A digest of the latest refugee news,
as reported by the world's media.

KOSOVO: SEVERE FOOD SHORTAGES 14 May 99 – US and NATO officials are exploring ways to get food to the hundreds of thousands of ethnic Albanians who may be starving as they hide from Serb forces inside Kosovo, reports CNN. The deteriorating condition of refugees now coming out of Kosovo's borders makes it clear that displaced people hiding in the hills and forests of are running out of food. Refugees arriving yesterday in Macedonia told of severe food shortages among ethnic Albanians remaining inside Kosovo. They also told of a heavy police presence and said that some Serb shopkeepers are refusing to sell food to ethnic Albanians. "It is hard to believe, but we ate leaves and flowers and we fed our children with them," said one refugee man. UNHCR believes there are many similar stories going unheard. "There are tens of thousands in there who are probably going hungry," said UNHCR's Ron Redmond. A US experiment to drop food packets from aircraft flying at a high altitude has been abandoned after NATO decided the idea was too costly and not practical for distributing food to so many people. The Independent reports living conditions are so bad now for civilians trapped in the mountains of southern Kosovo that the rebels are encouraging them to seek refuge in Albania rather than stay in their homeland. [Officials ponder ways to get food to homeless in Kosovo – http://cnn.com; KLA 'trapped and on point of breaking' – www.independent.com]

ALBANIA: VERY FEW AGREE TO MOVE 14 May 1999 – UNHCR said yesterday that it had been able to persuade very few Kosovo refugees to move away from the unsafe border area in northern Albania, reports Reuters in Kukes. A UNHCR official blamed a lack of information on new camps set up in southern Albania for the unwillingness of tens of thousands of refugees to relocate from Kukes, which is within shelling distance of Serb artillery in Kosovo. Two days after UNHCR began a campaign to persuade refugees to move, fewer than 3,300 had agreed to leave for the south, possibly today. "This is not an overwhelming response," UNHCR spokesman Ray Wilkinson said. He said information about the various camps built by NATO troops was not being circulated among the various aid agencies, and no central authority was coordinating the efforts. Meanwhile the Washington Post reports officials are approaching a moral dilemma: how to move traumatised refugees – who have already been pushed around too much – to shelters in the Albanian interior if they don't want to go. The aid agencies say they will not order the refugees to leave, but they launched an information campaign on Tuesday to try to persuade them to move voluntarily. If this doesn't work, the Albanian government is considering ordering them to move. [UNHCR says few Kosovo refugees agree to relocation – www.reuters.com; Refugees Resist New Odyssey – www.washingtonpost.com]

ALBANIA: SITUATION DETERIORATES, SAYS PM 14 May 99 – The Kosovo refugee situation in Albania is deteriorating, Albanian Prime Minister Pandeli Majko said yesterday in a statement, reports Deutsche Presse-Agentur. Majko made his warning following a meeting with visiting German Interior Minister Otto Schily. "We expect a further precipitation of the situation, but we are determined to cope with it," he said. He praised Germany's help for Kosovo refugees in Albania. Earlier yesterday, Schily attended the opening of the second construction phase of a refugee camp in Spitalle, near Durres. The camp, built with German money, is due to accommodate 3,000 Kosovo refugees. Deutsche Presse-Agentur also quotes the Albanian Deputy Minister of Local Government, Taulant Dedja, as saying: "The crisis has negative and positive implications for Albania, but we are rather focusing on its positive impact . . . We are closely cooperating with thousands of foreign experts at present, it is a great support for our work to cope with the crisis and implement our reform programme." Meanwhile AFP reports the Albanian government yesterday announced plans to spend some US$40m to provide education for 130,000 Kosovan refugee children in the country, Shekulle newspaper said. [Albanian prime minister warns of worsening refugee crisis + Albania looks at positive impact of refugee crisis – www.dpa.com; Child refugee education project in Albania to cost 40 million dollars – www.afp.com]

