TURKEY SAYS NOTHING ABOUT ARMENIAN EMIGRANTS
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| 12:59:13 | 12-10-2005 | Social |
According to the data of the Turkish Foreign Ministry, every year
about 300-350 thousand people leave Azerbaijan and Georgia for
Turkey. There have been 6 352 illegal emigrants from Azerbaijan and
8 113 from Georgia to Turkey in 1995-2002.
The information is taken from the book titled “Anti-Traffic Region
Program: Northern Caucasus: Turkey”. Co-author of the book president
of the NGO “Hope and Aid” Nora Mnatsakanyan mentions that the Turkish
authorities do not give information about Armenian emigrants.
According to Mnatsakanyan, the program has been realized with the
help of the Soros Fund, according to which the corresponding NGOs
of the three South Caucasian countries realized investigations in
the Turkish cities Istanbul, Ankara and Trapizon to find out data
about illegal emigrants and supposed victims of trafficking from RA,
Azerbaijan and Georgia to Turkey.
Nevertheless, the Azeri NGOs were not financed, and the program was
realized by the Armenian and Georgian NGOs only.
The representatives of the Armenian side spared no effort to gain
information about Armenians. All the corresponding Turkish structures
claimed that they have absolutely no information about the Armenians.
Nevertheless, the organizers of the program had secret conversations
with some people and formed an overall impression about the situation
in Turkey.
As a result of the program the above mentioned book was created where
certain offers have been made, particularly – to establish links
between the police and the pass control offices, to put up notice
boards in the borders and to organize meetings for the workers of the
pass control offices in order to exchange experience and information.
By the way, the offers have been made especially for the Sarpi pass
control point on the border of Georgia and Turkey as that is the main
point where the residents of our region cross the border.