Debate on
Deportation of Migrants Begins in Australia
The
Australian Parliament has commenced debate on deportation of
immigrants from the country.
According to media reports, it was a heated debate led by the
leader of the Green Party denouncing the country’s policy as
“inhumane.” But the interior minister shot back that he stood
for law and order and that his opponents did not.
How it
started
The acrimonious exchange occurred during a special session of
Parliament requested by the Greens and prompted by the case of a
teenager from Kosovo who went into hiding rather than be
expelled from Austria.
The issue ignited a national debate after Arigona Zogaj, 15,
whose father and four siblings were deported to Kosovo last
month, went into hiding. She released a letter and a video,
which was broadcast on television, in which she threatened to
kill herself if her family was not reunited in Austria.
Defence
The Interior Ministry has defended its actions in the Zogaj
case, saying the family’s applications for asylum had been
thoroughly examined and did not meet the necessary criteria. It
also said that the United Nations mission in Kosovo endorsed the
repatriation.
It was also revealed that the Zogaj family had paid human
traffickers more than 8, 000, Euros or 11,000 dollars, to
smuggle them into the country and that they had been given ample
opportunity to leave voluntarily.
The Greens had earlier led about 5,500 demonstrators through
Vienna to protest the recent expulsions of foreigners who had
declined to leave the country voluntarily after their asylum
applications were denied.
The Debate
Josef Cap, the floor leader of the Social Democrats, said his
party opposed any form of illegal immigration and that it, like
the conservatives, agreed it was important to separate asylum
from immigration.
During his speech, Platter, a conservative, said he was pleased
that Arigona Zogaj had been located and that her health now had
the highest priority. He also guaranteed that the girl and her
mother would not be deported for now, deferring to a decision by
the country’s highest court.
Platter said in reference to Van der Bellen’s remarks about the
government’s policy, he “stand for law and order - not you,” He
praised the new immigration law and said the Zogaj case had
nothing to do with it.
At the request of the Greens, a vote of no confidence against
Platter took place. As expected, it failed to get the necessary
votes.
Lawmakers also overwhelmingly rejected other proposals by the
Greens, such as one calling for a halt to the deportations of
well-integrated foreigners.
The Greens were the only party that did not vote in favour of an
immigration law in 2005, seen by critics as been too harsh.
No
Consensus
Interior Minister Günther Platter has come under pressure for
his stance on the issue. But despite harsh words from the Greens
during the session, it became clear that neither party in the
governing coalition - composed of the Austrian People’s Party
and the Social Democrats - was prepared to back down.
In a recent statistics released by the Interior Ministry, recent
deportations have drawn attention to the fact that it often
takes years for asylum applications to be processed. At the end
of September, decisions related to 33,560 cases were
outstanding.
African News/Qasim
