Former German domestic intelligence head Hans-Georg Maassen has called for a parliamentary inquiry into Chancellor Angela Merkel’s 2015 migration policy.
The former president of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) said that due to the significant consequences of mass migration in Germany today and going forward, those who made the policies in 2015 must be held to account for any mistakes made, Nordkurier reports.
“If you’ve made a mistake, then you have to stand by it, even as part of a committee of inquiry,” Maassen told the paper.
He is not the first to call for such an inquiry. Both the libertarian Free Democrats (FDP) and the populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) have made similar requests but both have been rejected.
Along with rooting out those who may have made mistakes during the height of the migrant crisis, Maassen said that an inquiry could also put conspiracy theories to rest and possibly cool the social climate in the country as well.
In order for a parliamentary inquiry to take place, around a quarter of the German parliament, the Bundestag, would need to vote in favour of the motion.
Mr Maassen became well-known across Germany after expressing doubt over Germans “hunting” migrants during a riot that occurred following the killing of a local man in Chemnitz by an asylum seeker.
Fired German Intelligence Boss Slams Merkel Migrant Policy on Hungarian Television https://t.co/IfGjiQVsWG
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) April 12, 2019
His comments led to a backlash from the left and his eventual removal as head of the BfV by Chancellor Merkel.
He was set up to take an advisory role in the Interior Ministry following his removal but was then forced into early retirement after calling out “radical left forces” in the Social Democrat party, the coalition partner of Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU).
Earlier this year in Hungary, Maassen spoke out against Merkel’s migrant policy telling Hungarian media: “Integration is possible if you create the legal framework and also get people to integrate or be integrated. Integration can not only be ordered, but integration must also be demanded.”
“My concern is that there is integration, but not integration into German society, but into Arab society, the Salafist society or the Turkish society in Germany, so that we have parallel societies. And from my point of view, that has to be prevented with all our might,” he said.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.