“No to the deportation of rejected Eritreans to third countries”

2024-07-07 13:50:25 Written by Martin Plaut Published in English Articles Read 702 times

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Martin Plaut

14/06

Source: Le Courrier

“The PLR motion passed to the National Council aimed at deporting rejected Eritrean refugees to a third country is appalling.” Via a forum, experts, associations and representations of political parties express their indignation against “a ludicrous decision, which reflects the denial among certain political representatives of the reality of the soft power exercised in Switzerland by the Eritrean dictatorship”.

FRIDAY JUNE 14, 2024

On June 9, 125 national advisors let themselves be carried away by the dream of a mass deportation and of a very distant country which, in return for funding, would take charge of the Eritrean refugees rejected from Switzerland, and would take care of managing their repatriation in Eritrea. A discomfort, of course. The chill down the spine, the indignation, of course. But also a reassuring thought, that, despite the solemn context, the PLR motion is only a fantasy which pragmatically cannot come true: to put in place a functional transit agreement through a third country, it would already be necessary that Bern and Asmara have an agreement regarding the return of refugees, which has never been the case and probably never will be. Also, the country with which the “transit” agreement would be put in place could only serve as a bridge between Switzerland and… Switzerland. And this while making itself dependent at great expense on a third State, whose reliability it will have to guarantee in terms of respect for human rights with national and international institutions.

The Federal Council, that is to say the executive, already refused last year to take action on the implementation of this unworkable measure. Since the vote of June 9, he is now forced to try to give substance to this populist turn which will in all likelihood end in a laborious series of failures, like its model, the British plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda . Since 2022, the latter has been nothing but a succession of failures, has not slowed down the increase in the arrival of exiles in England and has barely managed to push the country to the brink of leaving the Convention European Union of Human Rights (ECHR).

The sporadic brawls involving certain Eritrean refugees are in no way directed against Switzerland, its people, its society and its welcome. If we must indeed stop this violence, we must understand that it is not a question of hooliganism, but of the avoidable consequences of the suffocating pressure of the Eritrean government on the refugees located in Switzerland.

The truth that the supporters of the June 9 motion do not want to admit is that Eritrea, an African dictatorship less populated than Switzerland and with a GDP nearly 330 times smaller, exercises a real and destabilizing influence on all of Europe. The violence is not imported by the refugees, but sent by the Eritrean government, thanks to the interference of its pro-government agents on Swiss territory, particularly during propaganda events disguised as cultural festivals.

Far from populist chimeras, simple, applicable and effective measures can be put in place in Switzerland: stop using Eritrean embassies to process asylum applications; block the levy of the 2% tax on the diaspora; fight against registrations, propaganda and pressure exerted by agents of the Eritrean government. In short, protect people on Swiss soil for good.

Fleeing the Eritrean conscription is a legitimate reason for requesting asylum, as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the associations working on the issue tirelessly repeat, with all due respect to those for whom Switzerland is at home. above human rights. We must never forget that to expel an Eritrean is to condemn him. The United Nations Council Against Torture (CAT) has already denounced Switzerland's actions with regard to the treatment of Eritrean refugees six times: let's stand up against this morbid stubbornness. An asylum and protection policy is the only way to counter violence and contribute to a healthier social climate both for Eritrean refugees and for the rest of Switzerland's inhabitants.

List of signatories:

Prof. David Bozzini – Social anthropology, University of Friborg

Prof. Didier Péclard – African studies, University of Geneva

Prof. Estelle Sohier – Cultural history, University of Geneva

Prof. Cornelia Hummel – Sociology, University of Geneva

Prof. Johannes Schubert – Political anthropology, University of Basel

Pre Alix Heiniger – Contemporary history, University of Friborg

Professor Armelle Choplin – Geography, University of Geneva

Professor Wolbert Smidt – Ethnohistory, University of Jena/Mekele

Professor Mirjam van Reisen – International relations, University of Tilsburg

Martin Plaut – Journalist/researcher, University of London

Dr Alexander Meckelburg – Anthropologist, University College London