The owner of X, formerly Twitter, retweeted a video on Friday that showed refugees and aid workers on a boat. The rightwing account that first put the content on the social media platform used the post to praise the populist far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party, which has taken a hard line on migration issues.
“Is the German public aware of this?” Musk wrote in his retweet.
The German federal foreign office replied to Musk directly on X, writing: “Yes. And it’s called saving lives.”
Musk responded that he doubted the German public supported the actions of non-government organisations taking asylum seekers from unseaworthy vessels in the Mediterranean. He also claimed it was “surely” a violation of Italy’s sovereignty for German-operated ships to take rescued migrants to Italian territory.
“So you’re actually proud of it. Interesting,” he wrote, adding that he thought such maritime operations had “invasion vibes”.
Migration has returned to the political forefront in Germany and other European countries, with government officials and opposition politicians sparring about how best to handle an increasing number of arrivals. Cities and communities across Germany have said they are running out of room to accommodate and educate them.
More than 220,000 people applied for asylum in Germany between January and August this year. That figure was about 240,000 in all of 2022, and in 2015-16 it was more than 1 million.
Source: theguardian
Author: AP
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