Austria Offers 1,000 Euros For Syrian Refugees To Return To Their Country

JAKARTA - The Austrian government offered Syrian refugees 1,000 euros (equivalent to Rp. 16.8 million) to return to their home country after Bashar al-Assad's fall.

Conservative Chancellor Karl Nehammer reacted quickly to Assad's overthrow on Sunday.

Austria said the security situation in Syria should be reviewed so as to allow the deportation of Syrian refugees.

Deporting people who go against their wishes is impossible until there is clarity about the direction Syria is taking.

Currently, the Austrian government says it will focus on voluntary deportation. The government has also stopped processing asylum requests for Syrian citizens, as has happened in many European countries.

Like many conservative groups in Europe, Nehammer is under pressure from the far-right group, and the two groups often try to beat each other in immigration policies that sound loud.

The Syrian citizen is the largest asylum seeker group in Austria, a member state of the European Union.

Austria will support Syrian citizens who want to return to their home countries with a refund bonus of 1,000 euros. The country now needs its citizens to be rebuilt," Nehammer said.

How many Syrians will accept the offer still have to be studied.

Meanwhile, the national airline Austrian Airlines has suspended flights to the Middle East due to a security situation.

One-way economic class ticket within a month to Beirut, a common starting point for those traveling overland to Damascus, currently costs at least 1.066.10 euros (1.120 US dollars) in Turkish Airlines, according to the company's website.