The Coalition to Stop Deportations to Iraq and the International Federation of Iraqi Refugees has called a picket of the Home Office (2 Marsham Street, London SW1) to oppose the imminent forced deportation of a large group of asylum seekers. The picket will take place from 12-2 pm on Tuesday 5 September.

The Home Office has detained many Iraqi Kurds, perhaps 60, and some have been told they will be removed on September 5th. ll over Britain Iraqis are living in fear of a dawn raid on their home, or of arrest at their place of work or when they go to report at the Home Office signing centre.

CRDI report that 'There has recently been a wave of protests in South Kurdistan. This is because people are fed up with seeing rampant official corruption and incompetence and the luxurious lifestyles of the party leaders and their hangers-on, which contrasts with run-away inflation, high unemployment rates, petrol shortages, water shortages, power cuts, a losing battle to make ends meet for ordinary people, and persecution if you overstep the narrow bounds of acceptable criticism. But the security forces regularly shoot at protesters and arrest large numbers of people – hardly evidence of a safe place for people to be returned to'.