2.5 THOUSAND ARMENIAN CITIZENS APPLIED TO OTHER COUNTRIES TO OBTAIN REFUGEE STATUS IN 2002

PanARMENIAN.Net - 2504 Armenian citizens have applied to 28 developed countries of the world to obtain refugee satus within 2002. Representative of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Armenia Lloyd Daikin told "Arminfo" agency about it. In his words, Austria is particularly popular with Armenians from the point of view of applying for refugee status. This may be due to the fact that, as the Armenians do not like the refugee camps in Post-Socialist Czechia, they go to the neighboring Austria. And US is a country no less attracting the Armenian citizens trying to get a refugee status in the West. The Armenian citizens consider Germany, Bulgaria and Poland as the best places to settle in Europe. Daikin also reported that the Armenian citizens consider Luxembourg, Portugal, Slovenia and Australia as the most "inconvenient" countries for getting a refugee status. Only four citizens applied to these countries within the mentioned period to get a refugee status. At the same time Daikin accentuated that no foreign state citizens have so far applied to Armenia to get a refugee status within this year.