find it doubtful that Turkey has adhered to the stipulations of the European Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Basic Freedoms or the United Nations Anti-Torture Convention. Both agreements were signed by Turkey.
FAZ 13.3.95 // Spiegel 13.3.95 // Spiegel 20.3.95 // dpa 15.3.95

Expiry of temporary ban on deportation

The temporary ban on deportation of Turkish Kurds has expired. The Federal Minister of the Interior, Kanther, has ordered that it not be extended. A hearing of the Bundestag"s commission on the human rights situation in Turkey had confirmed that the Kurds in Turkey were not persecuted as a group, and that deportation was thus admissable. The opposition parties and the Bundeslaender controlled by the SPD oppose Kanther"s decision and call for an extension of the ban on deportation.
NN 16.3.95 // FAZ 16.3.95 // FAZ 17.3.95 // SZ 17.3.95

Federal Border Police monitors the western border after the Schengen Convention comes into force

Despite the abolition of border checks between 7 states of the European Union the units of the BGS on the western border are continuing their special missions against illegal immigration. Some 500 additional officers who have been stationed at the western border since January 1995, are to observe and check the flow of migration.
SZ 28.3.95

Election of foreigners" councils (Ausländerbeiräte) in Nordrhein-Westfalen

Approximately 1,9 Million foreigners were summoned to vote in the election of municipal foreign councils on March 29, 1995. Turkish organizations along with international and ex-Yugoslavian candidate lists now dominate the foreigners" councils of the cities in Nordrhein-Westfalen. Among the Turkish clubs the Islamic candidates achieved good results.
SZ 28.3.95

Anti-discrimination office in Frankfurt

Reported cases of discrimination against foreigners are being systematically documented and studied at the "Office for Multicultural Affairs" in Frankfurt. Municipal institutions want to demonstrate concern for the problems of socially disadvantaged minorities and the intention to combat hostility towards foreigners. The year-old "Anti-Discrimination Office" in Bielefeld is a comparable institution.
FR 22.3.95 // Zeit 31.3.95

Statistics: Kurds in Germany

As German statistics are based on citizenship rather than ethnic identity, the percentage of Kurds under the 1,96 Turkish citizens living in Germany cannot be exactly determined. It is estimated that there are 400,000 - to 450,000 Kurds in Germany. Asylum seekers likewise are registered according to nationality, but the Ministry of the Interior has stated that almost all asylum seekers from Turkey are Kurds. The approval rate of asylum petitions from Turkey is 20%. The BGS report for 1993 lists the number of extremist Kurds, most of whom are members of the PKK, as 6,800.
FAZ 24.3.95

Asylum Statistics

In March 1995 the number of asylum seekers in Germany rose to 10,991, slightly more than in February. In March of last year the number was 8,9% higher (12,181). In comparison with the first quarter of last year, the number of asylum seekers was reduced by 10,4% to 32,095. In March 1995 most of the refugees were from Turkey (2,593) followed by rump-Yugoslavia (1,565), Bosnia-Herzegovina (624), Afghanistan (602) and Sri Lanka (573). The Federal Office (Bundesamt) decided on 23,079 petitions and listed an approval rate of 9,1% (2,088 cases).
dpa 6.4.95 // SZ 7.4.95

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