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March 12, 1993

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FRIDAY

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IRANIAN HUNGER strikers were camped outside of a federal immigration centre in Vancouver Wednesday to draw attention to their at-_
tempts to be recognized as refugees in Canada. Three North Vancouver men are among the group. The action began more than two
weeks ago. Ali have failed in their bids to be recognized as refugees. They say they fear deportation to a country where political dissent

is met with imprisonment and torture.

NV Iranian -hunger strikers vow to die if refugee status not granted

Deportees require travel docu-

IRANIAN HUNGER strikers, including three North Van-

couver men who say they face torture and imprisonment if
deported ¢o Tran, claim they are committed to dying of
starvation in Canada unless federal immigration officials
grant them refugee status based on humanitarian grounds.

The failed refugee claimants
have been camped out for over
two weeks on a sidewalk fronting
a federal immigration office on
Helicken Street in Vancouver.

Said Firoozeh Radjai, a
spokesman for the hunger strikers,
“AH of their claims, including
humanitarian and compassionate
grounds, have been rejected,
which means basically that they
are in the stream of removal. It’s

IEIREAR Siloam

By Michae! Becker
News Reporter

simply a matter of setting a
deadline.”

Radjai said the 30 Tranians are
“defacto deportees’’ and remain
in Canada due to a paperwork
backlog at the Iranian embassy in

Ottawa.

a

Pee eT ECO PARAM 8 Ray te LENE
ESE meetin

ments to leave Canada.

She said new iminigration legis-
lation adopted in February makes
it more difficult. for refugee
claimiants to secure their position
in Canada.

“Previous to Feb. 1 they (im-
migration) would Jook at many
factors in attempting to determine
humanitarian and compassionate
grounds for refugee status, such
as whether they've established
roots in Canadian society, whether
they've got family here. As of
Fb. ! the only risk category they
look at is physical and bodily
harm,*' said Radjai.

See Ramadan page 3

STRIKERS RELATE HOMELAND FEARS

THE THREE North Van-
couver residents involved in the
Iranian hunger strike in) Van-
couver all claim they have been
tortured and imprisoned for
opposing the Rafsanjani regime
in Tran,

Afshin Yektakhah, 28, of
Tehran, came to Canada list
year.

“TL can from the Iranian gov-
ernment. They tried to catch
me because | have some politi-
cal problem with the Tranian
government. [I’m lucky I’m not

REACHING EVERY DOOR ON THE NORT

there,”’ he said.

Yektakhah lives in North
Vancouver with his Malaysian
wife,

Hassan Pourrouholamin, 28,
feft Tehran 244 years ayo.

“F pot tots of political prob-
lems in my country,” he said.

Majid Keyhanfar of North
Vancouver was once a state
police draftee in Tran.

He said he fled when he was
ordered to kill Iranian cefugees
in Turkey who opposed the
Islamic republic,