A four person delegation from the Ebola collective was received by the Prime Minister Charles Michel’s cabinet on Thursday afternoon. Nevertheless, the government decided not to meet the collective’s renewed requests for temporary visas. Around 100 people and come from Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, met again on Thursday morning in front of the Prime Minister’s cabinet. Most of them don’t have papers. The collective has been fighting for temporary protection for refugees for several months. At Midday, a four person delegation was allowed to enter and meet with judicial and medical councilors from the cabinet.
“Recent data shows the epidemic is spreading again”, says the collective’s spokesman Alexis Andries.
A delegation was received by the cabinet of the State Secretary for Asylum and Immigration, Theo Francken, on the 19th of January. The government suspended the procedure of forced deportation for people from the countries affected, but didn’t accord them a temporary visa. The General Commissary for Refugees and Expatriates (CGRE) is only allowed to grant asylum under certain conditions, conform to the Geneva Convention.
“The cabinet’s people listened to us attentively, and will transmit our requests to the head of the cabinet and Charles Michel himself”, said Alexis Andries.
The Prime Minister’s cabinet said they are not close to finding a solution. “Several people among those demonstrating today have already submitted requests for asylum using other criteria”, it said.
(Source: Belga)
