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| Jumping to the head of the queue? | |
The old adage about communism - "the future is certain, only the past is
changing" - seems likely to survive the collapse of Soviet Union if the
Australian-2002-08-15 is to believed. The Australian claims to have sent reporters to the small village where Asylum Seeker Ali
Bakhtiyari claims to be from, and village elders and locals claim to have
neither heard of him or to have recognized his photo. Previously Ali identified Charkh to
The Australian as his place of birth, and pointed it out on map. Initially as tight-lipped as some of their clients, his lawyers have now
spoken out in his defense. They are blaming a 'linguistic mix-up', and now
claim he is from Kharkh Knowlege, between Khoshk-darrah and Anjeel-darrah but
refuse to say where these villages are, and refuse to point them out on a map. No-one else has been able find these villages on a map either. Ali Bakhtiyari's asylum claim is being reviewed by Australian immigration
officials, along with his protection visa. His future seems increasing certain,
but his past is still changing.
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