Iraqi diplomats seek asylum in Australia
Three Iraqi diplomats and their families are seeking asylum in Australia after their government ordered them back to their embattled country, the government said today.
The three lost their diplomatic accreditation when Iraq closed its military attaché office at the Iraqi Embassy in Australia’s capital, Canberra, on December 15, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said in a statement.
“We understand that these officials and their dependants have applied through normal channels for visas to remain in Australia,” the statement said.
The three are former chief defence attaché Brig Gen Sabah Al-Kareen Zebon Fureje and his staffers Kamal Askander and Ala’ Al-Amiri, The Australian national newspaper reported.
The foreign affairs department, known as DFAT, declined to confirm their names, citing privacy laws.
“Their applications will be processed by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship on their individual merits and in accordance with Australian law,” it added. DFAT can consider rare applications for political asylum.
The Immigration Department declined to comment, citing privacy laws.
Askander, a former air force pilot, fears the safety of his family could be at risk if they return to Baghdad because of his role in the new Iraqi administration.
Government employees are frequently targeted by insurgents in Iraq.
“As such a senior member of the Iraqi regime, although no longer in such a role, there is some likelihood that he will be targeted for some sort of retribution,” said Gary Humphries, an Australian senator who has been helping the family.
He said they face an additional risk because they are Christians.
The Canberra-based senator said he did not know the basis of the other two Iraqi officials’ claims, although he assumed they could also harbour similar fears.
The asylum claims are a potential political test for Prime Minister John Howard who maintains that democracy can survive in Iraq despite the current violence.
Humphries said foreign policy should be disregarded in assessing their claims.
“The Askander family deserve to have their claim for protection considered on its merits, not on the basis of what implications it might have for Australian foreign policy,” he added.
Almost all Iraqi asylum claims were accepted by Australia when former dictator Saddam Hussein was in power.
The Iraq embassy refused to make any official comment.
But an embassy official said military attaches were being closed at Iraqi embassies around the world “because of Defence Department financial concerns.”
The embassy was closed in 2003 when the former ambassador was expelled on the eve of Australia sending 2,000 troops to support the U.S. and British militaries in the Iraq invasion. The embassy reopened in 2004.
DFAT places Iraq in its most dangerous category of travel destinations and advises Australians not to travel there.
Australia granted Chinese diplomat Chen Yonglin asylum in June 2005, a month after he abandoned his Sydney post despite protests from Beijing that he did not face persecution.
