Progress made on return of Kurdish refugees in Iraq

As a result of talks between senior US, Turkish, Iraqi and UN officials in the Turkish capital, Ankara, Turkish Kurds living in northern Iraq could soon be moving back to the homes they fled almost 10 years ago "The meeting went well and was a step forward in bringing refugees closer to home. There was some good progress made," Metin Corabatir, the spokesman of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Turkey, told IRIN in Ankara on Wednesday. "UNHCR aims to have a small number of refugees returning as soon as possible," he said, adding that a larger-scale return was unlikely before the spring of 2004. The talks were between the visiting US Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees and Migration Arthur Dewey, senior Turkish and Iraqi officials and UNHCR representatives. There are some 12,000 Turkish Kurds living in northern Iraq today, most of them in the Mahmur camp in the southeast of the northern governorate of Arbil, home to some 9,000 refugees, with the others living in cities. The Kurds fled their homes in southeastern Turkey in the early 1990s following conflicts between the Turkish army and Kurdish rebels in which thousands were killed. The refugees first settled in Atrush, where two camps were established in the southwest of Dahuk in northern Iraq until they were moved to the Mahmur camp in 1998 by the government of Saddam Hussein. The high-level mission from the US arrived on Monday and left Ankara on Wednesday. During their stay in Turkey they met Turkish foreign ministry officials and UNHCR staff in Ankara, as well as Turkish officials in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir. "UNHCR is grateful to the government of Turkey for its cooperation on the matter," Corabatir said, adding that the refugee agency had sought clarification from the authorities of the conditions for voluntary return so that it could better undertake confidence-building measures and information campaigns within the Turkish Kurd community. "There are international standards for any repatriation, and it must be voluntary and must take place in conditions of safety and dignity. The parties to today's meeting agreed to cooperate for this common objective of helping refugees who might be willing to return to their homes," he said. While living in camps in northern Iraq, the Kurds were assisted by UNHCR. "UNHCR's monitoring capacity at the camp has been limited following the down-scaling of staff after the 19 August bombing on the UN in Baghdad," Corabatir said. However, local staff are continuing to visit the camp to offer assistance. The Turkish Kurds are the third-largest refugee community in Iraq. The largest community is the Palestinian, followed by the Iranians. The refugee agency said the talks heralded a good foundation for repatriation of the refugees. "All parties involved in the talks will continue to work closely in order to make sure there is a safe return of refugees," Corabatir stated.