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UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson
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Human rights activists and the opposition have reacted with outrage at the British government's plan to fly refugees to Rwanda on arrival and have them wait there for their asylum decision.
The organization Detention Action said the men sent to East Africa "are likely to face indefinite detention under a government notorious for violently persecuting dissidents."
Labor has called Prime Minister Boris Johnson's plans "unworkable, unethical and blackmailing".
Because of the “small boat crisis”, as illegal migration is called in Great Britain, Johnson and Home Secretary Priti Patel are under considerable pressure in their Conservative Party.
With the agreement that Home Secretary Patel was supposed to sign in Rwanda on Thursday, Johnson wants to significantly curb illegal migration across the English Channel.
He had promised that after Brexit, Great Britain would again independently determine its borders and immigration.
Recently, however, the number of people who entered the country illegally had increased significantly.
Johnson defended his plan.
Too often, the hopes and dreams of those fleeing are exploited by criminals.
"These vile people smugglers abuse those in need of protection, turning the English Channel into a watery graveyard where men, women and children are drowning in unseaworthy boats and freezing to death in freezer trucks," the prime minister was quoted as saying in the statement.
He believes that the "partnership with Rwanda" could become an international standard model for the "challenges of migration" in the future.
His country is ready for further agreements with other states.
According to British media reports, only male asylum seekers should be sent to Rwanda.
London is providing 120 million pounds (145 million euros) for a test project.
Anyone in Great Britain who can wait for a decision should be accommodated in strictly controlled reception camps in the future.
Johnson wanted to comment on the plans on Thursday morning.
mfh/dpa
