municipalities
Referendum on refugee accommodation in Greifswald
View of the draft resolution in front of the town hall in Greifswald. photo
© Stefan Sauer/dpa
Protests and hostilities have accompanied the planned container accommodation for refugees. Now there should be a referendum. But that should not be the last word.
The people of Greifswald will vote in a referendum on container accommodation for refugees. The citizens of the city in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania approved a corresponding draft decision by the administration, which was preceded by a citizens’ petition and protests.
A decision is planned for June 19 on the question: “Are you in favor of land owned by the university and Hanseatic city of Greifswald being leased to the Vorpommern-Greifswald district for the purpose of building container villages to accommodate refugees?”
The initiators of a citizens’ initiative initiated the decision on the containers by collecting thousands of signatures. According to earlier statements, they want to prevent the leasing of areas. Spokespersons for the initiators expressly denied allegations that they were racists or Nazis. They accused the Mayor of Greifswald, Stefan Fassbinder (Greens), of having violated his duty of neutrality by making statements against the referendum.
Fassbinder had pointed out that even a negative referendum did not mean that no more refugees would come to Greifswald. In case of doubt, the referendum only affects the type of accommodation. In principle, even container villages are possible after a negative referendum, for example on areas that do not belong to the city.
In the case of a referendum, according to the state interior ministry, there is a binding decision if the answer that gets more votes is supported by a quarter of those entitled to vote.
After plans for a container village with 500 places next to a school became known, there were protests and hostilities against Fassbinder. The city and district have agreed on smaller accommodations.