Then on Sunday, a Syrian refugee killed a woman in a machete attack, leaving five others hurt.
Advertisement
She outlined a nine-point security plan, which she said includes a lower threshold for the deportation of failed asylum seekers, an “early warning system” for radicalization among refugees and the deployment of soldiers in domestic counterterrorism operations. More than a third (35%) of all asylum applications in the European Union a year ago were filed in Germany.
Asked by a journalist if terrorists entering Europe is the price we pay for our humanity, Merkel replied: “We know since at least the Paris attacks that Isis also use refugee routes to smuggle terrorist through”.
In her most comprehensive remarks since a wave of violence this month, Merkel described a new veil of fear gripping Europe yet stood by her determination to offer asylum to those truly in need.
“I have the feeling that I acted responsibly and correctly and no other feeling”, she said about the aftermath in Munich, where she reacted 17 hours after President Obama did.
“Someone who is fleeing war and persecution has a right to be protected according to the Geneva conventions”, Merkel said.
Merkel cut short her summer holiday to face questions at a press conference on Thursday after four attacks hit the southern states of Bavaria and Baden-Wuerttemberg in the past week.
“I didn’t say this as if it were something that we could do easily, otherwise I wouldn’t have said it”, Merkel said. “We of course try to limit this kind of movement”, Merkel said.
Authorities say there were never any indications of any possible plans for an attack.
Speaking to reporters Thursday in Berlin after interrupting her vacation, Merkel said the assailants wanted to undermine Germany’s sense of community and the country’s openness and willingness to help people in need. Three of the four attackers were refugees from the Middle East.
The rightwing populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) party hopes to make a particularly strong showing there with a campaign against “Islamization”, which would deal Merkel a stinging blow one year ahead of a general election.
Advertisement
She said it was irrelevant whether the refugee attackers “had come to Germany before or after 4 September” a reference to her historic decision on that night in 2015 to open the German border to more than 10,000 refugees who were stranded in Hungary. The raid didn’t appear to be connected to the recent attacks.
