Britain's Home Office said Tuesday that it will continue to deport people who are not entitled to be in the country, including failed Zimbabwean asylum-seekers.
The statement followed a ruling by Britain's Asylum and Immigration Tribunal saying Zimbabweans who had failed to obtain political asylum could be sent him. However, a Home Office spokeswoman declined to say when deportations might resume.
The spokeswoman said the Home Office welcomed the decision, which clears the way for it to deport those whose applications for asylum are found to be “without basis.” The Home Office said not every Zimbabwean in Britain needs political asylum.
Zimbabweans and their legal representatives have been seeking to block deportations since January 2002, leading to four suspensions of deportations, the last in July 2006.
Coordinator Sarah Harland of the Zimbabwe Association, an advocacy group, told reporter Patience Rusere of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that lawyers will meet tomorrow to consider a further appeal against the tribunal's ruling.
