Roundup: Strasbourg joins network of cities welcoming refugees

The Socialist mayor of Strasbourg, Roland Ries, announced on Friday that the Alsatian capital had joined the network of cities showing solidarity with international refugees.

The initiative was launched by First Secretary of his party, Jean-Christophe Cambadelis. Measures must be taken in order to assure the best reception of refugees and to permit them to receive accommodation with local citizens.

"Germany made the choice to open its borders and to welcome the refugees. The French state with its communities must on their side open up, to welcome temporarily or definitively these refugees. It is of course a moral obligation, but also an opportunity for our country and for Strasbourg," declared Ries.

"We still need to work at the organization of this project with aid associations for refugees and the institutions which work in Strasbourg for the advocacy of human rights," he added, recalling the region's tradition as "the land of asylum and refuge in France and Alsace."

"It is necessary, today, despite the difficult economic context, that we do not lose this tradition," he insisted.

Meanwhile, his deputy in charge of international affairs, Nawel Rafik-Elmrini, declared Thursday: "We will propose to the 60 cities which make up the 'Strasbourg club', such as Stuttgart, Dresden and Leicester, to join this network of cities in solidarity."

The migrant crisis has this week provoked global mobilization of public opinion and emotion following the publication in mass media outlets and on social networks of a photo of a Syrian child who drowned on a Turkish beach after having tried to reach Greece, the entry way to the old continent for many fleeing war which has raged for four years.

Meanwhile, the German government has announced the suspension of the Dublin Rule for Syrian refugees, which requires refugees to register asylum requests in the country of the European Union (EU) where they first arrived. This has proved to be a requirement which puts heavy stress on countries with high levels of first entry, such as Greece, Italy and Spain.

France and Germany reached agreements on Thursday regarding the principal of distribution of migrants between the 28 member states of the EU, a quota system which has divided European leaders. European Commission President Jean-Claude Junker is expected Wednesday in Strasbourg where, during the plenary session of the European Parliament, he will address the issue.

On the sidelines, a Strasbourg hotel was requisitioned and prefabricated lodgings were ordered to house refugees. As well, the Justice and Liberty collective, as well as the Alsace- Syria association, have called for a demonstration Saturday at 4:00 p.m. local time (1400 GMT) at Place Kleber. Elsewhere, a petition was launched online, as well as on Facebook for Alsace to welcome 10,000 refugees. Endit