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Austria has a long tradition of helping people in need and size and humanity are now doing the right thing, Van der Bellen wrote on Twitter.
“Our Europe should be a continent of peace and human rights. It is shocking that in this, our common Europe, thousands of people, stranded fleeing war, persecution and torture, have had to live in inhumane conditions for years. And now they have lost this “refuge”. Austria has a long and great tradition of helping people in need. Austrians were always ready to help those who could no longer help themselves. Refugees in Moria and especially children Without parents now we need our help. I am sure that Europe and Austria have the size and humanity to do the right thing now. It is precisely those moments that show us in which Europe we live, “said the Federal President.
“Yelling for distribution cannot be the solution”
The debate on the admission of immigrants opens a deep gap between the coalition parties ÖVP and Greens and the political fields in Austria. While the ÖVP and FPÖ are strictly against accepting people from the Greek island of Lesbos, the Greens, SPÖ and Neos are pushing in the other direction.
Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg (ÖVP) underlined the position of the turquoise green federal government on Wednesday evening at ORF-ZiB 2. Austria offers “help on the spot”, he said, for example when there is a “need to tents and blankets “.
“The cry of distribution cannot be the solution,” Schallenberg said. The EU must not fall back into the “old debate” and talk about the distribution of refugees. Especially since in her conversations with representatives of the Greek government this was not requested. It also offered a million euros in aid from the foreign disaster fund.
With the discussion about admitting refugees, one only supports the smugglers’ business, Schallenberg argued. “If we clean up Moria’s camp, it will be full again,” he said. If you send signals that there is hope of reaching Europe, thousands of refugees will soon be back at the borders. For example on the playing field. “That would set off a chain reaction and we would no longer be in control of the situation.” Schallenberg rejected the question of whether this attitude in immigration policy was not cynical. “It is a matter of common sense”.
Video: Chancellor Schallenberg on the fire at Moria camp
Greens want to pressure coalition partners
Schallenberg was not impressed by the fact that even conservative politicians in Germany or Norway are in favor of accepting some of the 13,000 refugees from Moria. “That is a minority opinion.” The EU Commission must now present a general concept, said the Foreign Minister. Unfortunately, until now there has been no “uniform policy in the field of asylum and migration” within the European Union. Improvement is needed in this regard, also in the areas of “trade policy and development cooperation”.
The Greens are not finding it easy in the current situation because they are in favor of accepting immigrants but do not want to endanger the coalition. “We are in constant talks with the ÖVP and will continue to increase the pressure,” said Greens foreign policy spokesperson Ewa Ernst-Dziedzic.
Knaus to Moria: “Known Catastrophe”
Migration researcher Gerald Knaus has called the fire disaster in the Greek refugee camp of Moria the “best-heralded catastrophe” in Europe. It was “clear” that the “pressure” of the quarantine “would sooner or later lead to such an outbreak,” “ZiB Nacht” told ORF on Wednesday night. The interview to look for:
As an immediate emergency measure, Knaus suggested that European countries accept refugees from mainland Greece who had already been recognized to free their homes for the thousands of people in Moria who had been made homeless. If Germany and some other countries welcomed some 5,000 people each, it would be “a signal for Greece: Greece is not alone.” Then Athens could “immediately begin to accommodate the people.”
The Austrian migration researcher living in Berlin criticized the political attitude according to which “men, women and children (in refugee camps, note) must be held forever” to avoid an increase in the influx of refugees, a so-called effect of attraction. “This is, cynically speaking, a Guantánamo for refugees, they are being held there indefinitely,” he said, referring to the US prison camp in Cuba. Knaus is sure that the procedure he proposed will not produce an attraction effect.
The images show the extent of the destruction.
See image gallery
Photo gallery: Fire disaster in a refugee camp: the extent of the destruction
Image: (AFP)
Strong criticism from Vienna
The red-green city government reiterated its call to the federal government on Thursday to allow Vienna to take in 100 refugee children from Moria. Mayor Michael Ludwig (SPÖ) described it as “shameful” that the turquoise green had not achieved anything here. Vienna Green leader Birgit Hebein, meanwhile, held only the ÖVP responsible. The press conference to take a look:
“It is a question of humanity to take in children. I hope that Chancellor Kurz does not stand in the way of this humanity,” said Deputy Mayor Hebein, whose party is a coalition with the ÖVP, on the sidelines of a press meeting. She sees a connection between the strict direction of the People’s Party and the Vienna elections on October 11: “It is obvious that the turquoise party is acting here for tactical reasons and squinting at the FPÖ voters.”
Hebein now expects internal pressure within the ÖVP. “What I ask is that the voters of the Turquoise party also come forward and say: a limit has been reached.”
Ludwig described the willingness to accept 100 children in Vienna as “natural.” Helping the refugees from the Moria camp, which has since been destroyed, is also possible in other European countries – “also in the area of the conservative camp,” he referred to the corresponding measures taken in Germany. This question has nothing to do with immigration in general. “It is particularly embarrassing to mix different topics in this context to have an excuse not to help in a specific situation,” emphasized the mayor.
A week and a half ago, SPÖ, Greens and NEOS approved a request in the state parliament in which Vienna agreed to accept 100 refugee children from Moria. Ludwig confirmed today that the city could not do this if the federal government did not create the right conditions.
Germany should welcome 2,000 immigrants
After the great fire in the Greek countryside of Moria, German Development Minister Gerd Müller called for 2,000 immigrants to be accepted into Germany. Germany should go ahead with a corresponding “sign of humanity”, the CSU politician said Wednesday night at the ARD. “Personally, I am of the opinion that we should accept the offers of the German states.”
Until now, the German federal government, made up of conservative union parties (CDU / CSU) and social democrats (SPD), has avoided such a position and has only talked about Germany helping Greece.
Several German federal states had given a specific number of migrants that they were willing to accept and asked the responsible federal government to accept this, but then it would have to bear a large part of the costs.
Müller asked other EU countries to also declare themselves willing to accept. “Eight strong states can now solve this problem,” he said. “I urge France and other countries: we cannot wait for the last, there is no unanimity here.” You can’t let people camp in the woods.
The minister was angry with the EU Commission. “Such a disaster was foreseeable,” he said, referring to the overcrowding in the camp and the conditions there. But: “I don’t hear a signal from Brussels.” He recalled that the situation in the Greek islands was not the only problem. “The next catastrophe is looming in the Balkans or in Lebanon, where the situation is dramatic,” Müller said.
Fire disaster Wednesday night
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Photo gallery: Moria refugee camp is on fire
Photo: ELIAS MARCOU (X03929)
New fire broke out
In the Moria refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos, which was largely destroyed by fire, a new fire broke out on Wednesday night. According to an AFP photographer, the flames burned in a part of the camp that was only slightly affected by the previous fire. Chaos returned: the refugees ran out of the camp as their tents burned.
On Wednesday night, several fires broke out almost simultaneously in Greece’s largest refugee camp. The facility, which at the time housed some 12,700 people, was largely destroyed. According to new information from authorities, at least 3,500 refugees remained homeless as of Wednesday night.
Migration Minister Notis Mitarachi said homeless people are feverishly searching for housing. For those most in need, a ferry should arrive overnight, on which they could stay temporarily. Two ships of the Greek Navy were expected Thursday to accommodate the refugees. In addition, new tents must be installed.
Mitarachi had previously said about the cause of the fire disaster: “Fires broke out as asylum seekers protested against the quarantine.” However, the minister made it clear whether it was arson. A few hours before the fires broke out, the Athens Migration Ministry announced that 35 residents of the camp had tested positive for the corona virus.
