German Greens politician calls Sea Watch claims ‘morally wrong’

It is correct not to let refugees drown in the Mediterranean, Palmer wrote on Facebook, but organisations such as Sea Watch, however, do not want “to save anyone from drowning, but demand the inclusion in Europe of all migrants heading for the Mediterranean”.

This would overwhelm the continent “if not economically then certainly politically and socially” he added. More decisively, he denounced the immoral aspect of such demands. “Those who try to get into Europe via this highly dangerous route are rarely those who need help most,” Palmer explained.

Most of them are “young men who are strong enough to take the strain and scrape together several thousand dollars to make it down to a boat”. Tens of thousands of women abused in the Congo, however, received no help in this way.

“The people most in need of help do not make it to the Mediterranean,” Palmer said. He therefore demanded that non-governmental organisations’ supporters “do less moralizing and more sober analysis of facts and assistance”.

In the past, Palmer had also denounced the disproportionately high level of crime among asylum seekers. On another occasion, he castigated the reckless behavior of African asylum seekers in public places.

Almost always, when black, young men behaved too expansively, pushy and outrageously, when they are asylum seekers, he said.

Tübingen’s Mayor said migrants were responsible for the worsening sense of security in the university city. Although there is still a positive attitude towards the immigrants in Tübingen, Palmer told Die Welt.

In a representative survey, half of all respondents said that their sense of security had deteriorated significantly in the city in recent years. “This is due to the unfortunately frequent reports of sexual assaults, violent crimes and rape, ie offenses in which refugees are unfortunately also significantly over-represented in Tübingen, measured by their share of the population.”

He added: “My impression, however, is that violent crime and public-sector problems are more often caused by people who do not have a realistic perspective on how to stay. Those who know that they have nothing to gain or lose here, and that obviously increases the willingness to such acts,” explained the Green politician. “If it does not work, then these people must be deprived of the city as a place of residence and activity.”

He said the protection of borders was currently not the central issue, as the asylum numbers have declined. “We have to deal with the well over one million refugees we already have in the country, and their integration or orderly exit,” said Palmer.