Norway to deport over 400 refugees back to Ethiopia

Mar 15, 2012

Starting from March 15, the Norwegian government is to send back over 400 Ethiopian refugees living in the country without legal documents or resident permit.

 

On January 26, Torgeir Larsen, State Secretary with Norwegian  government and Ambassador Berhane Gebrekristos, State Minister of  Foreign Affairs signed a Memorandum of Understanding between the two  countries here in Addis Ababa . The MoU envisages that the agreement  would enable Ethiopian citizens in Norway to return to Ethiopia in a  secure and dignified manner.
According to the MoU, the agreement opens the door for Ethiopian citizens to obtain support for a voluntary return.
“Ethiopian citizens have for many years been a large group of asylum seekers in  Norway, and we are very pleased that we have entered into an agreement  that will promote their return to Ethiopia,” said State Secretary Paul  K. Lønseth of the Justice and Emergency Services.

The agreement  stipulates that Ethiopian citizens who choose to return voluntarily are  entitled to receive a lump sum upon arrival at their country and offered support to reintegrate that paves the way for a new start in Ethiopia.  For Ethiopians who do not want to go voluntarily the agreement reserves  for the government of Norway the option of enforced  return.
“It’s true, Norway is sending back Ethiopians who have no legal paper  (resident permission) to stay,” Getachew Alemayehu, an Ethiopian refugee who received resident permit to live in Norway told The Reporter late  this week via email. He added, “There is also financial benefit for  those who are returning home voluntarily, and if not they will be  deported forcibly by withholding the benefit package at the same time.”
According to Getachew, up to 2009, Norway used to give work permit to all asylum  seekers. But it had to abandon this policy because of the increasing  number of immigrants forcing people to stay in camps without work. Some  people went back to their countries, as a matter of fact.
The financial benefits for those who are returning home voluntarily include  about 45,000 birr when they arrive in Addis Ababa, he stated. And they  will be given an additional 90,000 birr to start business, to pursue  their education or use it for whatever purpose they have in mind.  Totally, about 130,000 birr will be given to those who sign the  agreement to return home voluntary up to March 15, 2012.
Norway  will deport asylum seekers who do not comply and have had their asylum  cases rejected. Some people have already signed while others refused,  Getachew said.
Political predicament
Some human rights activist organizations and media commentators are arguing  that the deportation is going to have a political consequence as it  covers political refugees as well.
Ann-Magrit Austenå,  Secretary-General of the Norwegian Organizations for Asylum Seekers  (NOAS), said in a statement posted on the organization’s website that  many of the refugees who are about to be sent home are political  refugees and that  this will have consequences for some of them.
However, Ambassador Dina Mufti, spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told The Reporter that the Ethiopian asylum seekers are not political  refugees but rather economic refugees, adding that in order to overcome  their plight a financial benefit package is ready to be offered through  which they can support themselves after arriving back in Ethiopia.
“There would be no pressure from the Ethiopian government. Ethiopia has a law  that protects the right of an individual, either to travel and reside  abroad or return back to his/her homeland,” Dina told The Reporter.
Their return depends on their willingness, he added. If they are not willing, the Norwegian government might use force to deport them. “As Norway is a sovereign country, the Ethiopian government cannot argue against forced return,”  Dina said.
EthiopianReporter

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