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Angela Merkel’s decision to open Germany s doors to Syrian refugees was one of the defining moments of her 16 years in power and has been a flashpoint in German politics ever since.
But Mrs Merkel is bowing out this year and the candidates to succeed her at September’s election are largely unknown quantities in foreign policy – although they have struck different tones on the refugee issue.
Dr Muriel Asseburg, an expert on migration and the Middle East at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, told
The National that the parties’ room for manoeuvre on migration was limited, as crisis-hit Germans say it is “time to focus on the domestic population’s demands”.
Why Syrian refugees in Germany fear deportation
First to recognize Syria?
The decision was a crack in the dam, German human rights organization Pro-Asyl warned in December. There were fears among rights organizations that the decision would force Germany to resume diplomatic relations with the Syrian government at a senior level. That could have made Germany the first major European power to recognize the government headed by Bashar Assad again.
The Syrian regime would be made socially acceptable, Günter Burkhardt, head of Pro-Asyl, cautioned. Because without diplomatic relations, deportations are impossible.
Contacts with Syria continue
Although Germany closed its embassy in Damascus in 2012, the country has never totally cut off relations with Syria, Stefan Talmon, a law professor at Bonn University s Institute for International Law, told DW. There is still a Syrian embassy in Berlin and there are clearly contacts at the administrative level, Talmon pointed out.
Germany grapples with its identity crisis on Syria msn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from msn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Civil Society and the Question of Palestine - NGO Action News – 11 December 2020
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