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Latest news on Iraqi refugees in Iraq
IFIR Emergency Unit on Iraqi Refugees - 18.04.2003 15:35
IFIR Emergency Unit on Iraqi Refugees
Farshad Hoseini
Hambastegi English Number 151, 18 April 2003
The IFIR Emergency Unit on Iraqi Refugees headed by Farshad Hoseini has
issued 26 press releases to date. Here is a summary of the latest press
releases:
* PR 26, Thousands of Iraqi refugees will be deported from Australia and Britain, 16April 2003: The British and Australian government plan to forcibly deport Iraqi asylum seekers or 'repatriate' tens of thousands of refugees to Iraq. The Home Office plans to pay each 'repatriating' family 3000 pounds and forcibly deport all those who have been refused or awaiting a decision. They have stated that they will carry out the
deportations via special flights as done to Afghan refugees and asylum seekers. Many of the Iraqi asylum seekers are Kurds; the Home Office has announced that Iraqi Kurdistan is safe for their return. Philip Ruddock,
the Australian Immigration Minister has also announced that Australia will
be 'repatriating' or deporting Iraqis despite the fact that it is impossible to lead a basic and decent life in Iraq. After the attack of the USA and British forces, chaos, rightlessness, and insecurity have
engulfed Iraq. Civil society has been torn apart. This was not unexpected. While the USA and Britain were bombing the Iraqi people, Ruud Lubbers, the head of the UNHCR, was calling for the freezing of all Iraqi asylum determinations! It was clear that following a military victory, the wave
of deportations of Iraqi asylum seekers would start. The UNHCR was merely paving the way for this. The International Federation of Iranian Refugees strongly condemns these inhuman policies of the British and
Australian governments and calls on all progressive and humanitarian groups and
individuals to intervene to prevent yet another human catastrophe for the people of Iraq.
* PR 25, 170 thousand Iraqi children will die in the next year, 14 April
2003: The Daily Mirror reported that Britain has removed its desert clinic and British doctors from Iraq. In this report the International Red Cross has been quoted as saying that only two hospitals from 35 are
operational. Thousands of wounded and sick are at risk of death without electricity
and water. In another report from Greenpeace, 170 thousand Iraqi children
will die as a result of the consequences of war and health hazards. The architects of the New World Order are not at all concerned about these children while proclaiming concern for the oil wells and museums. While
British and American wounded are immediately flown out to the best hospitals in the world, thousands of war wounded children have been left to die. All the war wounded, particularly all the children, must be
immediately removed to proper hospitals and receive full care in countries outside of Iraq.
* PR 24, Condemn Thousands of Iranian refugees must be immediately transferred from Iraq, 14 April 2003: According to the latest figures provided by international organisations, 23,700 Iranian refugees were
in Iraq until the end of 2002. From these figures, 19,000 Iranian refugees were living in southern Iraq and 4,700 in Northern Iraq. In the Al-Tash camp in the West of Iraq (close to Baghdad) alone, there are 12,150
Iranian refugees. Up to now, the media has not provided any information on their
safety and situation. A large majority of the refugees in Iraq are political opponents of the Islamic regime in Iran. Recent wheeling and dealings between the Islamic regime and the USA and British government
places these refugees at risk of being returned. IFIR calls on all groups and individuals to exert pressure to ensure that the refugees are moved to safety, granted protection and not deported to Iran.
* PR 23, A hundred thousand Iraqi refugees are languishing behind closed Iranian borders, 12 April 2003: According to the Islamic regime in Iran, one hundred thousand Iraqi refugees are at the border town of Mehran outside the Iranian border. He asserted that the fact that no refugee has
yet entered Iran is the result of the clever work of the Governate! According to the same report, thousands of refugees from Baghdad and southern Iraq are 17 kilometres from the Iranian border. The refugees do not have their basic needs met and while guarantees have been given and money paid to the Islamic regime by the UNHCR, they have done nothing to assist the Iraqi refugees. IFIR condemns the irresponsibility of the Islamic regime in Iran and calls on all to exert pressure on it to allow entry to Iraqi refugees and ensure that their basic needs are met.
* Defend Iraqi refugees and asylum seekers
With the start of the USA-led war against Iraq on Thursday 20 March, we have been witnessing the unfolding of a human tragedy. Everyone knows that the first victims of this war are and will be the innocent people of Iraq. Many are becoming displaced and will be forced to flee. It is estimated
that the war will result in one and a half to two million refugees and 3 million
displaced persons. But where will they go to? Countries neighbouring Iraq, including the Islamic Republic of Iran, have closed
their borders. Also Western countries with the support of the UNHCR are freezing Iraqi asylum applications in order to facilitate deportations once the bombings have stopped. The UNHCR, which has the direct
responsibility of protection and providing assistance, has not prepared itself for the
unfolding disaster.
Defending the lives and rights of those fleeing this war is the task of the
anti-war movement and progressive people everywhere. The only hope of the people of Iraq and Iraqi refugees and asylum seekers is the worldwide protest and the pressure exerted by millions. This force and movement
must demand the following:
1. Stop the slaughter of the Iraqi people immediately.
2. Open all borders to Iraqi refugees. Closing of borders by any government is a crime. No group or government can prevent the movement of refugees.
3. Recognise the right to asylum for all Iraqi refugees and asylum
seekers.
4. Stop all deportations to Iraq and the region.
5. Provide necessary food, shelter, health care and sanitation to Iraqis, refugees and internally displaced via non-governmental agencies.
6. Transfer 100,000 refugees in Iraq,
including Iranians, to safe places.
The International Federation of Iranian Refugees (IFIR) calls on groups and
individuals to defend Iraqi refugees and asylum seekers and demand the above. IFIR has set up an Emergency Unit on Iraqi Refugees headed by Farshad Hoseini. For more information on the Unit, contact Farshad
Hoseini,
+31 613940534,  farshadhoseini@yahoo.com.
* Sign petition defending Iraqi refugees and asylum seekers. To sign,
go to
 http://www.petitiononline.com/IFIR/petition.html.
 E-Mail: farshadhoseini@yahoo.com  Website: http://www.hambastegi.org
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