German Opposition Party Backs Immigration Limits

Germany early today moved to choke off the growing influx of foreigners from the world’s poorer countries as the main opposition Social Democrats voted to restrict the country’s virtual open-door policy toward those claiming political asylum.

The decision came shortly after midnight on the opening day of a special party conference. It followed a sharp, often emotional debate that unfolded against the backdrop of xenophobic, right-wing extremist violence in Germany. Much of that violence has been directed at asylum-seekers flooding into the country from poorer European and Third World nations.

The mood at the conference hall had a sense of urgency and reflected the belief among a growing number of mainstream politicians in Germany that established parties must move quickly to shore up confidence in the country’s democracy.

Party Chairman Bjoern Engholm, in a keynote speech to the conference, expressed worry “about the stability of Germany, a nation that previously had (been one of) the most stable countries in Europe.” At another point, he vowed that the party “would not allow German history to be repeated.”

Ignatz Bubis, the chairman of the Central Council of Jews in Germany who spoke briefly as an honorary guest, warned that all mainstream parties must seek consensus on key issues or face the prospect of a return to the chaos that brought down Germany’s ill-fated Weimar Republic and paved the way for Hitler’s Third Reich.

The Social Democrats’ vote Monday effectively clears the way for talks with Chancellor Helmut Kohl’s government to amend a German constitutional provision that allows automatic entry to all declaring themselves victims of political persecution, no matter their country of origin.

The assent of both the government and the opposition Social Democrats is required to achieve the two-thirds parliamentary majority needed to amend the constitution. Such an amendment would close one of the most often-used methods of entry for would-be migrants from poorer countries into the affluent nations of Western Europe.

According to a variety of statistics, roughly half of all those who sought asylum in Western Europe last year did so in Germany.

During an emotional opening speech to the conference, Engholm--who had threatened to resign if the party rejected his plan--rejected criticism from the party’s left wing. Some of its members had said that by advocating a tighter asylum law, he was reacting to pressure from the extreme right and sacrificing a cornerstone of Germany’s post-World War II democracy for short-term political gain.

“Let us not wait until the immigration problem looks for (domestic political) majorities over which we no longer have any influence,” he urged. “We’re in this debate not because we’re bowing to pressure from the streets . . . but because responsible politicians must provide answers to changed circumstances.”

A large majority of Germans favor tightening the asylum law, and public frustration has grown as the main parties have failed to find common ground on this and other crucial issues related to unification. One poll published recently in the Munich daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung, for example, indicated that fewer than one-third of German voters believe either main political party is capable of dealing with the economic crisis in the former Communist East Germany.

The Social Democrats’ debate on the asylum law is part of a sweeping internal policy reform being considered at the special conference with the aim of repositioning the party nearer the center of Germany’s political mainstream.

Today, the party is scheduled to ease its blanket opposition to deployment of German military forces outside Western alliance territory and to back German participation in U.N. peacekeeping forces.

In Monday’s debate, Social Democrats underscored support for the basic right of political asylum but called for an accelerated system for processing applications, the immediate rejection of any applicant who has already been refused entry by another European country and the development of an immigration law together with other European Community partners.

Germany now has no official immigration policy other than the laws dealing with asylum-seekers and the repatriation of German ethnics from Eastern Europe.

While the Social Democrats’ plan stops short of Kohl’s proposed formula that would permit immigration officials in many cases to turn asylum-seekers back at the frontier, it creates enough common ground to begin inter-party negotiations that would produce a draft constitutional amendment.

The Refugee Influx

Some facts and figures on the asylum issue in Germany:

The “open door”: Germany’s asylum policies are among the world’s most liberal. They are based on the 1949 constitution, which makes it possible for anyone to enter the country and claim political asylum. The asylum clause was adopted in partial atonement for the Third Reich’s killing of Jews and foreigners during World War II and has been a proud symbol of postwar German tolerance.

The record influx: This year, about 370,000 foreigners have sought asylum, with a total of 500,000 expected to by year’s end. That is a nearly five-fold increase over the 103,076 who did so in 1988.

A high failure rate: German ministry officials say 95% of all political asylum claims are eventually rejected, but the process can take years. While waiting, all applicants collect welfare benefits.

Benefits: Asylum-seekers receive free housing and meals at state-run shelters; plus $64 per month for other living costs for the head of the family and $32 to $51 for each additional family member, depending on age.

The new proposal: The compromise would amend Bonn’s constitution to let officials process applications briskly, weed out cheaters quickly and reject anyone refused asylum elsewhere in Europe.

Source: Times staff and wire reports