Berlin clueless on dealing with refugee crisis: AfD

The leader of Germany’s right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) political party claims that her country’s government has no idea how to deal with the refugee crisis.

"This fairytale of migrants coming to Germany and being the enriching factor for the economy has been proven to be false, and there are no concepts from our government on how to deal with the situation," RT quoted Frauke Petry as saying on Monday.

Fueled by Europe’s refugee crisis and rising anger against German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s asylum policy -- according to which over a million refugees have entered Germany -- the rise of AfD gained momentum following a double-digit percentage victory in the parliamentary elections in the states of Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate, and Saxony-Anhalt.

Petry also claimed that German Chancellor Angela Merkel had given up on the country's borders, and accused her of angering the nation by "not distinguishing between real refugees and migrants.”

"Naturally the people in Germany are waking up, realizing that our chancellor has given up the sovereignty of the country… she has given up our rules and regulations," she added.

Europe is facing its worst refugee crisis since the end of World War II as vast numbers of asylum seekers fleeing conflict-ridden zones in Africa and the Middle East try to gain access to the continent. The refugee crisis in Europe and a series of Daesh-related terrorist attacks across the globe have led to the rise of Islamaphobia among racists and xenophobes in the West.

“We have a huge problem because hundreds of thousands of persons inside Germany, within the asylum process [are left] not knowing whether they will be allowed to stay or whether they will have to be sent back home," said Petry.  

Many blame the support by some Western countries for militants operating in the Middle East as the main reason behind the departure of refugees from their home countries.

Noting that a solution must be found for the "severe problem," she stressed that the deal with Turkey was not a step in the right direction, especially because of pressures brought on the EU from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Ankara and the European Union sealed a contentious agreement in March in a bid to tackle Europe’s refugee conundrum.

Under the deal, the 28-nation bloc will take in thousands of Syrian refugees directly from the country and in return will reward Ankara with money, visa exemption, and progress in its EU membership negotiations.

"Turkey, especially Erdogan, is not a reliable partner for Germany and Europe. If you pressure your partner even before your treaty has even come into action, it's not going to help carrying it out in the long run," Petry added.

Noting that her party "clearly rejects this sort of treaty” she emphasized that, "granting free access of Turkish citizens to Germany as part of this deal is definitely not the right solution." "The migration crisis is just another symptom of this failing development in Europe."

With a population of over 80 million people, the west European county registered some 1.1 million refugees between January and December 2015 and expects another 2.5 million to arrive by the end of 2020.  

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