OSLO, Sept 23 (Hina) - Norwegian police and foreigners' issues bureau are trying to stop the wave of people from Croatia seeking asylum in Norway. The reason for the wave of "refugees", mostly coming from eastern Slavonia, are rumours
to the effect that it is easy to get a residents permit in Norway, with the government guaranteeing a job and accommodation. Besides, the bus fare to Oslo costs only 1,500 kuna. Every fourth asylum seeker in Norway has Croatian citizenship. The number of people with Croatian citizenship who have sought asylum in Norway this year has risen to 703. According to a recent report by the country's crime police, more than 400 are feared to have arrived in September alone. In 1997, 55 refugees from Croatia arrived in Norway. The next year the number rose to 2,455, in 1999 it was 60, and in 2000 16. In this year's first three months 17 asylum seekers arrived in Norway, with the number rocketing in the past
OSLO, Sept 23 (Hina) - Norwegian police and foreigners' issues
bureau are trying to stop the wave of people from Croatia seeking
asylum in Norway.
The reason for the wave of "refugees", mostly coming from eastern
Slavonia, are rumours to the effect that it is easy to get a
residents permit in Norway, with the government guaranteeing a job
and accommodation. Besides, the bus fare to Oslo costs only 1,500
kuna.
Every fourth asylum seeker in Norway has Croatian citizenship. The
number of people with Croatian citizenship who have sought asylum
in Norway this year has risen to 703. According to a recent report by
the country's crime police, more than 400 are feared to have arrived
in September alone.
In 1997, 55 refugees from Croatia arrived in Norway. The next year
the number rose to 2,455, in 1999 it was 60, and in 2000 16. In this
year's first three months 17 asylum seekers arrived in Norway, with
the number rocketing in the past several weeks.
Most of the newcomers are coming from border areas with Yugoslavia,
such as the towns of Vukovar and Osijek which were directly affected
by the war.
The reasons the asylum seekers cite for being granted asylum are
poverty, high rate of unemployment, persecution because of their
nationality, and the danger of live mines.
Norwegian police has initiated a project entitled simply
"Croatia", with the main goal being to capture the organisers of
transfers into Norway.
"Most are arriving by bus from Croatia via Goeteborg. We still have
not established how many persons had sought asylum in Norway
before, but we are working on this and at their arrival, we are
taking their fingerprints as a routine procedure," crime police
commissioner Bjoern Solheim said.
Director of the bureau for foreigners' issues, Trygve G. Nordby,
said the bureau intends to, in cooperation with the Norwegian
foreign affairs ministry, issue information in Croatian media
about what are the possibilities of seeking asylum in Norway.
"We cannot prevent these people to travel to Norway and seek asylum,
but before they decide to do so, they should at least be informed
about what they can hope for. Many fall into even worse material
problems after they sell off their property so they can survive upon
arriving into Norway. They then are surprised by a swift and
negative reply to their asylum application," Nordby said.
(hina) lml