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IMMIGRATION

Austria to post soldiers at Italian border

Austria is to deploy soldiers at its border with Italy as part of a “massive” effort to step up border controls amid growing concerns among politicians about migrants and refugees.

Austria to post soldiers at Italian border
A refugee woman at the Greek and Macedonian border. Zoltan Balogh/EPA

The move was announced by Austria’s Defence Minister Hans Peter Doskozil (SPÖ) in an interview carried out with German newspaper Die Welt over the weekend.

“As the EU’s external borders are not yet effectively protected, Austria will soon ramp up strict border controls. That means massive border controls on at the Brenner (Pass), and with soldiers,” he said.

The Austrian army is already being used at other border checks around the country but these latest comments will widen the division between Austria and Germany, who are divided over shutting down Europe's internal borders and keeping them open.

Doskozil's comments were supported by Austrian Interior Minister Johanna Mikl-Leitner (ÖVP), who said the government was decided in its policy on tightening border control.

Responding to comments about the impact on traffic and holidaymakers in the region, she said that “security and stability” come first, adding that she believes that the public will be understanding if traffic jams do happen.

The comments came amid protests at the Brenner border on Sunday involving between 500 and 1,000 pro-refugee Italian, Austrian and German demonstrators.

The rally calling for an end to border controls began peacefully but ended with around 50 of the protesters clashing violently with police.

The protesters, some of whom were wearing life jackets in a show of solidarity with refugees, had been marching towards the borders when they were blocked by around 100 Austrian police officers.

Some tried to break through the police line by throwing stones and flares, Italian media reported. Austrian police responded with pepper spray, shields and batons – forcing the crowd back.

Ten protesters and five police were injured in the clashes.

Austria preparing for “warmer weather”

Italian politicians in the area have reacted to the idea of border controls with scepticism, with regional councillor for Brenner Giovanni Pederzini telling telling local Italian paper Alto Adige that Austria's decision to close the border was based on unfounded fears.

“For the moment even our local refugee welcome centre is empty,” he said. “I'll be curious to see whether they really do put soldiers on the border.”

Austrian politicians say they are concerned, however, about the numbers of people who will make their way to Europe in the coming months, having fled poverty and war in the Middle Eastern region.

“We know that in a few days the weather will be better and warmer and that hundreds of thousands will again make their way [to Europe],” said Mikl-Leitner. “In Turkey 700,000 people are waiting on the border with Greece, in Istanbul 400,000 people are orientated towards Bulgaria. They will not simply turn around.”

FAR-RIGHT

Germany issues entry ban to Austrian far-right activist Sellner

Radical Austrian nationalist Martin Sellner has been banned from entering Germany, it emerged on Tuesday, days after he was deported from Switzerland.

Germany issues entry ban to Austrian far-right activist Sellner

Sellner, a leader of Austria’s white pride Identitarian Movement, posted a video of himself on X, formerly Twitter, reading out a letter he said was from the city of Potsdam.

A spokeswoman for the city authorities confirmed to AFP that an EU citizen had been served with a “ban on their freedom of movement in Germany”.

The person can no longer enter or stay in Germany “with immediate effect” and could be stopped by police or deported if they try to enter the country, the spokeswoman said, declining to name the individual for privacy reasons.

READ ALSO: Who is Austria’s far-right figurehead banned across Europe?

“We have to show that the state is not powerless and will use its legitimate means,” Mike Schubert, the mayor of Potsdam, said in a statement.

Sellner caused an uproar in Germany after allegedly discussing the Identitarian concept of “remigration” with members of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) at a meeting in Potsdam in November.

Reports of the meeting sparked a huge wave of protests against the AfD, with tens of thousands of Germans attending demonstrations across the country.

READ ALSO:

Swiss police said Sunday they had prevented a hundred-strong far-right gathering due to be addressed by Sellner, adding that he had been arrested and deported.

The Saturday meeting had been organised by the far-right Junge Tat group, known for its anti-immigration and anti-Islamic views.

The group is also a proponent of the far-right white nationalist Great Replacement conspiracy theory espoused by Sellner’s Identitarian Movement.

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