Five out of six factions of the German Bundestag rejected the proposal of the parliamentary group of the Left Party on the protection of Russian deserters and evaders.
Voting took place on September 29 at almost midnight.
A group of the Die Linke party proposed to “immediately take all necessary measures at the national and European level” and grant protection status to the citizens of the Russian Federation after the recently announced partial mobilization, so that Russian deserters and persons who want to avoid the war in Ukraine could gain unimpeded entry into the territory of the EU. in particular, Germany. The need to grant protection status to Levy was motivated by the fact that those who refuse to “participate in war crimes in Ukraine” are exposed to high personal risk, including up to 15 years in prison.
At the same time, the leftists do not talk exclusively about Russian soldiers, they propose to provide protection also to Belarusian deserters, because “refusal from military service is a human right.”
“The more people avoid participating in the war, the more difficult it will be to continue the illegal war in Ukraine,” said Deputy Klara Bünger, presenting the project.
The opposition CDU/CSU faction stated that “issuing humanitarian visas to Russian defectors does not occur to them,” and by providing asylum to almost a million Ukrainian refugees in 7 months, Germany has already made a great humanitarian contribution. Communes and volunteers will not be able to withstand even more refugees. Bloc MP Moritz Oppelt also emphasized the importance of conducting a security check of applicants from the Russian Federation, especially given the situation.
“Acceptance of Russian deserters should not pose security risks for our country,” the conservative deputy emphasized. He also emphasized that the solution to this issue should be a pan-European approach.
The radical right-wing “Alternative for Germany” did not support the Left either, although for completely different reasons – they say that such “sabotage” will only anger Putin and make Germany a party to the “conflict”, playing into the hands of the Kremlin. In addition, representatives of the peoples of the Caucasus, often Muslims, can come to Germany, which the right does not like at all.
A few deputies, perhaps because of the lateness of the time, simply handed their speeches to the secretariat, so the debate was not long.
Some politicians in Germany, including those in the ruling coalition party, are in favor of granting asylum to individual Russian defectors, but the Ministry of Internal Affairs emphasizes that decisions will be made on a case-by-case basis and after a thorough examination of the person requesting protection.