Merkel stands by refugee policy despite ‘terrifying’ attacks

GERMAN Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday described recent attacks in the country and across Europe as “shocking, depressing and terrifying,” but she refused to back down from an open-door refugee policy that has attracted fierce criticism following recent assaults in the country.
Germany has been rattled by four attacks in the past two weeks, three of which authorities say have been carried out by asylum seekers or refugees inspired by Islamist extremism, CNN reported.
The attacks have given way to mockery by some Germans as well as foreigners, who have dubbed the recent weeks of bloodshed on social media as #MerkelSommer, or even “Merkel’s summer of slaughter.”
One Twitter user posted a pair of hands covered in blood, quoting Merkel with, “We have already accomplished a lot,” using the #MerkelSommer hashtag.
Merkel vowed to boost security and improve counterterrorism measures, but she stood firm on Germany’s position of accepting nearly all asylum seekers found to be legitimate refugees. Germany took in more than 1 million refugees in 2015, making it the most open country in Europe to asylum seekers.
“We decided to fulfill our humanitarian tasks,” she told reporters at a news conference, according to a translator. “Refusing humanitarian support that would be something I wouldn’t want to do and I wouldn’t recommend this to Germany.”