From: Justin Burke (JBurke@sorosny.org)
Date: Thu Feb 27 2003 - 08:57:44 EST
Azerbaijan braces for "thousands" of Iraqi refugees - migration official
The head of the Azerbaijani centre for legal aid to migrants, Alovsat
Aliyev, has said that the country might become flooded by thousands of
Iraqi refugees in the event of a US operation against Iraq. He told the
Azerbaijani newspaper Ekho that it was necessary to amend the migration
law to curb illegal human trafficking as it damages the country's image
abroad and causes distrust in Azerbaijan. The following is the text of
Q. Mammadzada and N. Ramizoglu report by Azerbaijani newspaper Ekho on
20 February entitled "Hundreds of Iraqis are already in Azerbaijan".
Subhead: After the start of hostilities, the country might be flooded by
thousands of refugees from Iraq. Subheadings inserted editorially:
More than 300 Iraqi refugees have already arrived in Azerbaijan to
receive refugee status, the head of the centre for legal aid to migrants
in Azerbaijan, Alovsat Aliyev, has told Ekho. The expert predicts that
the influx of refugees will suddenly go up after the launching of the US
military operation in the Middle East - thousands of Iraqi citizens
might head for Azerbaijan.
According to some information, tens of thousands of Iraqi citizens who
hope to enter Azerbaijani territory have already arrived in Iran. For
the time being, they are waiting for the beginning of hostilities in
Iraq in order to have grounds to seek asylum.
The head of the press service of the UNHCR in Azerbaijan, Vuqar
Abdulsalimov, told Ekho that the leadership of this structure had sent
messages to the states bordering on Iraq. The letter asks to help the
UNHCR and leave the border open in the event of an influx of refugees.
Abdulsalimov said that the Baku office of the UNHCR had already
registered 110 Iraqi citizens.
In an interview with Ekho, the Moscow lawyer Timur Gusman, who has
collected vast information about illegal migration in CIS countries,
pointed out that traditionally, illegal migrants come from countries
such as Afghanistan, India, Vietnam, Iran, Iraqi Kurdistan etc.
Migrants use Azerbaijan as transit country
"Azerbaijan is a transit country whose borders are often crossed by
Iraqis, especially Kurds," Gusman pointed out.
In turn, Alovsat Aliyev said that several refugees from Iraq, who
introduce themselves as Kurds, appeal to their organization every day.
The refugees maintain that they had hastily left Iraq for fear of
possible persecution by Saddam Husayn after American strikes. Aliyev
points out that the refugees make no secret of the way they get into
Azerbaijan. First, they get into Iran and then penetrate our country
with the help of traffickers - people engaged in the illegal transport
of people. The traffickers demand about 700 dollars from each person for
transportation from Iran to Calilabad [Azerbaijan]. From there, other
smugglers transport the Iraqis to Baku for 350 dollars.
"In spite of the fact that noticeable progress has been observed in this
sphere since Elcin Qambarov was appointed chief of the State Border
Service, there are still problems," Aliyev says.
According to his information, the Iraqis use Azerbaijan as a transit
territory for further travel to European countries, mainly Britain.
Illegal migrants are first taken to Kiev and then to Europe.
While Soviet passports were still in force, Tbilisi was the main staging
post for refugees from the East. Traffickers skilfully faked documents,
which were as a rule stolen, and then stuck other photographs on them.
The cost of a visa to Europe was about 5,000 dollars.
Sad statistics show that Azerbaijan is a "window" to Russia and Europe
due to its geopolitical position, Gusman says. He said that there were
several options. The first way is to settle in Azerbaijan for a long
time and pick up some Russian for further immigration to Russia. It is
difficult for the migrants to get an Azerbaijani foreign passport, which
means that it is almost impossible to leave the country as an
Azerbaijani citizen.
The refugees have an alternative - the weak protection of some foreign
passports. Thanks to false Russian documents, these same Iraqis can get
into Sweden through Finland or the Baltic countries. They can use a
ferry and make their way to Sweden or Norway. Illegal immigration is an
expensive thing and the services of travel agencies are expensive too.
The Kurdish Diaspora in Russia and Europe promote the transit of
Iraqis," Timur Gusman pointed out.
The Moscow lawyer particularly pointed out that the opportunity to get
into the fast track (immediate granting of refugee status) will
noticeably increase with the start of the war in Iraq.
Azerbaijan is flooded by refugees
Alovsat Aliyev said that in Azerbaijan, there was a considerable number
of foreign citizens who had no fixed status. People illegally arriving
in Azerbaijan are almost not registered and are beyond control as no-one
deals with their problems. No state agency defines the status of
foreigners and stateless persons, which is why Azerbaijan is a
favourable territory for illegal migration. Nor does the State Committee
for Refugees and Displaced Persons solve the problem, although this
issue is within the sphere of their direct authorities, Aliyev points
out. These functions are carried out by international organizations,
particularly by the UNHCR.
At present, in Azerbaijan there are many Chechen and Afghan refugees who
have lived in the country without any status for many years. This
creates certain problems and has a negative impact on Azerbaijan's
image, Aliyev stressed.
Azerbaijan is flooded by refugees from Muslim countries which are often
accused of terrorism. They live in our country without registration for
a long time. This causes perplexity and distrust in Azerbaijan in the
international arena. International structures always keep the
transnational fight against illegal transportation of people in the
centre of their attention. This is also proved by a protocol signed in
Palermo, including by Azerbaijan, on joining the convention on combating
transnational crime. But this document has not been ratified by the
Milli Maclis [Azeri parliament] yet.
At the same time, Aliyev stresses that due to the current situation,
rank-and-file citizens of a country, international organizations and
foreign states exercise extreme caution when Azerbaijani citizens ask
them for status or visas. They reject their requests on any pretext,
Aliyev says.
When Azerbaijani citizens ask, for example, the German or British
embassies for a visa, they are required to provide documents about
accommodation, wages which exceed 500 dollars etc.
"It is obvious that there is distrust which morally discriminates
Azerbaijani citizens. A graphic example - two years ago, 18 citizens of
Azerbaijan were sent back home straight from Rome airport. They were
also accused of involvement in terrorist organizations without any
convincing evidence. Suffice it to say that the same Rome, London or
Berlin are well aware that favourable conditions have been created in
Azerbaijan for illegal migrants arriving from Afghanistan, Pakistan,
Iran, Chechnya and now from Iraq," Aliyev points out.
It is necessary to adopt a law on responsibility for human trafficking
If the war in Iraq starts, Aliyev warns, Azerbaijan will have to be
ready to receive a fresh influx of thousands of refugees. It is
necessary to receive, accommodate, record them and define their status.
Representatives of border services should also be ready for the influx
of Iraqi citizens. At this point, Aliyev points out, it is necessary to
take into account that not those who are trying to penetrate the country
and receive refugee status, but the criminals engaged in illegal
transportation of these people have to be punished.
Unfortunately, Aliyev points out, the criminal law of the Azerbaijani
Republic does not provide for criminal accountability for human
trafficking. The absence of the threat of punishment encourages criminal
groups to continue their illegal business. If the Azerbaijani parliament
does not make relevant amendments to the law during its spring session,
the country's image will suffer even more, the expert thinks.
Source: Ekho, Baku, in Russian 20 Feb 03 pp 1, 2
BBC Mon TCU 260203 bk/ek
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