
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, May 27, 1993                   TAG: 9305270049
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A9   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: BONN, GERMANY                                LENGTH: Short

GERMAN VOTE GOES AGAINST IMMIGRATION

Parliament shut the door on hundreds of thousands of refugees Wednesday with a landmark vote that struck down the right of all foreigners to seek asylum in Germany.

The 521-132 vote to dispose of the guarantee, a pillar of postwar German law, came after 13 hours of heated debate.

The parliament's upper house, the Bundesrat, is expected to approve the move Friday.

Some 10,000 leftist militants formed a human chain around the government center and pelted police with rocks, bottles and firecrackers. Legislators were brought to the session by ferry or helicopter.

The protesters, as well as parliamentary critics, say repealing the right of asylum means Germany is shirking its responsibility to do penance for Nazi-era atrocities.

Officials say the law will protect those threatened with political repression while keeping out economic migrants.

The new law will turn away most asylum-seekers at the borders and return those who arrive at sea or airports unless they come from countries at war or run by dictators.

For the hundreds of thousands of foreigners in Germany waiting for their asylum applications to be processed, the new law will make it far less likely that they will be able to stay. Their applications will be considered on the basis of whether they are fleeing war and oppression or whether they are simply seeking a higher standard of living.

by CNB