THE AFRICAN COURIER. Reporting Africa and its Diaspora! The African Courier is an international magazine published in Germany to report on Africa and the Diaspora African experience. The first issue of the bimonthly magazine appeared on the newsstands on 15 February 1998. The African Courier is a communication forum for European-African political, economic and cultural exchanges, and a voice for Africa in Europe.
Following the knife attack in Solingen last Friday, the German government has announced new measures to enhance security in the country. These include tightening gun laws and cancelling benefits for certain asylum-seekers.
The government plans to revoke state benefits for asylum-seekers who fall under the responsibility of another European country according to the Dublin Regulation and which has agreed to readmit them, explained Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser at a press conference in Berlin on Thursday. Affected persons will no longer receive social benefits in Germany; instead, the country responsible for their asylum application will assume this obligation.
The aim of this measure is to pressure these individuals to either contact the authorities or leave Germany voluntarily, the minister said.
Additionally, the government announced that asylum-seekers who return to their home country “without compelling reasons,” such as for a holiday, will lose their right to protection in Germany. However, Ukrainians visiting partners called up for military service are exempt from this rule.
On the evening of Friday, 23 August, a man killed three people and injured eight others with a knife during celebrations for the 650th anniversary of the city of Solingen.
The suspect, Issa Al H., a Syrian asylum-seeker currently in custody, should have been deported to Bulgaria last year under the Dublin Regulation. However, the deportation was not carried out because he could not be located when the police arrived at his residence.
To prevent similar attacks in the future, the government has also introduced a ban on knives at public festivals, sporting events, trade fairs, and other major events. Additionally, federal states will be authorized to impose knife bans at “crime-ridden locations,” such as train stations. A standardized nationwide ban on knives will also apply to long-distance rail services.
Meanwhile, Chancellor Olaf Scholz has announced the creation of a working group on migration, including representatives from the CDU/CSU, the largest opposition faction, and the federal states. The committee will discuss the government’s package of measures, with talks expected to begin “very quickly,” according to Scholz.
In the wake of the latest terror attack, a domestic political debate has reignited over tightening gun and asylum laws and the deportation of asylum seekers to Syria and Afghanistan.
Sola Jolaoso
