Chechen asylum bid causes controversy

With Russian forces intensifying military operations in the breakaway republic of Chechyna following last month's dramatic hostage taking at a Moscow theatre, an increasing number of Chechens are now seeking asylum in Kazakhstan. According to the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in the commercial capital Almaty, there are over 12,000 Chechen refugees already in Kazakhstan. The government says there are many more, including rebel soldiers. On 4 November vice-interior minister Ivan Otto made public his intention to limit the number of Chechen refugees arriving in Kazakhstan. As the Russian offensive in Chechnya intensified, 300 Chechen families wrote an open letter, appearing in the press, asking Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbeyev to grant them asylum. "The latest events in Moscow, when terrorists captured hostages, have resulted in innocent deaths and the disappearance of whole families, as well as persecutions, unlawful arrests and ethnic pogroms throughout Russia. Neither in Moscow nor in the other regions of Russia do Chechens feel safe to go out," the letter read. The vast Central Asian country has proven a sanctuary for Chechens in the past. When Stalin deported Chechens en masse during World War Two, claiming they were Nazi collaborators, it was to Kazakhstan that they were relocated. The second wave of Chechen migration to Kazakhstan began when troops entered Chechnya in 1994 to prevent Grozny from seceding from the Russian Federation. In the chaos that ensued, tens of thousands of civilians were killed and over 500,000 people displaced in the ongoing conflict. Many of those refugees made their way to Kazakhstan to seek out friends and relatives. Now Astana has made it clear that a new influx would not be welcome. According to Kazkh officials, large-scale migration from Chechnya raises important security concerns for Astana. "We check the Chechens and all others arriving at Kazakhstan for their connections with terrorist organisations or criminal groups. However, it is extremely difficult to prove anything," the head of Migration and Demography Agency of Kazakhstan, Altynshash Zhaganova, told IRIN. Chairman of the Association of Chechen and Ingush Peoples, Ahmed Muradov told IRIN from his Almaty office that the government was prevaricating because Chechen refugees already in the country were an embarrasment. "There is no law to allow Chechens to stay in Kazakhstan for any length of time legally. A new influx would highlight this issue," Muradov said. Given the uncertainty around their status, most Chechen refugees cannot obtain employment or enroll their children in schools. Many Chechens say they have suffered from arbitary arrest and police brutality because they have no official status. Head of UNHCR's liason office in Almaty, Yusaku Hanyu, told IRIN that he had not seen the letter from Chechens requesting asylum and had not received any official approach regarding the possible influx of Chechen refugees. "If we are asked by the government to assist with an influx and we have the resources to do so then we will," he said. Aside from security concerns, president Nazarbayev stated that Kazakhstan did not have the resources to provide housing, jobs and health care for thousands of new arrivals. "It [taking in thousands more Chechens] is not possible. We cannot afford this, we will simply have a budget deficiency," he told the national assembly. But equally important is Astana's unwillingness to acknowledge Chechens as legitimate refugees. "The UN categorises refugees as those who are expelled from their country," Nazarbeyev said. In short, the President's message was clear, Astana's attitude to Chechens remains unchanged - as temporary visitors from a neighbouring Russian republic such immigrants could not be classified as refugees. This policy stems from the government's desire to stay on friendly terms with Moscow, observers say. Emphasising this point, interior ministry migration officials explained on national television last week that Chechens could not be considered refugees as Chechnya was part of Russia. The Chechens were Russian citizens, who were neither oppressed nor expelled from the country, they explained. Nonetheless, the letter, according to Kazakh analysts, has put Astana in a tough position. On one hand, Kazakhstan must be seen to observe human rights, while on the other it wants to maintain national security and not offend Moscow. In January 1999 Kazakhstan signed the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, meaning it has accepted universal legal norms for refugee status determination. Nobody knows where the thousands of Chechen refugees will go if the Kazakh authorities strengthen borders security and continue to limit the number of refugees seeking asylum. Many face a harsh winter in miserable refugee camps along Chechnya's borders - innocent victims of the new Russian offensive.