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Doubts over Australian offer to Afghan asylum seekers

An offer from the Australian Government of a cash payment to help Afghan asylum seekers return home has been widely rejected by sources including the local representative of Afghanistan's interim government.

The offer is open to 4,000 Afghans in detention or in Australia on temporary visas ... as Richard Davis reports.

"The Honorary Consul for Afghanistan, Mahmoud Saikal says Afghan asylum seekers will warmly welcome the government's offer of financial assistance. But he's warned Afghanistan isn't ready to take back the asylum seekers. He says after 23 years of war and hostilities, it's a daunting task to rebuild the country, and the return of asylum seekers should be delayed. "Whatever the program here and whatever the package, it has to respect the speed of things inside Afghanistan." Mahmoud Saikal says despite his concerns, at least 36 Afghan asylum seekers are planning to return to Afghanistan, with or without the Australian Government's assistance."

1/02/2002 8:42:36 AM | ABC Radio Australia News

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