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Ulla Jelpke

The Fable of the Safe Country of Origin Afghanistan

“While Federal Interior Minister de Maizière had a cosy lunch in Kabul, on the streets died more than 20 people because of a bomb attack – that’s how safe Afghanistan is. Such attacks do not pose a mere abstract danger – they are a very real risk for the civilians of Afghanistan; even though the federal minister curtly terms dead civilians collateral damage”, comments Ulla Jelpke, interior policy spokesperson of DIE LINKE parliamentary group, on the remarks of the Federal Interior Minister regarding the latest attacks and security situation in Afghanistan. Jelpke further:

“Attacks such as this one can happen anytime and everywhere in Afghanistan, this was clearly shown in the past months. The federal government purported so far that Kabul was to be considered as adequately safe. Yet, de Maizière even had to cover the four kilometres' distance from Kabul airport to NATO headquarters on Monday by helicopter with the highest security measures applied. He still declares the security situation in Afghanistan merely as “complicated”. His claim has got nothing to do with reality.

The adjusted protection rate for Afghani refugees in the German asylum procedure is about 80 percent. In the third quarter of 2015 it even was 86 percent. This alone proves that people have good reason to flee the country. But when it is about deportation, the federal government likes to turn two blind eyes. Yet, you can’t close your eyes to the truth: To send refugees back to Afghanistan means to eventually approve of their dead.”