ARMENIAN REFUGEES DO NOT WANT TO RECEIVE CITIZENSHIP

A1+
14-07-2005

There are 360 000 registered refugees in Armenia. 65 000 of them have
received the Armenian citizenship.

The figure is conditioned not by the will of the authorities but by
the wish of the refugees themselves. They do not want to lose the
refugee status, since with it they will lose the advantages and state
support.

Today the Council on Refugee Issues held a sitting in the National
Assembly. Council Coordinator Boris Shahnazaryan in detail presented
the activities of the council. Head of the department presented the
current situation and the order of providing the refugees with flats.

851 citizens were expected to receive certificates for domicile with
the funds assigned by the state budget 2005. When asked by Arthur
Baghdasaryan whether they will manage to fulfill the program, Sargis
Harutyunyan said `yes’.

However the order of compiling the lists of people eligible for the
certificates is still unclear. The head of the migration department
said the lists are compiled by the marzpets and the degree of poverty
is checked by the department.

Ombudsman Larisa Alaverdyan stated that very often the adopted laws
infringe the rights of refugees. Arthur Baghdasaryan offered to submit
all the remarks in written form.