Authorities to Interview Refugees on Nauru

[geovalin]

Khmer Times/Jonathan Greig

More refugees from detention centers on Nauru may be on their way to the Kingdom after Cambodian government officials said earlier this week they were sending a delegation to interview two Iranian nationals. Tan Sovichea, head of the Interior Ministry’s refugee unit, did not respond to requests for comment, but told Reuters on Tuesday that two Iranians had “volunteered” to come to Cambodia.

Three officials from the Interior Ministry will head to Nauru in June to meet the refugees. Cambodia agreed to take on some of the refugees detained on Nauru in 2014 in exchange for $40 million in aid from Australia, but the deal was in its death throes after three of the five refugees who came to Cambodia decided to return to their countries last June and July.

The deal has been marred since its inception, with many opposition politicians and human rights activists in Cambodia, including opposition leader Sam Rainsy, slamming the government for accepting refugees from Australia when many of its own people are still struggling to attain basic human rights and services.

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