Arrival of Georgian groups in Finland stopped by deportation

Since the deportation of 48 Georgian women and four men earlier this year, no busloads of Georgian travellers have arrived in Finland.
      A tourist bus was stopped at the Vaalimaa crossing point on the Finnish-Russian border in March. After a couple of days' investigations, the travellers were all turned back to Georgia.
      According to the Finnish Frontier Guard, an estimated number of 1,500 Georgian citizens are believed to have crossed into Finland from Russia in tourist buses in the course of the years 2002 to 2004. Their travel documents were legitimate, and consequently there was no reason to suspect them of illegal entry or even to question the purpose of their trip.
     
A majority of the travellers on these buses were young women.
      They all had legitimate national passports with visas that had been issued by the embassies of Italy and Sweden. They also said that they were on their way to these countries.
      The matter was brought to the attention of EU authorities by Greece, where immigration officials had noticed that many buses had been returning to Georgia through Greece with just a few passengers on board.
     
"Such a phenomenon does not exist any more in Finland. The arrivals stopped after the deportation in March", said Major Ilkka Herranen of the Frontier Guard.
      The suspicions of involvement in human trafficking and possible prostitution could not be confirmed during the police investigations. The refusal of entry to Finland was based on the travellers' lack of financial means, their giving of false information to the authorities, as well as on certain other reasons.
      The treatment that the women received at the Vaalimaa border crossing generated some criticism in the Georgian media. However, yesterday the Georgian Parliament Speaker Nino Burjanadze admitted that Finnish officials acted in a proper manner in the deportation.
      "We wish to thank the Finnish government for handling the matter in a civilized manner", said Burjanadze in an interview with the national broadcasting company YLE's morning news on TV 1 on Monday.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Finnish frontier guards deny all accusations of racism (4.4.2005)
  Georgian politician: Finland popular travel route to West (31.3.2005)
  Suspicions of human trafficking stigmatise Georgian women (30.3.2005)
  Busload of Georgian women stopped at border (17.3.2005)
  Finland found to be transit point for traffic in women from east to west (11.3.2005)

Links:
  The Frontier Guard