S Korea: Ethiopians want asylum

2006-09-14 12:12

Seoul - Twelve young Ethiopians who came to South Korea for a ceremony honouring their country's victims of the Korean War have asked for political asylum, say officials.

An official said the group walked into the Korea immigration office after leaving a hotel in Seoul and cited the "dictatorship" of their Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.

He said: "The 12, who were all born in the 1980s, are in our custody. They insist they must be granted the status of refugees for political reasons.

"We will interview them to see if there are due political reasons or they came here to make money like other illegal foreigners.

"We will follow international rules in making our decision on whether they should be deported or stay in a refugee camp."

Political, economic motive

The foreign ministry said it would be difficult to grant asylum to the Ethiopians if their motivation was economic rather than political.

Reports quoted a ministry official as saying: "We are in the process of checking the situation. Their fate will likely depend on whether their motive is political or economic."

The six young men and six young women were part of a 33-member delegation, which arrived from the east African nation on Sunday to attend the dedication of a monument to Ethiopian soldiers in the eastern city of Chuncheon.

The Korea Veterans Association, which invited the group, said the delegation included 12 veterans of the 1950-53 conflict, nine young artistic performers, six descendants of veterans and others.

The association spokesperson Kim Moon-Ki said: "Those who asked for asylum included six offspring of veterans and six artististic performers."

He said the ceremony due to be held last Monday had been postponed. Kim denied the postponement was due to the asylum applications, but didn't elaborate.

Ethiopia was among 16 countries, which fought under a United Nations flag during the war. It sent a battalion and had 121 soldiers killed and 536 wounded.

Ethiopia had been hit by political turbulence since a divisive May 2005 election. Meles's government had been accused of harassing, detaining and even murdering opposition supporters.

- AFP