21.11.2002 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

Increasing number of Chechen refugees seeking asylum in Kazakhstan following Moscow hostage crisis ("Kazakhstan: Chechen asylum bid causes controversy") [#9641],  [ID 12031]

"With Russian forces intensifying military operations in the breakaway republic of Chechyna following last month's dramatic hostage taking at a Moscow theatre, an increasing number of Chechens are now seeking asylum in Kazakhstan.

According to the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in the commercial capital Almaty, there are over 12,000 Chechen refugees already in Kazakhstan. The government says there are many more, including rebel soldiers.
[...]
Now Astana has made it clear that a new influx would not be welcome. According to Kazkh officials, large-scale migration from Chechnya raises important security concerns for Astana. "We check the Chechens and all others arriving at Kazakhstan for their connections with terrorist organisations or criminal groups. However, it is extremely difficult to prove anything," the head of Migration and Demography Agency of Kazakhstan, Altynshash Zhaganova, told IRIN.

Chairman of the Association of Chechen and Ingush Peoples, Ahmed Muradov told IRIN from his Almaty office that the government was prevaricating because Chechen refugees already in the country were an embarrasment. "There is no law to allow Chechens to stay in Kazakhstan for any length of time legally. A new influx would highlight this issue," Muradov said.

Given the uncertainty around their status, most Chechen refugees cannot obtain employment or enroll their children in schools. Many Chechens say they have suffered from arbitary arrest and police brutality because they have no official status."

Document(s): Open document

15.11.2002 - Source: BBC News

Chechen refugees appealed to Kazakhstan for asylum ("Chechens plead for Kazakh asylum") [ID 12032]

"Three hundred Chechen refugee families in Ingushetia have appealed to Kazakhstan for asylum. [...] In the letter, the families asked for temporary asylum until the war in Chechnya was over.

A spokesman for the Kazakh leader, however, said no such request had been officially received by the presidential administration. [...] It [the letter] describes Kazakhstan as a second motherland.

Many thousands of Chechens were dumped there under Stalin in the 1940s.

Around 30,000 Chechens are said to be living in Kazakhstan today, scattered throughout the country. [...] The vast former Soviet state has a visa-free regime for CIS citizens, which means Chechens are not officially recognised as refugees.

But, says the UN refugee agency, they are treated as de facto refugees - allowed into the country, registered there and not sent back against their will.

The head of the Chechen diaspora says it is hard to tell whether more have arrived in recent weeks. There is constant toing and froing between Chechnya and Kazakhstan"

Document(s): Chechens plead for Kazakh asylum

29.08.2002 - Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

Status of Chechen refugees unresolved ("Kazachstan: Chechen refugees want their status resolved") [ID 12033]

"According to the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), there are over 12,000 Chechen refugees in Kazakhstan. The government says there are many more, including rebel soldiers. [...] Many of those refugees made their way to Kazakhstan to seek out friends and relatives. The vast Central Asian country has proven a sanctuary for Chechens in the past. When Stalin deported Chechens en masse during World War Two, claiming they were Nazi collaborators, it was to Kazakhstan that they were relocated.

Thousands of Chechens currently live in Kazakhstan, many under very harsh conditions, living on handouts like Aniese. Lack of employment opportunities and an absence of appropriate accommodation seriously undermine the well being of these proud people. Their plight has not been helped by the government's reluctance to recognise them as genuine refugees.

The Kazakh government wants to remain on good terms with Russia, and invokes the Minsk Convention stipulating a visa-free regime in former Soviet states. In short a convenient way of ignoring a refugee problem. Instead they are granted a 45-day permit, that has to be continually renewed. This means that Chechens are not entitled to seek asylum in Kazakhstan, effectively denying them access to jobs, education and health care. [...] Powerless and stateless, many Chechens have now turned to organisations like Vainakh for support. Originally a cultural organisation, most of its time is now spent representing the growing number of Chechen refugees in the commercial capital. Ahmet Muradov, one of Vainakh's programme officers and a refugee himself, told IRIN politics was getting in the way of refugee assistance. "My house is ruined in Grozny, there's nothing there for me. All we want is to be recognised under international law as refugees.""

Document(s): Kazachstan: Chechen refugees want their status resolved