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BELGIUM EXPELS KHACHUKAEV WHILE FRANCE EXPELS A CHECHEN MOTHER AND HER TWO CHILDREN. IS THERE NO LIMIT TO EUROPE'S SHAMEFUL BEHAVIOUR? Brussels, 13 October 2003. A Chechen mother and her two children, aged 6 and 7, were expelled to Moscow on 12 October after arriving at Roissy Airport ten days earlier. According to Libération, the woman, whose husband was kidnapped by masked men, decided to flee from Grozny after receiving threats when she went in search of her husband. The French authorities "believe her asylum claim to be unfounded" because she "was not able to identify the men who had seized her husband" (sic). In Brussels the Belgian authorities rejected the application for asylum presented by Mr Said-Magomed Khachukaev, the assistant editor of The Chechen Times, and expelled him on 13 October to Germany or, according to some sources, to Moscow. Question from Olivier Dupuis, Member of the European Parliament, Radical, to the Council: "Is the Council aware of the expulsions of Chechen citizens, in particular of Mr Khachukaev and of the mother and two children mentioned by Libération? Does the Council have any idea - even a vague idea - of the risks faced by Chechens expelled to Russia? Does the Council plan to adopt a common position to ensure that the member states pledge not to continue with the expulsion of Chechen refugees until the Russian authorities guarantee respect of the fundamental rights in Chechnya? Moreover, what initiatives does the Council intend to take to provide itself with the necessary means for the collection of 'detailed information on the subject of the kidnapping of civilians' (see the Council's reply to question E-0748/03)? Does the Council not agree that the embassies of the 15 member countries and the 10 candidate countries, the Delegation of the Commission in Moscow and organisations such as Amnesty International, Memorial, Human Rights Watch, and Médecins du Monde, could provide it with exhaustive information on the kidnapping of civilians and, more generally, on the extremely serious violations of human rights perpetrated in Chechnya?" You can support the Chechen Minister of Foreign Affairs Peace Plan for the establishment of an interim United Nations administration in Chechnya by signing the appeal on the TRP site: www.radicalparty.org Olivier Dupuis Member of the European Parliament tel. +32 2 284 7198 |