June 23, 2000
UNHCR ABANDONS ETHIOPIAN REFUGEES IN THE SUDAN
The recent visit of Comissioner Sadaka Ogata has further aggravated the plight of Ethiopian refugees in the Sudan. The refugees, who had been facing the threat of forced repatriation, are shocked to learn that the UNHCR commissioner herself has declared that "they can return to Ethiopia safely". If she has really said this, it is then yet another confirmation of the UNHCR's rejection of its own principles and its propensity (as exhibited by the local UNHCR officials) to play politics with the lives of the refugees.
The Sudanese government has in the past proven its readiness to engage in deportation and forced repatriation. Among those refugees who were handed over to Ethiopia by the Sudan and who have disappeared we can cite Azanaw Demile (1991). Presently, the Sudanese government is trying to improve its relations with the EPRDF and the return of the refugees, demanded by the EPRDF, is a measure it is rushing to take. The EPRDF, on its part, has reportedly told Sudanese exiles to leave Ethiopia. The victims are mainly going to be the Ethiopian refugees.
SOCEPP once again calls on Commissioner Sadaka Ogata not to tread along the path compromised by the Sudan based UNHCR officials and not to endanger the Ethiopian refugees who would surely face grave threats to their lives if they were to return to Ethiopia. The claim that political refugees can safely return to Ethiopia has no factual basis whatsoever. SOCEPP calls on all Ethiopians to write protest letters to the UNHCR commissioner and to the Sudanese government who are reportedly colliding against the safety of the Ethiopian refugees.
SOCEPP
