„Weder Italien noch Malta haben das Recht, die Einfahrt des Rettungsschiffs ‚Aquarius‘ zu verweigern. Zweifellos sind die geretteten Geflüchteten in einer Notsituation. In diesen Fällen greift ein völkergewohnheitsrechtliches Nothafenrecht. Ein von mir beauftragtes Bundestagsgutachten bestätigt das“, erklärt der Bundestagsabgeordnete Andrej Hunko anlässlich einer „Schließung“ italienischer und maltesischer Häfen für die „Aquarius“.
Die 629 Geflüchteten stammen aus mehreren Rettungsmissionen auf hoher See, rund die Hälfte von ihnen wurde von der italienischen Marine an Bord genommen und an das Schiff „Aquarius“ von der Nichtregierungsorganisation Ärzte ohne Grenzen übergeben.
“The Federal Ministry of Justice refuses to answer my questions about former Justice Minister, and current Foreign Minister, Heiko Maas’s flight above territories occupied by Israel. Instead the Ministry is putting up a smokescreen to protect its former boss. I will not put with this,” states Andrej Hunko, Member of the German Bundestag.
While visiting Israel last year, Heiko Maas was taken in a helicopter over the West Bank and the Golan Heights with Israeli Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked (pro-settler Jewish Home party), who is considered particularly right-wing. This is reported by German media outlets “tageszeitung” and “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung”. The Federal Ministry of Justice writes about this flight that during the preparations for Maas’s visit, “the Israeli side” had been “informed in writing, in accord with its position according to international law regarding the territory of the State of Israel, that the helicopter sightseeing flight was not permitted to fly over the territories occupied since 1967.”
Statement UEL on follow up of report on allegations of corruption within the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
The Group of the Unified European Left (UEL) urgently appeals to all its colleagues in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe – including all of its political groups and national delegations – to spare no effort to restore the credibility of the Assembly, after the findings of the Independent Body on the allegations of corruption within the Parliamentary Assembly.
“I view the growing number of Schengen Information System secret alerts with concern: compared with 2016, the issuing of such alerts has increased from around 96,000 (as of: 1 January 2017) to almost 130,000 (as of: 1 January 2018). The reason for secret alerts being issued for an additional 34,000 people must be made clear”, demanded Andrej Hunko, European policy spokesman for the Left Party parliamentary group in the German Bundestag.
Article 36 of the Council Decision on the Schengen Information System (SIS) permits alerts to be issued for “discreet checks”. They can be carried out by any EU member state in order to obtain information on the movements and contacts of the persons under surveillance. If the individuals in question are intercepted within the Schengen area, the authority that issued the alert is notified. The place, time and grounds for the check, itinerary, accompanying persons and items carried are recorded.
“Libya is unable to nominate a Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC), and so rescue missions outside its territorial waters are coordinated by the Italian MRCC in Rome. More and more often the Libyan coastguard is being tasked to lead these missions as on-scene-commander. Since refugees are subsequently brought to Libya, the MRCC in Rome may be infringing the prohibition of refoulement contained in the Geneva Convention relating to the Status of Refugees. This, indeed, was also the conclusion reached in a study produced by the Bundestag Research Service. The European Union and its member states must therefore press for an immediate end to this cooperation with the Libyan coastguard”, says Andrej Hunko, European policy spokesman for the Left Party.
“The support for Libyan militias in the framework of the EUNAVFOR MED military operation is helping them in the brutal persecution of refugees. It has nothing whatsoever to do with training in sea rescue. This is proved by the answer received from the German Federal Foreign Office regarding an incident on 6 November, in which the crew of a Libyan patrol boat once again caused the death of a number of people. Eight of the thirteen crew members had previously been trained in the framework of EUNAVFOR MED”, stated Andrej Hunko, European policy spokesman for the Left Party parliamentary group in the German Bundestag.
“Most of the Member States of the European Union permit their police to use rubber and plastic ammunition. Switzerland and Turkey also use such ammunition. Time and again rubber bullets are used to fire into crowds of people, causing serious injuries. Although prohibited, the police target people’s heads. As a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, I am taking the events of this nature that took place in Barcelona as grounds to call for this type of ammunition to be outlawed Europe-wide”, declared Andrej Hunko, Member of the German Bundestag.
“The Federal Foreign Office has admitted for the first time that US bases in Germany are involved in the deadly drone war. For three years, Members of the Bundestag were kept in the dark and the public deceived. The Federal Government is thus involved in extrajudicial killings in breach of international law. In my view, this meets the definition of approving a crime and obstruction of justice”, stated Member of the Bundestag Andrej Hunko during yesterday’s Question Time session at the Bundestag.
Statement from Andrej Hunko on EU plans to merge the work of police and intelligence services in The Hague:
"I am somewhat concerned by the linking of migration and terrorism. First, this stigmatises migrants as a terrorist threat. Second, it paves the way for greater EU anti-terrorist legislation.
Since 9/11, we have lost democratic control over the EU agenda on internal and external security. As an example, the new ‘counter-terrorism centre’ run by the Counter Terrorism Group in The Hague processes data from up to 30 domestic intelligence services. The information is supposed to help find terrorist offenders among asylum seekers in Greece or Italy. However, there is no parliamentary oversight of this new ‘platform’.
"Mit der geplanten Ausweitung des Ausbildungseinsatzes in der Ukraine gießen die USA weiteres Öl ins Feuer", kritisiert Andrej Hunko, für die Fraktion DIE LINKE Mitglied des EU-Ausschusses des Bundestags sowie der Parlamentarischen Versammlung des Europarats, Pläne des US-Militärs, die Ausbildung ukrainischer Kämpfern auszuweiten.
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