November 29, 2002	Friday	Ramazan 23, 1423

BRUSSELS, Nov 28: European interior ministers on Thursday backed a disputed plan to return unwanted Afghans to their homeland by force if necessary, diplomats said.

The plan, to be carried out early next year, is part of a European Union clampdown on illegal migration endorsed by EU leaders after electoral gains by anti-immigration parties across the 15-nation bloc.

“We have an agreement on the Afghanistan return plan,” Danish Immigration Minister Bertel Haarder told a news conference, adding the returns would be mainly on a voluntary basis, but that ministers had endorsed the use of force.

“It concerns first of all voluntary return. That is what we prefer, but by that I also indicate that we can never rule out forced return...because then we would never get voluntary return,” Haarder said.

He added that the EU aimed to start the programme by April next year and would return some 1,500 Afghans a month. Diplomats have said in total some 100,000 Afghans would be affected by the plan, according to their conservative estimates.

Human rights group Amnesty International slammed the decision, saying the situation in the country was still too fluid to ensure the safety of people returned.

“Amnesty International is deeply concerned that the (plan) does not include appropriate safeguards regarding the security of returnees,” the group said in a statement, adding that member states should refrain from using forced repatriation.

Strict interpretations of Islamic law have been relaxed in many parts of Afghanistan since the Taliban were ousted from power by US bombing last year.

But in the Western city of Herat, the religious council has issued restrictive decrees, banning women from visiting parks at night or wearing colourful clothing in public. It has also banned wedding celebrations at restaurants, because they encourage men and women to dance together.

An EU diplomat said ministers had agreed to spend 17 million euros in 2003 to fund the return programme, under which member states are allowed to coordinate the returns, including joint flights from European capitals to Kabul.

The EU would set up reception facilities in Afghanistan and member states could provide the Afghans with additional financial support as an incentive to return.

Another diplomat said the plan was dependent on the cooperation of the Kabul government, which is reported to feel lukewarm about the return programme. “Without their cooperation we can have a plan, but it will not work,” he said.

The EU ministers also endorsed common jail terms for human traffickers to ensure there are no safe-havens for criminals profiting from smuggling illegal migrants into Europe.

The 15-nation bloc was shocked into acting against people smugglers after 58 Chinese illegal migrants were found dead in an airtight container at the British port of Dover in 2000.

Under the new deal, EU member states will set maximum jail terms of at least six to eight years for people found guilty of smuggling or hiding illegal immigrants for profit, and for endangering the lives of their victims during the act.

Interpol estimates that the highly profitable business of smuggling people is worth $30 billion a year, making it the most lucrative crime after drugs and arms smuggling.

The EU’s executive Commission estimates close to half a million illegal immigrants try to enter the bloc each year.—Reuters