Thursday, 24. May 2012

:: Home > General News > Minister makes U-turn on asylum seekers

M	T	W	T	F	S	S
30	1	2	3	4	5	6
7	8	9	10	11	12	13
14	15	16	17	18	19	20
21	22	23	24	25	26	27
28	29	30	31	1	2	3

Add your event FREE

Today

Polls

16. 03. 10. - 15:00

Minister makes U-turn on asylum seekers

People�s Party (�VP) Interior Minister Maria Fekter has said for the first time that Austria might not need a third asylum seekers� centre - a move seen by many as being a policy U-turn.

Fekter said today (Tues) asylum seekers figures needed to be monitored "at least until summer" to make a decision.

The minister came under fire in December when she announced plans to set up such a centre in the remote Burgenland town of Eberau. Residents and Burgenland politicians of all parties were furious with Fekter for failing to inform them about her secret talks with the town�s �VP Mayor Walter Strobl.

Burgenland Social Democratic (SP�) councillor Verena Dunst branded the negotiations a "cloak-and-dagger operation".

Strobl in the meantime made a U-turn on the issue and admitted he realised it would be a bad idea to trying to realise the construction of such a centre against the will of the people. The mayor also said he realised the area did not have the infrastructure essential for running such a centre.

More than 90 per cent of Eberau residents voted against the construction of a centre for asylum seekers at their town last month.

Fekter said ahead of the referendum she would respect its outcome � but also warned she might call on the Federal High Court to decide on the matter.

Michael Chalupka, head of charity Diakonie, commented the result as saying: "This is a proof that people don�t accept decisions being made above their heads."

Chalupka said he supported the idea of setting up an integration issues state secretary

Burgenland SP� Governor Hans Niessl, one of the most outspoken critics of Fekter on the issue, said he was "surprised" about the landslide result. "I had expected 75 to 80 per cent of residents to vote no," he said.

Residents in the southern Burgenland districts of Jennersdorf, Oberwart and G�ssing � where Eberau is located � will be asked for their opinion on the issue on 21 March.

Niessl said the clear Eberau referendum result was "no reason" to call off the referendum at the three districts.

The current debate is expected to boost the Social Democrats and the right-wing Freedom Party (FP�) in the province where people head to the polling booths at a provincial election on 30 May.

Fekter announced today around 1,600 people applied for asylum in Austria in January and February of this year, while around 2,500 had done so in the same time span last year.

SP� Defence Minister Norbert Darabos � who deals with integration and immigration issues for his party � said earlier this year it had to be seen whether the construction of a third asylum seekers� centre was really needed.

Now Fekter seemed to agree with him over the issue. The interior minister, who has been criticised by some SP� officials and the Green party for her "hardliner policies", however claimed the downward trend was an effect of her initiatives.

Fekter mentioned the possibility of estimating asylum seekers� age by X-ray checks � a decision which was met with harsh criticism by NGOs and the Greens when the government agreed on it last year.

Minors applying for asylum in Austria have better chances of being granted asylum in Austria, and Fekter said officials found out that 72 of 100 examined people lied about their age and claimed to be younger than they were.

The minister concluded Austria had become a "less attractive country" for human trafficking gangs.

But she insisted it was essential to check asylum seekers� statistics "at least until summer" to make a decision over the construction of another asylum seekers� centre.

There are currently two such centres in Austria. The institution in Thalham, Upper Austria, has a capacity of 200, while up to 480 people can fit in the Traiskirchen centre in Lower Austria.

Fekter only recently agreed with Lower Austrian �VP Governor Erwin Pr�ll to reduce the Traiskirchen centre�s capacity after up to 1,100 people stayed at the venue last year. The town�s asylum seekers� centre has hit the headlines several times over the past few years with brawls of rivalling groups among the asylum seekers.

The SP�-�VP coalition introduced quotas � based on population figures � for the number of asylum seekers each of the country�s nine provinces had to look after while officials decided on their cases two years ago. With Vienna and Upper Austria, just two provinces currently meet their quotas.

Fekter also said today she would not back down on her decision to issue a "mandatory attendance" rule for people at asylum seekers� centres. The minister claimed experience has shown too many asylum seekers make use of lax restrictions and illegally leave the centres.

Her call for a one-month mandatory presence infuriated political rivals and human rights organisations earlier this year, and Fekter reacted by calling for a mandatory attendance time of one week. She argued residents would back her over the issue as they feared soaring crime figures.

Austrian Times

Are you on Facebook? Like the Austrian Times on Facebook and win great prizes!

Your comment to this article :

(will be approved by an editor before going online)

your name
your location
your message
Not for publication:
your mail
How many vertical lines (write the number in letters please ie four not 4) or which Text (from left to right) do you see in this image:
input for security check

Tag cloud:
Burgenland Traiskirchen Fekter Eberau capacity seekers human asylum minister mandatory Austria referendum construction Residents Governor Minister critics quotas Niessl integration

Latest News

BMW and Porsche seized by bold burglars
Crooks broke into a house and stole the keys to two valuable cars early Thursday morning while the residents were sleeping.

Coalition accelerates anti-corruption ambitions
The government is intensifying its attempts to pass a transparency package in parliament.

Pecik defends TA engagement
Telekom Austria (TA) investor Ronny Pecik has declared himself a team player.

Lightning strikes two workers
Two construction workers at the new Westbahnhof train station were hospitalised after being struck by lightning.

Mayor land fraud allegations
Prosecutors are investigating the mayor of Innervillgraten in Eastern Tyrol over allegations of irregularities in a sale of land that he authorised to another local council member.

Infra red heating takes off
A new heating system from a Burgenland company that operates with energy-saving, efficient, infra-red light is heating the market up.

Games night hits Vienna
Six Vienna game clubs open their doors tonight for a night full of games including Chess, Go or Tarock. The evening is meant both as a night of playing these games for enthusiasts, as well as learning them for novices.

Silly parkers road rage rampage
A serial bad parker in Graz added resisting arrest and going on the run to his crimes when police went to arrest him for notching up almost 100 parking tickets in the southern city of Graz.

BBC tells Vienna stop moaning - and be glad for what you have
The BBC's Bethany Bell seems to have it in for the poor old Viennese.

AUA rules out Whitsun travel chaos
The current conflict with the works committee does not negatively affect Austrian Airlines� (AUA) booking figures, according to a spokesman.

Jobs in Austria

Popular in Austria

The most popular stories –
last 7 days

	Dune And Busted
	Swastika Shaped Austrian School Rebuilt
	Nazi still honoured in Austria
	20th Vienna Life Ball a fiery success!
	Thieves caught trying to nick F**king Sign