Wednesday, August 08, 2007
British govt to review case of Iraqi interpreters
Humanitarian
(BBC) - The government says it will review the cases of Iraqi interpreters who have been told any claim for asylum in the UK will not be given special treatment. The 91 interpreters say they are in fear for their lives, because they are seen as traitors by local militias. The Home Office insists they will have to apply for asylum in the normal way - registering when they arrive in the UK.
Defence Secretary Des Browne told the BBC that the government took its "duty of care very seriously". He said about 20,000 Iraqis had helped British forces since 2003. No 10 said the issue would be kept under review, but previous decisions were unlikely to be overturned. Requests for help from serving or ex-employees were based on their "individual merits", the Ministry of Defence said.
Mr Browne said: "The challenge that we face here is quite complex. "People who do interpreting work believe themselves to be particularly [more] vulnerable than other people do. "That's why the prime minister has made it clear that we will review how best to [carry out] our duty of care to these people. "That's in hand, I have a responsibility on that, as does the foreign secretary and we will report to ministers in the autumn."
Mr Browne also said the government would "move at the appropriate pace" to get its policy right in relation to duty of care "to all of those whom we have a responsibility to". He said: "We will do what we can in the meantime, as we continue to do, to keep those people who we think are under immediate threat safe."
Defence Secretary Des Browne told the BBC that the government took its "duty of care very seriously". He said about 20,000 Iraqis had helped British forces since 2003. No 10 said the issue would be kept under review, but previous decisions were unlikely to be overturned. Requests for help from serving or ex-employees were based on their "individual merits", the Ministry of Defence said.
Mr Browne said: "The challenge that we face here is quite complex. "People who do interpreting work believe themselves to be particularly [more] vulnerable than other people do. "That's why the prime minister has made it clear that we will review how best to [carry out] our duty of care to these people. "That's in hand, I have a responsibility on that, as does the foreign secretary and we will report to ministers in the autumn."
Mr Browne also said the government would "move at the appropriate pace" to get its policy right in relation to duty of care "to all of those whom we have a responsibility to". He said: "We will do what we can in the meantime, as we continue to do, to keep those people who we think are under immediate threat safe."
Loay Al-Taher worked for the British Army in Basra for three years. He is now in Syria after fleeing Iraq in March this year when he feared being targeted by militia groups. He told the BBC: "I put my whole life in danger. I didn't imagine it was going to be like this. "I didn't imagine the British government is going to abandon me like this." Mr Al-Taher also said he was turned away from the British embassy in Damascus when he went to ask for asylum in the UK.
BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner says interpreters are marked men who "face a horrific death". He said the interpreters face two levels of danger: that experienced while on patrol, and the consequences of being seen as collaborators. "Anybody associated with the coalition, government ministries, and so on, they're all seen as traitors by the militias. "Not just by al-Qaeda in the Sunni areas, but by the Shia militias in the south."
BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner says interpreters are marked men who "face a horrific death". He said the interpreters face two levels of danger: that experienced while on patrol, and the consequences of being seen as collaborators. "Anybody associated with the coalition, government ministries, and so on, they're all seen as traitors by the militias. "Not just by al-Qaeda in the Sunni areas, but by the Shia militias in the south."
Labels: asylum, Basra, British army, British government, Defense Secretary Des Browne, Home Office, Iraqi interpreters, militias
