Sudanese officials search Maximilian Park for nationals

The federal secretary of state for migration and asylum, Theo Francken, has denied that officials of the government of Sudan who are trying to identify Sudanese refugees sleeping in Brussels’ Maximilian Park are from the country’s secret service.

Francken gave permission for the officials to search for Sudanese citizens in the park, where migrants are staying in a makeshift camp until they can be processed by the nearby Immigration Office. Opposition parties Groen and PS have claimed that the inspectors were representatives of “a dictatorial regime”.

“We are doing what many other European countries do for many African states,” said Francken (pictured) in a reaction from New York, where he is taking part in the general assembly of the United Nations. “Such an operation with Sudan is not exceptional; these things take place practically every week.”

The inspection, his office said, involved three officials from the Sudanese foreign affairs ministry, who are trying to identify Sudanese nationals. The purpose, said Francken, is to allow the Khartoum government to provide the documents necessary for possible repatriation back to Sudan if their request for asylum is rejected.

Groen MP Wouter De Vriendt accused Francken of giving “carte blanche to a regime of torturers”. The people sent here to identify refugees should be thoroughly screened by state security services, he said, pointing out that 60% of asylum requests from Sudanese citizens are granted. “Our job is not to help out the regime those people are fleeing,” he said.

Photo: Jean-Luc Flemal/BELGA