Michael de Laine

Has Iraq decided to refuse to accept Denmark’s forced deportation of 300 failed Iraqi asylum-seekers?

By Michael de Laine, Copenhagen, 14 March 2009

Hopes were high today when 250 or so demonstrators gathered at Hellerup station, north of Copenhagen, for a peaceful demonstration march to the embassy of the Republic of Iraq in a protest against Denmark’s forced deportation of up to 300 failed Iraqi asylum-seekers.

The high hopes were raised by reports that the Iraqi government, after a long gestation period, has rejected an agreement with the Danish government that would let Denmark send 300 or so failed Iraqi asylum-seekers back to their homeland.

The Iraqi chargé d’affaires, Faris Shakir Fatouhi, told the Copenhagen Voice that his information was that the two governments are still negotiating the agreement and that no timetable can be given for the completion of the negotiations.

An announcement from one of the speakers at the demonstration that Iraq had said a couple of days ago that it is refusing to accept failed Iraqi asylum-seekers sent back by Denmark nevertheless raised cheers and applause from the demonstrators, a mixture of Danes and foreigners, predominantly from or connected with Iraq, young and old.

Street talk is that the Danish government’s attempt to get an agreement with Iraq on returning failed asylum-seekers – similar to the one that Sweden has negotiated – is both a ploy to make it seem the government is doing something, just to please the Danish People’s Party, and, should it be accepted, a method that can be used in the future for other countries.

Today’s demonstration was arranged by the group Asylret (Right to Asylum) – a refugee organization comprising humanists and left-wing activists, many of whom have been active in other similar groups.

Among Asylret’s members are people who have over 15 years of experience in the area of refugee issues, including the legal aspects, and have worked on many asylum cases.

“We work with other groups, including ‘Initiativet mod Statsracisme’ (Initiative against State Racism), ‘Komiteen Flygtninge Under Jorden’ (Refugee Underground Committee) and individuals, to improve quality of life for the asylum seekers,” the organization said.

The current campaign was started by Asylret in February in an attempt to appeal to the Iraqi authorities to observe the international conventions and the recommendations of both the United Nations and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees not to allow forced deportations of people to Iraq.

“Despite numerous demonstrations and activities, we have not been successful in getting into a dialogue with the Danish authorities,” the demonstration organisers said. “Nor have we been able to stop these forced deportations. Therefore we are appealing to the Iraqi authorities as the last resort.”

According to Asylret, when taking their decision the Iraqi authorities should:

* take the failed asylum-seekers’ families and children – many of whom were born and have grown up in Denmark – into account

* remember the plight of chronically and mentally ill and people who have suffered from a long stay in Danish asylum camps

* acknowledge that the failed asylum-seekers have lived in asylum centres in Denmark for many years – in a few instances for as long as 12 years – while their cases have been processed

* ensure that they do not contribute to Denmark’s breach of international conventions

“People should be made aware that Denmark is completely devoid of humanity at the moment in its attempts to forcibly deport families and children to Iraq,” Asylret said. “Despite the unstable situation in Iraq, the Danish authorities have decided to expel them although the Iraqi authorities do not have the necessary resources for guaranteeing the returned – often trauma-hit – refugees the necessary safety and treatment.”

According to a red Cross report, issued on the fifth anniversary of the outbreak of the Iraq war, one of the worst humanitarian situations in the world today is to be found in Iraq.

Millions of Iraqis do not have pure water supplies, good sanitation or medical help close at hand. Civilian Iraqis are still being attacked, human rights are being ignored and each Iraqi family has at least one person who has been wounded, killed, imprisoned and taken flight during the war.

“How can the Danish government and its xenophobic supporters in the Danish People’s Party send families, children and traumatised people back to so poor living conditions?” said Asylret. “They are being send back to country where human rights are not observed, where civilians are killed every day because the conditions in Iraq resemble civil war.”

Asylret’s campaign has caught the attention of Kurdistan’s largest daily newspaper, ‘Hawlati’, where the campaign was front-page news.

Despite the demonstration and great interest, the fate of the 300 or so failed Iraqi asylum-seekers remains unknown.