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2004-07-13 14:53 Estonia denies Chechen children visas TALLIN, July 13 (RIA Novosti's Nikolai Adashkevich) - Estonia has refused to issue visas to eight Chechen school children who were going to study English at an international language camp in Estonia as part of the Bridges for Education program. Postimees, a newspaper, reported Tuesday that the Chechens should have arrived at the Turicalu camp near Tallin in the beginning of July. The Estonian embassy in Moscow said several times that the visas were ready and then said that they refused to issue the visas. The Estonian Foreign Ministry press service did not comment on the decision and said, "the refusal to issue a visa is based on Estonia's law on foreigners." Chechen school children have already attended similar camps in Romania, Poland and Hungary without any problems. Currently a group of Chechen children are studying at the BFE camp in Belarus. Bridges for Education language camps have been operating since 1994 and have trained 10,000 school children from 35 European countries. George Soros, Unesco, and the education ministries of some European countries fund the project. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Jul 13 2004 11:49AM Chechen children denied Estonian visas TALLINN. July 13 (Interfax) - Estonia has refused to issue entry visas to eight Chechen children planning to attend English language courses at a summer camp funded by U.S. billionaire and philanthropist George Soros. The children were due to arrive at the camp, set up as part of the international Bridges for Education (BFE) program, in early July, but the visa department of the Estonian Embassy in Moscow refused to issue them visas, Estonia's Postimees newspaper said on Tuesday. "It may be a matter of incompetence or foolishness. However, the embassy's visa department contacted the director of the Estonian camp to tell him that the [visa denial] is a political decision made outside the department, and it is final," BFE head Beth Ciesielski told the newspaper. She expressed surprise that the children were being used for political purposes. "They are not threatening anyone," she said. Estonian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ehtel Halliste said "the visas were denied in compliance with Estonia's law on foreigners, which regulates visa issues." This opinion was echoed in a letter to the camp's administration sent by Lauri Bambus, the director of the Schengen bureau of the Estonian Foreign Ministry's consulate department. "The refusal was not a political decision," he said. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Estonia FM to explain denial of visas to Chechen schoolchildren 13.07.2004, 20.4 TALLINN, July 13 (Itar-Tass) - Estonian Foreign Minister Kristina Ojuland will have to give explanations to Estonian parliament about the refusal to issue entrance visas to a group of Chechen schoolchildren. Parliament prepares an interpellation to the minister about the reason why the schoolchildren who intended to study English in a summer camp near Tallinn were denied the entry of Estonia, deputy Andres Herkel told Tass. "This is an absolutely deplorable occurrence, Education is the area of cooperation that should not be affected by any political consideration", he said. Language studies camps of the Bridges for Education project have been operated since 1994. Ten thousand schoolchildren from 35 European countries studied there. Georgia, Armenia, Mongolia and Kazakhstan were the recent additions to those countries. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 2004-07-14 00:33 ESTONIA BARRED TO CHECHEN KIDS. MOSCOW REGRETS MOSCOW, July 14 (RIA Novosti) - Estonia has refused entry visas to a group of Chechen schoolchildren. Russia regrets the incident. "Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has certainly paid attention to the situation. We regret the children cannot use opportunities to come on an educational program abroad," the ministerial press and information department says on the official Foreign Ministry web site. "Present-day European practice of educational cooperation envisages everything done to facilitate personal contacts. "As Estonia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Estonian Embassy to Russia have explained, the visas were refused as submitted papers failed to comply with the Estonian visa issuance standards," says the statement. The eight Chechen children intended to study English in an Estonian- based international youth camp on program Bridges for Education. The Turisalu camp near Tallinn, Estonian capital, expected the group early this month. Ambassadorial officers told the young applicants several times that their visas were not ready yet before a flat refusal came.