By Simon Lewis
WASHINGTON, Feb 11 (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department has begun paying Afghans to repatriate as it attempts to close a camp in Qatar where they have been stranded for years, the top State Department official for South and Central Asia told lawmakers on Wednesday.
More than 1,100 people have been held at the former U.S. Army base Camp As Sayliyah (CAS) since at least early last year, when Republican President Donald Trump's administration halted resettlement for Afghans who feared retribution from Taliban authorities for their links to the U.S. military.
Advocates say the group includes civilian refugees, women who served as special operators for the U.S. during its 20-year war in Afghanistan, and family members of U.S. servicemembers, all of whom would be in danger if returned to the country.
Democrats have blasted the administration's plan to offer payment to those who agree to "self-deport" ahead of the planned closure of the facility at the end of March. Sydney Kamlager-Dove, the ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs subcommittee holding the hearing on Wednesday, called it a "betrayal of our Afghan allies."
Assistant Secretary of State S. Paul Kapur said he believed around 150 had already accepted the payments, but did not know what happened to them after they returned.
"We are not forcibly repatriating Afghans to Afghanistan. Some have gone of their own volition, but we're not forcing anybody," Kapur said.
"We're looking to relocate them. We're in negotiations with third countries to do that. Our belief is that is actually a good outcome. Keeping them indefinitely on CAS is not ... reasonable."
Kapur did not offer details of the payments and the State Department did not respond to a request for comment.
Shawn VanDiver, head of #AfghanEvac, a coalition of veterans and advocacy groups, told Reuters the payments being offered were $4,500 for a main applicant and $1,200 per additional person who relocates.
VanDiver said the repatriation was not truly voluntary, saying that staff at the facility in Qatar were telling the Afghans they should accept the offer, with third-country relocation uncertain.
(Reporting by Simon LewisEditing by Rod Nickel)
