Belgium complains over increase of Albanian asylum seekers

A Belgian migration official on Tuesday complained about a recent increase in the number of asylum seekers in Belgium from Albania.In a visit to the western Balkan country, Freddy Rosemont, head of Belgium's Asylum and Migration Department, said in Tirana on Tuesday that at least 240 Albanian citizens had sought political asylum since the start of October. "If this trend continues, the number of Albanian asylum seekers will reach some 400 by the end of the month," Rosemont warned, adding that none of the asylum seekers will stand a chance of being accepted and all will be repatriated to Albania. He said most of the asylum seekers had claimed that their lives could be threatened by blood feud with other families. "We are sure that behind those people there is an entire organization, networks that provide documents and fake papers in exchange for huge amounts of money," Rosemont said. The Belgian official asked the Albanian government to crack down on people filing false asylum claims and those providing fake papers to these asylum seekers. The European Union lifted the visa restrictions for Albanians to travel to Schengen countries in November 2010, but warned that the decision could be suspended if it was being abused.