German Interior Minister: Higher Migration Led to Rise in Crimes

Geman Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser (AFP)
Geman Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser (AFP)
TT

German Interior Minister: Higher Migration Led to Rise in Crimes

Geman Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser (AFP)
Geman Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser (AFP)

Data released by the German Interior Ministry on Tuesday showed that crimes in Europe's largest economy have reached their highest peak since 2016.

The data, which sparked widespread debate, shows that last year, 41 percent of all crime suspects were foreigners, or persons without German citizenship. Foreigners in German represent only 15 percent of the population.

The Federal Criminal Police Office on Tuesday said it registered a 5.5 percent year-on-year increase in crimes in Germany, to 5.94 million cases in 2023.

The data, presented by Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser, showed that the number of foreign suspects rose by 14.5%, with the number of German suspects increasing by 2.2%.

Faeser admitted the impact of higher immigration in Germany on crime rates, but said her country would take measures to enhance integration.

Data showed that mainly migrants from Georgia and the Arab Maghreb were involved in crimes. Ukrainians were less involved than average because the majority of Ukrainian migrants are women and children.

Despite the rising level of crime, Faeser insisted that Germany remains “one of the safest countries in the world.”

The Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) pointed to three factors that could have contributed to the rise: Ongoing post-COVID repercussion, inflation and increased migration over a short period leading to fewer integration opportunities for individual migrants.

Faeser, a Social Democrat in Chancellor Olaf Scholz's government, vowed to tackle rising crime by speeding up deportations of migrants.

“Anyone who doesn’t stick to the rules must leave,” she said, adding that the rules will not be imposed on Ukrainians due to the war.

Several officials from the opposition Christian Democratic Union (CDU) of former Chancellor Angela Merkel, have called for tougher migrant policies to deal with the rise in overall crime among foreigners.

CDU deputy parliamentary leader Andrea Lindholz said the government must manage immigration better and “we must know who is entering the country.”

Also, Richard Graupner of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) in Bavaria said, “What the AfD has warned about for years can no longer be hidden ... new crime statistics have triggered a debate on ‘foreigner crime.” He also called on the government to speed up deportations.

The deportation of Syrians is not currently possible, according to the German Foreign Ministry assessments.

State interior minister for North Rhine-Westphalia Herbert Reul commented on the rise in crime rates. He told the Bild newspaper last week that the social behavior in Germany has lately changed, as disputes are being resolved “by hands instead of words.”

There have also been warnings that the continued rise in crime will lead to increased pressure on the police.

Jochen Kopelke, a police officer who heads Germany's largest police union, told the German news agency that greater and immediate efforts must be made in securing additional numbers of police officers and in strengthening their powers.



Türkiye Presses PKK to Disarm ‘Immediately’

An Iraqi Kurdish woman waves a flag bearing the portrait of the founder of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) Abdullah Ocalan as people gather at Freedom Park to listen to an audio message by the jailed leader in Sulaimaniyah, in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region on February 27, 2025. (AFP)
An Iraqi Kurdish woman waves a flag bearing the portrait of the founder of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) Abdullah Ocalan as people gather at Freedom Park to listen to an audio message by the jailed leader in Sulaimaniyah, in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region on February 27, 2025. (AFP)
TT

Türkiye Presses PKK to Disarm ‘Immediately’

An Iraqi Kurdish woman waves a flag bearing the portrait of the founder of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) Abdullah Ocalan as people gather at Freedom Park to listen to an audio message by the jailed leader in Sulaimaniyah, in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region on February 27, 2025. (AFP)
An Iraqi Kurdish woman waves a flag bearing the portrait of the founder of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) Abdullah Ocalan as people gather at Freedom Park to listen to an audio message by the jailed leader in Sulaimaniyah, in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region on February 27, 2025. (AFP)

Türkiye on Thursday insisted the PKK and all groups allied with it must disarm and disband "immediately", a week after a historic call by the Kurdish militant group's jailed founder.

"The PKK and all groups affiliated with it must end all terrorist activities, dissolve and immediately and unconditionally lay down their weapons," a Turkish defense ministry source said.

The remarks made clear the demand referred to all manifestations of Abdullah Ocalan's Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has led a four-decade insurgency against the Turkish state, costing tens of thousands of lives.

Although the insurgency targeted Türkiye, the PKK's leadership is based in the mountains of northern Iraq and its fighters are also part of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a key force in northeastern Syria.

Last week, Ocalan made a historic call urging the PKK to dissolve and his fighters to disarm, with the group on Saturday accepting his call and declaring a ceasefire.

The same day, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned that if the promises were not kept, Turkish forces would continue their anti-PKK operations.

"If the promises given are not kept and an attempt is made to delay... or deceive... we will continue our ongoing operations... until we eliminate the last terrorist," he said.

- Resonance in Syria, Iraq -

Since 2016, Türkiye has carried out three major military operations in northern Syria targeting PKK militants, which it sees as a strategic threat along its southern border.

Ankara has made clear it wants to see all PKK fighters disarmed wherever they are -- notably those in the US-backed SDF, which it sees as part of the PKK.

The SDF -- the bulk of which is made up of the Kurdish YPG -- spearheaded the fight that ousted ISIS extremists from Syria in 2019, and is seen by much of the West as crucial to preventing an extremist resurgence.

Last week, SDF leader Mazloum Abdi welcomed Ocalan's call for the PKK to lay down its weapons but said it "does not concern our forces" in northeastern Syria.

But Türkiye disagrees.

Since the toppling of Syria's Bashar al-Assad in December, Ankara has threatened military action unless YPG militants are expelled, deeming them to be a regional security problem.

"Our fundamental approach is that all terrorist organizations should disarm and be dissolved in Iraq and Syria, whether they are called the PKK, the YPG or the SDF," Omer Celik, spokesman for Erdogan's ruling AKP, said on Monday.

Ocalan's call also affects Iraq, with the PKK leadership holed up in the mountainous north where Turkish forces have staged multiple air strikes in recent years.

Turkish forces have also established numerous bases there, souring Ankara's relationship with Baghdad.

"We don't want either the PKK or the Turkish army on our land... Iraq wants everyone to withdraw," Iraq's national security adviser Qassem al-Araji told AFP.

"Turkish forces are (in Iraq) because of the PKK's presence," he said, while pointing out that Türkiye had "said more than once that it has no territorial ambitions in Iraq".