Austria will continue its “technical talks” with representatives of the radical Islamist Taliban in Afghanistan. Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) made this clear on Thursday during the “Current Issues” session in the Federal Council. Such talks are necessary, he said, in order to deport criminal refugees back to their home country. The minister emphasized that these are not “diplomatic talks.”
No “mass deportations”
Deportations to Syria will also continue, especially in cases involving criminal offenders. The aim must be to move from handling such cases individually to making them standard procedure. However, Karner repeatedly stressed that this would not apply to people who have become a valuable part of society. They would not have to fear deportation. Mass deportations, as some demand, have no place in a constitutional state and will not happen under his watch.
