Support network for Afghan refugees

On Monday the 31th of July The support network for Afghan refugees will arrange a demonstration and a support concert.

Afghanistan is not safe, stop the deportations!
For a humane refugee politics!

The demonstration will start from the place outside the cathetral of Oslo at 17:00, and will end with a suppport concert at Eidsvoll plass, outside the parliament building (Stortinget).

Appellants:
Liv Gulbrandsen (The support network for Afghan refugees)
Zahir Athari (Spokesperson for the Afghans)
Kirsti Bergstø (Sosialistisk ungdom(Socialistic Youth))
Margreth Olin (Filmmaker)

Artists:
Big Bang / MadCon / Kohinoor / Jester / TonnaBrix / Optik / Jay L Kay

The concert starts at 18:00 at parliament building. Bring friends and family! Print posters and spread the word!

On Friday the 15th of July, the Support network for Afghan refugees arranged a street theatre in Oslo. Bjarne Håkon Hanssen was invited to participate in the quis “Would you like to be deported?”. After consulting with his good friend Erna, he answered correctly in the last round, where the question was “Is it safe in Kabul?”. Hanssen won a one-way ticket to aestival and safe surroundings in Kabul, Afghanistan, and got “escorted” away by security guards

Here you can watch a video of the theatre!

The support network is planning an artistic happening in the near future. Tomorrow at 17:00 there will be a meeting at the office at Osterhausgate 27, to plan the happening.

We need people who are interested in acting, but we also need as many people as possible, so everyone should come!

This will be fun! Come!

At 18:00 Friday evening, outside the Ministry of Labour and Social Inclusion, the support network had a protest demonstration against the deportations of two Afghan refugees.

Kirsti Bergstø (SU), Torstein Dahle (RV) and Mimir Kristjanson (RU) lodged appeals against the governments politics.

Thursday evening the support network learned about a deportation of two Afghan refugees on Friday.

Symbolic action at Trandum
Early Friday morning activists from the support network went to the well-known asylum prison - Trandum interneringsleir - last stop in Norway before deportations via Oslo airport Gardermoen. At around half past seven in the morning, activists closed the main gate at Trandum with chains and locks. Shortly after, the gate right outside of the asylum prison and the third gate - the rear entry towards the street, were chained up.

These gates was chained up as a symbolic action. We can not accept that the governments promises are broken and refugees are forcefully deported to a country in war, where they are facing a very insecure future.

Information action at Gardermoen
At about eight o’lock Friday morning, about thirty activists from The support network for Afghan refugees were in place at Gardermoen. The support network demonstrated with banners and posters, leaflets were handed out to both travellers and airport personnel. In addition to the leaflets, letters informing how the airport passengers could influence the airline companies were handed out to travellers.

What is happening now, is an infringement of the two asylum seekers, and is abhorrent to the promises that the government gave. Bjarne Håkon Hansen has bluffed, said RV’s Torstein Dahle to NRK.

Aksjonen på Gardermoen ble avsluttet rundt 13:00. Som tidligere, var politiet svært tilbakeholdne med informasjon, og Støttenettverket hadde ikke kjennskap til hvilken flyavgang som skulle benyttes til tvangsutsendelsen. Vi fikk til slutt informasjon at utsendelsen skjedde med et SAS-fly 17:05 på fredag ettermiddag. Dette førte til at personer dro tilbake fra Oslo til Gardermoen, for å fortsette informasjonskampanjen.Friday morning Rune Berglund Steen, in NOAS, said that there were no basis of claiming that one of the Afghans had a network in Kabul, and the deportation therefore was against UN-guidelines. The other Afghani’s case, was according to NOAS, at the time of deportation, still not completly reviewed.

The action at Gardermoen was ended at about 13:00. As before, the police were withhold with information, the support network had no information regarding which flight or airline that would be used for the deportation. Finally we learned that a SAS flight at 17:05 was the one that would be used for the deportations. Due to this, a small group of people went back from Oslo to Gardermoen, to continue the information campaign.

Press release from The support network for Afghan refugees
Time: 2006-07-06 - 20:45

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New deportations to Afghanistan and protest actions at Gardermoen

Thursday night The support network learned that the government will deport another two Afghan refugees to Kabul. The Afghans have said that they do not have a connection to Kabul. Their cases is under a reevaluation, but the work with this is still not finished.

This is clearly contradictory with the promises from the government.

Tomorrow, at 08:00, The support network for Afghan refugees will have a protest action at Oslo airport Gardermoen. We will inform people and companies about the deportations - to try to hinder that these two people will be sent back to a war zone.

Regards
The support network for Afghan refugees
http://www.sultestreiken.net
info@sultestreiken.net

Contact persons:
Zahir Athari - 417 48 088
Eskil Hadland - 993 66 209
Elisabeth Steindal - 932 86 769

The support network for Afghans refugees own action group is planning an action on Friday (7th of July) morning.

The action will be both theatrical and witty, and is an action that everyone can take a part in. We need lots of people who want to participate! We have planned a small performance and also needs some props.

Does this sound exciting? Want to join? Come to our preparatory meeting on Thursday the 6th of July at 18:00, at Osterhausgate 27.

Contact person: Johannes wilm - 93 35 25 94

Press release from The support network for Afghan refugees and Afghan refugees in Norway
Time: 2006-07-04 17:30

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BRING ABDUL HUSSEIN SHUKRI BACK TO NORWAY!

The support network for Afghan refugees is reacting strongly against the notice in Dagbladet 04.06.06 regarding the Afghan asylum seeker Abdul Hussein Shukri. Shukri is now in the situation that we were warning about when we were protesting when he was about to deported. He does not have any network or any possibility of establishment in Afghanistan, and is fearing for his life.

This is a tragic example of the authorities’ politics and the consequenecs of the goverments breach of the agreement that was the base of the ending of the hunger strike. It has now been shown that Shukri did not have a network in real terms in Kabul, something that could have been ascertained if the immigration goverment had taken the time to review the case, according to the promises that were given.

In the situation that has now arised, it is the Norwegian authorities duty and responsibility to bring Shukri back to Norway, and make sure he is treated according to the agreement about persons like him should not be deported in 2006. In this case there is no doubt that the deportation was unjustifiable and against the recommendations from the UNCHR and the governments promises. We therefore hope that the refugee organizations in Norway will support us in this claim.

The support network and afghan refugees in Norway is aslo calling on the Ministry of Labour and Inclusion to compose new, distinct, guidelines to the Immigration Appeals Bord (UNE) that pledges the board to follow the agreement that the goverment gave. The government can not continue to deny it’s responsibility by refering to their own statements in the press, while UNE is not pledged to follow the governments politics.

Zahir Athari, spokesperson for the Afghan refugees and leader of The support network for Afghan refugees.
Mobil: 41748088 / Email: