Kosova Crisis Center
link to alb-net
Stop Macedonia from aiding Genocide: Treat Kosova Refugees better!
Times, 04.06.99
By Anna Blundy.
NTV, Russia's most independent television station, has shocked viewers this week with its coverage of the "ethnic cleansing" by the Serbs in Kosovo. Its recent reports from the region are the first public admission that the Serbs, so vociferously supported in Russia, may have provoked Nato's bombing campaign.
Konstantin Borovoi, a Duma deputy who is in favour of the Nato strikes, ended his five-day hunger strike yesterday when radio and television stations finally allowed him to air his anti-Serb views. He refused all food from April 1 in protest at what he considered to be biased media coverage.
"The pro-Serb propaganda campaign has been executed in the old Soviet way," Mr Borovoi said. "[Yevgeni] Primakov is not just the Prime Minister, but the leader of a political group with the conscience of the KGB." He complained that the pro-Nato demonstration he and his followers had planned had been banned.
Only after the ground-breaking coverage by NTV did other radio and television stations follow suit, admitting that their reports were subject to Serbian military censorship. Novaya Gazeta ran a commentary by Andrei Piontovsky of the Centre for Strategic Studies suggesting that blind support for the Serbs may be misguided.
Yevgeni Kiselyov, presenter of NTV's weekly news programme Itogi, acknowledged that his influential change in stance was in large part related to domestic issues. "I understand that anti-Nato, anti-Western, anti-American hysteria could lead to a situation when we would have restored Communist Party rule," Mr Kiselyov told the Moscow Times.
Vladimir Kulistikov, NTV's chief news editor, attributed the new-style coverage to the fact that Pavel Lobkov, Russia's answer to John Simpson of the BBC, had got into Macedonia and interviewed fleeing refugees.
Times, 04.06.99 By Anna Blundy.
HRW: MACEDONIA MUST PROTECT
KOSOVO REFUGEES, KEEP FAMILIES INTACT
Human Rights Watch condemns the Macedonian government's forcible
relocation of tens of thousands of Kosovo refugees during the past 48
hours, in total disregard of obligations under international refugee
law. Since Monday, Macedonian authorities have forced tens of
thousands of refugees onto planes or buses, and transported them to
Albania and other countries. Some refugees have been separated from
their families. In addition, a large number of Kosovo Albanians who
had been waiting for days on the Yugoslav side to enter Macedonia,
were apparently forced back into Kosovo by the Serbian police. Their
whereabouts are unknown and Human Rights Watch is deeply concerned
about their fate.
"The treatment of Kosovo refugees in Macedonia has been deplorable"
said Holly Cartner, executive director of the Europe and Central Asia
division of Human Rights Watch. "There are clear international norms
that must be adhered to and the treatment of refugees in Macedonia is
an extremely troubling development."
Until Tuesday, April 6, as many as 65,000 refugees had been trapped
for days in Blace, a muddy "no-mans land" between the borders of
Kosovo and Macedonia, waiting to enter Macedonia. Refugees were held
in appalling conditions, with no shelter, humanitarian relief, or
medical assistance. During Tuesday night, most of the refugees in
this area were forcibly cleared by the Macedonian authorities. The
passports, blankets, and clothing found at the empty site today by
UNHCR officials indicates that refugees were removed in haste.
Refugees were given no information about where they were being taken
and did not give their consent to be moved. UNHCR and IOM officials
were not informed about plans to move the refugees and were not
present during the relocation.
Reports now indicate that thousands of refugees were taken to the new
transit center at Brazda. Some were transported out of Macedonia by
plane to Turkey, and thousands of others were taken by bus to Albania
and Greece. A Human Rights Watch representative in Skopje reported
that the whereabouts of an estimated 10,000 refugees apparently
relocated during this period remains unknown. Human Rights Watch is
deeply concerned that those transported out of Macedonia were not
registered prior to their departure and that UNHCR was given no
information about their identities. In some cases, family groups were
not allowed to travel together, and no proper records were kept to
facilitate family reunification.
In addition, the whereabouts of a large number of persons who had been
waiting inside Kosovo at the Jazince and Blace border crossings is
unknown. International monitors reported receiving telephone calls
throughout the day from persons who had been waiting at the border and
were then forced to go back to Pristina by Serbian police units. Human
Rights Watch visited the Macedonia-Yugoslav border crossings at
Jazince and Blace today. Both were empty of people and reportedly
closed on the Serbian side.
Human Rights Watch urgently calls on the Macedonian government to keep
its borders open and to uphold its obligations under international
refugee law. Refugees should not be moved out of Macedonia against
their will, and every effort should be made to keep families together.
UNHCR and relief agencies should be given unhindered access to
provide assistance and protection to the refugees.
For further information contact:
Fred Abrahams (1-212) 216-1270
Holly Cartner (1-212) 216-1277
***For further information about violations of human rights and
humanitarian law in Kosovo, see the Human Rights Watch website at
www.hrw.org on the "Crisis in Kosovo" page. To subscribe to Kosovo
Human Rights Flashes, send an E-mail to Donalds@hrw.org.***
The War As Seen From Switzerland
It seems that virtually everyone here in Switzerland, no matter which political party, is appalled at the expulsions in Kosova and very critical of the Serbian leaders. There have been interviews with or profiles of Draskovic, Seselj, Arkan, and others in one local paper--they all make your hair stand on end. The same paper has also run pieces by Veton Surroi, Veron Matic (B92), and an opposition anthropologist from Beograd, who stated firmly that at the root of this--aside from Milosevic--are the entrenched negative stereotypes and "hatred" with which the majority of Serbs have viewed Kosovare (her comments were based on research she conducted among Serbs on the Kosova issue a few years ago).
Before the NATO strikes began, the newspaper ran a long
article by a German Balkans specialist advocating independence for Kosova. On the TV there
have been a number of interviews with Serbs and Albanians (not only Swiss and German
TV--we have watched Italian also). In each case, the moderator has strongly challenged the
comments by the participating Serbs, who have sometimes been representatives of the
government. I've seen relatively little criticism
of NATO actions or anything to suggest that the public isn't placing blame
for what is happening predominantly upon Serbia's leadership. When the
NATO strikes first began, "Communist youth" in Italy and France (and maybe
elsewhere) demonstrated against NATO, and some pacifists in Germany also (I guess they
have no memory of WWII). But these actions seem to be dying down.
As reported in this morning’s New York Times, the United States has agreed to air lift 20,000 Kosovar refugees to either Guam or Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The announcement indicated that these refugees would be granted temporary protection status on these U.S. territories. However, it was clearly stated that at this point there are no plans to bring any Kosovar refugees to the continental U.S.
Relatives and/or concerned citizens in the U.S. who wish to "sponsor" a Kosovo refugee family should be advised that such an opportunity would only become available if the U.S. State Department announces the implementation of a permanent resettlement program. Such a program has been implemented in the past regarding, for example, the Bosnians. It was only after this determination for a resettlement program was made that the State Department, in conjunction with the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), mandated agencies, such as the International Rescue Committee (IRC), to assist with the actual resettlement. To clarify: Agencies like the IRC cannot admit refugees to the U.S. nor can the IRC grant refugee status to anyone. Only the U.S. government can do this. However, the IRC, like other resettlement agencies, can assist with refugee resettlement only when the agency has been mandated to do so by the U.S. government. This has not happened yet in regard to refugees from Kosovo.
Again, to further emphasize, the Kosovo refugee movement announced yesterday calls for a joint NATO/State Department air lift to Guam or Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. This is not a resettlement program at this point, rather a temporary measure to ease the strain on the Balkan countries. The plan implies the return of these refugees to the region once the situation permits.
Anyone interested in making a financial donation and contribute directly to the current emergency relief effort on the ground in Albania, Macedonia, and Montenegro, may contact the International Rescue Committee at our toll free number: 1-877-REFUGEE (1-877-733-8433). The IRC is one of the leading relief agencies on the ground right now in the Balkans and is actively involved in the emergency relief efforts. Your cash donation is essential in helping the IRC feed, clothe, and house the Kosovar refugees pouring into region!
The IRC will continue to monitor the situation regarding the movement of refugees and the possibility of a resettlement program for refugees from Kosovo. If a decision is made by the U.S. government to implement, in cooperation with U.S. resettlement agencies, a resettlement program for Kosovars, the IRC will endeavor to assist U.S. relatives of Kosovar refugees sponsor their family members and resettle in the U.S. Until that decision is made, however, the IRC will continue its emergency relief efforts on the ground in the Balkans.
Stop Macedonia from aiding Genocide: Treat Kosova Refugees better!
*** March Against Genocide: Saturday, April
10th
Macedonia would not let them in. Tens of thousands of Albanian were
choking from disease and hunger on the border. Now they have disappeared. Where have they
gone?
While Serbs were driving out Albanians from Kosova, Macedonia was making sure that they
were treated in the worst possible manner.
The United Nations and other Western aid agencies have accused Macedonia of using
bureaucratic delays to slow the influx of both refugees and aid.
Whatıs more, Macedonian authorities have also prevented the reunion of
any arriving refugees with their own relatives in Macedonia.
Yugoslavia is kidnapping Kosovars from its border to an unknown future.
They have closed the main border crossing from Kosova into Albania early
Wednesday and the flow of refugees, which had been running at 30,000 to 40,000 a day, was
dramatically halted. We pray that these refugees are not being put in another
concentration camp.
Please call the Macedonian embassy in Washington, DC to request more
humane treatment of refugees in Macedonia.
Chief of mission: Ambassador Ljubica Z. Acevska
Embassy: 3050 K Street, NW, Suite 210, Washington, DC 20007
Telephone: (202) 337-3063