92003E0365

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0365/03

by Olivier Dupuis (NI) to the Council

(6 February 2003)

Subject: Risk of expulsion of Mr Aldamov and situation of Chechen leaders

On 18 January 2003 Mr Lom-Ali Aldamov, Minister of Trade from 1997 to 1999 in President Maskhadov's Chechen Government, a refugee in Georgia, submitted an application for asylum in France. The application was rejected by the Ministry of the Interior on the grounds that Mr Aldamov had not provided formal evidence of his identity. On 25 January the French authorities sought to put Mr Aldamov on a plane to Georgia, but he refused to board the aircraft. Five testimonies from journalists, heads of associations, relatives and the French Foreign Ministry certify that Mr Aldamov is in fact Mr Aldamov. Furthermore, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees has stated once again that Chechens are not safe in Georgia. Pending consideration on 5 February 2003 of the decision on the validity of the rejection of his application for asylum, the Ministry of the Interior has asked the Bobigny court to keep the former minister in the waiting area at Roissy airport.

Is the Council aware of Mr Aldamov's situation and the fact that he risks being expelled from EU territory? Given the increasing number of obstacles to freedom of movement and residence within the EU faced by Chechen personalities including, in addition to Mr Aldamov, Mr Zakhaiev, Minister of Culture, threatened with extradition in the UK, Mr Akhmadov, Foreign Minister, who is unable to leave the United States without a passport, Mr Khanbiev, Minister of Health, whose Schengen visa is no longer being renewed, and Mrs Dudaeva, widow of President Dudaev, whose passport has not been renewed does the Council not consider that it should, as a matter of the utmost urgency, draw up a white list of Chechen personalities, pursuant to Article 14(3) of the Treaty, on the basis of which the Union, as such, could grant visas, residence permits and other documents which would enable these Chechen leaders to pursue their activities under the best possible conditions with the aim of seeking a political solution to the tragic events afflicting their country?

Reply

(22 July 2003)

The examination of individual applications for asylum is the responsibility of the Member States.

As regards the granting of entry visas, Article 5 of the 1990 Schengen Convention provides that Member States may grant entry to aliens applying for visas, provided they are not, inter alia, considered to be a threat to public policy, national security or international relations.