THE STATE CAN ONLY GRANT A STATUS
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[07:58 pm] 30 October, 2006
Head of the Migration department of the Ministry of regional governing
Gagik Eganyan gets 4-5 applications a day from the Armenians of
Iraq. Today during the seminar titled "Dual citizenship and migration
issues under the light of integration processes" Gagik Eganyan
mentioned that about 600 Armenians have been granted temporary status;
390 of them are from Lebanon. "The citizens of the countries at war
choose Armenia as a safe country. But what is important is that 20
of the citizens of Lebanon are Arabs who could have found refuge in
other countries", Gagik Eganyan said.
The Migration department does not have data about those who go back,
as "there is no request to inform us when they leave. But some of
them do leave, and it’s natural".
According to Gagik Eganyan, Armenians living in foreign countries
must have ground for living in our country when they come back. Since
2002 Armenia grants those who migrate to Armenia status of temporary
protection. What is interesting is that the only thing the state
does is granting status: no help is offered when it comes to housing
or transport.
Asked the question what we will do if Russia follows the same policy
towards Armenians as it does towards Georgians, Gagik Eganyan answered,
"In that case not only the state, but also the Diaspora will support
us".