The Austrian government supports a training center for the Tunisian border police. Now research from eight countries has concluded that this would leave migrants abandoned in the middle of the desert – without facilities, often robbed or abused.
People in Tunisia, but also in Morocco and Mauritania, are targeted because of their skin color. The aid organization Doctors Without Borders confirmed that it has been observing an increase in “massive, systematic violence” at all EU external borders for some time. The normalization of this is “terrifying.” “We are witnessing how people are dying,” said Marcus Bachmann of Doctors Without Borders.
Role of Austria?
Because Austria is co-financing a training center for the Tunisian border police, it must be investigated whether this supports a practice that is “illegal under international law”. By this Bachmann means, for example, the rejection of migrants. Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) said the allegations needed to be investigated and clarified.
The team at the Center for Migration Policy (ICMPD) in Vienna, which coordinates the project, stressed that it is “only responsible for the training, not for the deployment”. There was no evidence of inhumane treatment of migrants. The center is now led by former Vice Chancellor Michael Spindelegger (ÖVP).
Contributed one million
Karner opened the training center in southwestern Tunisia in November. The Austrian government is contributing almost one million to this end.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
