ZAGREB, Sept 8 (Hina) - The British authorities could in the next two weeks introduce visa requirements for all Croatian citizens in order to protect the country from an increased number of Croatian Serbs and Gypsies who arrived in
Great Britain in the last several months seeking political asylum, the spokesman for the Croatian Foreign Ministry, Zeljko Trkanjec, said on Wednesday.
ZAGREB, Sept 8 (Hina) - The British authorities could in the next
two weeks introduce visa requirements for all Croatian citizens in
order to protect the country from an increased number of Croatian
Serbs and Gypsies who arrived in Great Britain in the last several
months seeking political asylum, the spokesman for the Croatian
Foreign Ministry, Zeljko Trkanjec, said on Wednesday. #L#
In spring 1999, the first groups of people seeking asylum set out
from Zagreb to Great Britain aboard Croatia Airlines and British
Airways flights.
Following speedy agreement between Zagreb and London on
introducing the British immigration control already at Zagreb
airport, where all passengers travelling to Great Britain had to
state whether they intended to seek asylum and sign their
statement, the problem was temporarily solved, however, another
route, the one via Budapest, was discovered in July. In the same
month, 210 people arrived in London with the Hungarian airline
company "Malev" and another 363 arrived in August.
Since the British authorities are not willing to grant political
asylum to Croatian citizens as they believe it is the poor economic
situation that forces them to emigrate, the British government is
under pressure to find a solution quickly.
Along with Serbs and Gypsies, a large number of Czech Gypsies and
Yugoslav citizens seeking asylum have been arriving in Great
Britain over the past several months. In July, a total of 6,600
persons sought asylum in Great Britain, which caused much publicity
and increased pressure on the government led by Tony Blair.
In that sense, the major problem for Great Britain is now Croatia
and the Czech Republic, Trkanjec said.
He recalled that Norway, which had previously introduced visa
requirements because of Croatian Serb asylum seekers, on September
2 announced that within two weeks it would deport to Croatia the
first group of 80 Serbs, who will be sent back most probably on a
charter flight. Norway believes the group of people in question are
economic and not political immigrants. The Serbs have announced
that they could appeal with the European Court for Human Rights in
Strasbourg.
The first group of asylum seekers (about 1,000) set out for Norway
following the reintegration of the Croatian Danube River region in
April and May 1998. Of the 1,583 of them, Oslo has so far approved
only one request for asylum and 486 limited residence visas for
humanitarian reasons.
Trkanjec said that in a group of 170 persons, who sought asylum in
Denmark, no one was granted asylum.
It could not be confirmed that the wave of asylum seekers is
directed by an organisation. It is therefore assumed that the wave
was triggered off by "verbal reports" about the "comfortable"
accommodation of asylum seekers in apartments in Great Britain,
unlike in the case of Norway, where asylum seekers are accommodated
in camps, and are granted less financial help and limited freedom of
movement.
(hina) rml