European countries suspend Syrian asylum decisions

Germany, France, Austria, Belgium and several Nordic countries said on Monday they would freeze all pending asylum requests from Syrians, a day after the ouster of president Bashar al-Assad.

While Berlin and other governments said they were watching the fast-moving developments in the war-ravaged nation, Vienna signalled it would soon deport refugees back to Syria.

Germany has taken in almost one million Syrians, with the bulk arriving in 2015-16 under ex-chancellor Angela Merkel.

Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said many Syrian refugees "now finally have hope of returning to their Syrian homeland" but cautioned that "the situation in Syria is currently very unclear."

The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees had imposed a freeze on decisions for ongoing asylum procedures "until the situation is clearer." She added that "concrete possibilities of return cannot yet be predicted and it would be unprofessional to speculate in such a volatile situation."

Rights group Amnesty International slammed Germany's freeze on asylum decisions, stressing that for now "the human rights situation in the country is completely unclear." The head of the UN refugee agency also cautioned that "patience and vigilance" were needed on the issue of refugee returns.

'Repatriation and deportation'

Syrian residents who lives in Turkey wait in a queue at Cilvegozu cross border gate before entering Syria at Reyhanli district in Hatay on Monday. AFP

In Austria, where about 100,000 Syrians live, conservative Chancellor Karl Nehammer instructed the interior ministry "to suspend all ongoing Syrian asylum applications and to review all asylum grants."

Interior Minister Gerhard Karner added he had "instructed the ministry to prepare an orderly repatriation and deportation programme to Syria." "The political situation in Syria has changed fundamentally and, above all, rapidly in recent days," the ministry said, adding it is "currently monitoring and analysing the new situation."

The French interior ministry said it too would put asylum requests from Syrians on hold, with Belgium's state secretary for asylum and migration announcing a similar move.

Denmark, Sweden and Norway also said they were suspending the examination of asylum applications from Syrian refugees. Britain said the same.

Families arriving from Syria walk at the Lebanese Masnaa border crossing on the way to Lebanon. AFP

The leader of the far-right Sweden Democrats, a coalition partner in the government, said residence permits for Syrian refugees should now be "reviewed."

In Greece, a government spokesman voiced hope that Assad's fall will eventually allow "the safe return of Syrian refugees" to their country, but without announcing concrete measures.

'Populist and irresponsible'

In Germany, the debate gained momentum as the country heads towards February elections.

The centre-right opposition CDU suggested that rejected Syrian asylum-seekers should now lose so-called subsidiary protection.

"If the reason for protection no longer applies, then refugees will have to return to their home country," CDU legislator Thorsten Frei told Welt TV.

CDU MP Jens Spahn suggested that Berlin charter flights to Syria and offer 1,000 euros ($1,057) to "anyone who wants to return."

A member of Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democrats criticised the debate as "populist and irresponsible."

Greens party deputy Anton Hofreiter also said "it is completely unclear what will happen next in Syria" and deportation talk was "completely out of place."

Members of the Syrian community wave Syrian flags in Vienna, Austria, as they celebrate the end of Bashar Al Assad's rule. AFP

Many Syrians in Germany have watched the events in their home country with great joy but prefer to wait and see before deciding whether to return.

"We want to go back to Syria," said Mahmoud Zaml, 25, who works in an Arabic pastry shop in Berlin, adding that he hopes to help "rebuild" his country.

"But we have to wait a bit now," he told AFP. "We have to see what happens and if it is really 100 percent safe, then we will go back to Syria."

Agence France-Presse