Chechenia refugees

A dozen refugees from war-torn the Chechen Republic staged a hunger strike in the Azeri capital Baku demanding that the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) upgrade their status on wednesday, AFP reported.  The UN High Commissioner on Refugees (UNHCR) Baku office has registered over 10,000 refugees from the Chechen Republic, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq and Pakistan. 8,500 of these asylum seekers are from Chechnia. (24-FEB-2005) 


 
Russian troops poured into breakaway the Chechen Republic in October 1999, more than five years ago, causing hundreds of thousands to flee for the second time in a decade. Those who came Aerbaijan have been largely disenfranchised by local authorities who agreed to cut support after being pressured by Azerbaijan´s former overlord the Russian Federation, which considers the mostly Muslim republic to have been a safe haven for rebels.

Strike for granting refugee status
The strike was organized to coincide with the anniversary of the deportation by Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin of the entire Chechen population to Central Asia in the closing days of World War II. “Very few people have been given the status of internationally recognized refugees,” said Ibragim Kaziyev who said he fled fighting between the Russian Federation and separatist rebels in the Chechen city Gudermes five years ago.
Kaziyev said the hunger strikers had repeatedly approached the UNHCR requesting that Chechens in Azerbaijan be given the status of internationally recognized refugees so that they could be entitled to more financial aid and possible asylum in a Western country. “But they told us that they don´t have enough money in their budget to do so,” Kaziyev said.

Azerbaijan: Most foreign refugees are Chechens
The UN High Commissioner on Refugees (UNHCR) Baku office has registered some 8,500 Chechens and some 1,500 Afghanis.  
The most needy refugees receive $80-100 in financial assistance per month, the spokesman for the UNHCR office said.
He said the registered refugees are interviewed to determine whether they will go back to their home countries, stay in Azerbaijan or go to a third country.
In 2003, foreign refugee children were granted permission to study in Azerbaijan´s general education schools. Their number is currently 700, as compared to 400 last year. Few years before, Helinki Citizens Assembly Azerbaijan National Commitee started a kindergarden for Chechen children in Baku.  On the other side, the Russian Federation, where has protracted conflict with Chechens, frequently accuses Azerbaijan in fostering Chehcen fighters and hosting Chechen refugees. 

Some part s of the article are from AFP