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Urgent help needed to Stop Germany Deporting People to Iraq

Caravan for the Rights of Refugees and Migrants / Munich | 21.10.2007 18:36 | Iraq | Migration | Terror War | World

Stop deportations imminent by the German state to Iraq - Protest against ZAGROS AIR - call for urgent fax
campaign - please read, fax and forward this message!

Dear friends,

Germany has started deporting refugees to Iraq, although still thousands are fleeing every day from Iraq. These deportations are all carried out by ZAGROS AIR, a small iraqi-kurdish airline with a branch in Frankfurt/Germany.

First, we were successful setting Zagros Air under pressure to cancel deportation flights and to refuse selling further tickets for deportation flights to the German border police.

Now, contrary to their previous decision, Zagros Air has again started to carry out deportation flights.

Please join our protest campaign and send protest fax letters to Zagros Air in Frankfurt/Germany. Below, You can find a draft for a fax letter to Zagros Air. Print it out, forward it to Your organisations, to Your comrades, colleagues, friends and families, and start sending fax letters.


Fax- and telephone numbers of Zagros Air in Frankfurt:
Fax: 0049 / 69 / 69 59 737 30 or: 0049 / 69 / 68 09 17 67
Tel: 0049 / 69 / 69 59 7370

Further information (in German language):
www.irak.antira.info

Thanks for Your support!

Caravan for the Rights of Refugees and Migrants / Munich

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Urgent Fax campaign: Stop DEPORTATIONS to IRAQ with ZAGROS AIR!

Sender's Name

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house number / street

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post code, city, country

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To:

ALIRAQ Aviation-Travel
GSA Zagros Air
Mrs. Balsam
Wilhelm-Leuschner Str. 7
60329 Frankfurt am Main

Fax: 0049 / 69 / 69 59 737 30 or: 0049 / 69 / 68 09 17 67
Tel: 0049 / 69 / 69 59 7370


Deportations to Iraq

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We are shocked about the news that the airline company Zagros Air, represented by the Frankfurt travel agency Aliraq Aviation Travel GmbH, is earning money by deporting Iraqi refugees from Germany. The more, we find it shameful that Zagros Air has repeatedly confirmed not to aceept any more flight bookings for deportations, but has now, contradictory to previous promises, started again to carry out deportation flights.

As You probably know, thousands of Iraqi citizens from Northern Iraq/ South Kurdistan have fled their country during the time of the Saddam Hussein- regime to find shelter in Germany. Most of them supported their families who stood back home and thus contributed substantially to the
stability, the reconstruction and the autonomy of the Kurdish regions. As the economic embargo by the United Nations also incuded the Kurdish autonomous region and thus even small money transfers for family members were forbidden, many of the Iraqi/Kurdish refugees got high court
sentences for supporting their families. These people and all other refugees whose refugee status was withdrawn by the German authorities, shall now be deported to Iraq.

This is happening while the refugee drama in Iraq has come to a crucial extent. 700000 refugees from other parts of Iraq are actually said to be staying in the Kurdish provinces. The fact that the rich country of Germany is aggravating this refugee crisis by deporting people is a crucial breach of solidarity between the peoples.

Germany is even disregarding the recommandations of the United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees. His recommandations state that a return to South-Kurdistan can only be voluntary and is only possible for those who still have family ties there. However, the deportation order of the
interior minister of the German region of Bavaria states that all refugees are to be deported that were merely born in South-Kurdistan or Kirkuk, even if they have never lived there or if they have no more relatives living there anymore.
We also want to inform You that a part of the persons who shall be deported doesn't even have valid Iraqi traveling documents. They are supposed to enter Iraq with so-called European Union- traveling certificates. Hardly any government tolerates such practices - the only exception is Kosovo, which is under the control of UN-administration. We would be really astonished if the Kurdish administration or the Iraqi government would tolerate such clear violation of state sovereignty, in fact this would create a really bad impression of the authorities concerned. In case that entering Iraq with these EU-traveling certificates should fail, Your company is liable for transporting the people concerned back to Germany, as the transport of passengers without valid traveling documents is forbidden according to international agreements on aviation.

We also want to point out that there is no law obliging Your company to carry out deportation filghts. Every airline company has the right to refuse the transport of any passenger who is not traveling voluntarily, but who is transported against his or her own will.

Please do not support the plans of German authorities to deport refugees to Iraq! Do not provide Your company for this shabby business! Otherwise, we are sure that the practices of carrying out deportations will convince many of Your clients, who travel to Erbil to visit their families or to do
business, not to fly with Zagros Air any more. This means that doing business with deportations will create big economic damage for You.

We demand from Zagros Air:
Do not accept any more bookings for deportation flights!
All previous bookings for deportation flights have to be cancelled
immediately!

Yours sincerely


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Caravan for the Rights of Refugees and Migrants / Munich
- Homepage: http://www.irak.antira.info