ALBANIA: NEW CAMPS TO BE 'WINTERISED' 14 May 99 – The US military plans to make the refugee camps it is building in Albania habitable in winter, a US general said yesterday, in another sign that NATO is preparing for a long conflict with Yugoslavia, reports AFP. A tent city for 20,000 people in south central Albania opened Wednesday and two more camps of similar size will be erected in the coming weeks, said Air Force Major General William Hinton, commander of the US military task force that is building them. Camp Hope, the first to be built, was not made to withstand the fierce Balkan winters, but Hinton said the military plans to go back and make the tents liveable in wintertime. Hinton said winterising the camps involves installing wooden floors, interior liners for insulation against the cold, and a kerosene heater in the centre of each tent, which are large enough to house 10 to 15 people. [US military plans to winterize Albanian refugee camps – www.afp.com]

ALBANIA: 'FIVE STAR' CAMP 14 May 1999 – Ethnic Albanian refugees fleeing Kosovo are finding comfort at a "five-star" camp set up fellow Muslims from the oil-rich United Arab Emirates in Albania, reports Reuters. Built on a lakeside below a snow-capped mountain some 10km from the Kosovo border, the UAE camp is the largest among at least five facilities in the area holding an estimated 25,000 people. Operated by some 200 staff from the UAE armed forces and the Red Crescent Society, the camp offers the refugees three meals a day, hot water, a soccer field, supplies of nappies for babies and a well-equipped 150-bed field hospital. The camp is well protected by UAE troops. Its medical services are open to refugees from outside the camp and even to Albanians. The Los Angeles Times reports the Arabs have independently begun an identification programme in Kukes while the government and UNHCR wrestle with a more ambitious countrywide effort to begin next month. Registering the refugees, relief workers say, improves the delivery of aid and cuts down on the growing problems of theft and fraud. It also helps reunite families and keeps the refugee camps more secure. Residents of the Arab camp now must flash IDs to enter and exit the fenced-in tent space, as well as to receive meals and other aid. [Ethnic Albanians find comfort in ``five star'' camp – www.reuters.com; Registering Refugees Represents Small Step Toward Recovery – www.latimes.com]

MACEDONIA: GROUP CROSSES, OTHERS BLOCKED 14 May 99 – Dozens of Kosovo Albanian refugees have crossed the main Kosovo-Macedonia border – the first significant crossing since the border was temporarily closed over a week ago, reports BBC News. Many of the group of 47 – consisting of women, children and a few men – were allowed to pass without proper documents, according to UNHCR. The new arrivals said they had boarded a train in the southern Kosovo town of Urosevac, after hearing the border had been reopened, and were allowed to cross into Macedonia. They said they had been evicted from their homes seven weeks ago. Reuters reports the Kosovo refugees reaching Macedonia at Blace checkpoint yesterday said they had been repeatedly barred from a train out of the province. Ron Redmond, a UNHCR worker, said earlier that some ethnic Albanians arriving in recent days had seen thousands more trying, and failing, to leave Kosovo. "We have also received reports from some of the people coming across the remote mountain areas through unofficial crossings that the Serbs are mining some of those borders on the other side," he said. [New wave of refugees in Macedonia – http://news.bbc.co.uk; Kosovo refugees cross freely at Blace to Macedonia – www.reuters.com]

MACEDONIA: TRANSFERS STILL 'TOO SLOW' 14 May 1999 – Macedonian President Kiro Gligorov warned yesterday that the transfer of Kosovo refugees from Macedonia to third countries was still too slow, reports AFP. "We reiterate the need for more intensive transfer of refugees to third countries," Gligorov told a press conference after meeting with Slovenian president Milan Kucan. Gligorov recalled that European Union countries committed themselves to take in 100,000 Kosovo refugees, but until now only a few were fulfilling those commitments. Other countries are "acting in a relaxed manner" and excusing themselves "because of their public opinion," he added. Meanwhile AFP reports Macedonian Minister of Interior Pavle Trajanov has warned Kosovo rebel groups not to organise political activities in refugee camps in the country, calling this totally unacceptable. AFP also reports the World Bank yesterday approved a US$50m emergency credit for Macedonia to help it maintain its economy as it copes with the influx of refugees. [Gligorov says transfer of refugees to third countries too slow + World Bank approves 50 million dollars for Macedonia + Macedonia unhappy with political activities in refugee camps – www.afp.com]

HUNGARY: YUGOSLAVS ARRIVING 14 May 1999 – Hundreds of Yugoslavs and people of several other nationalities are living at a refugee centre in Hungary near the Romanian border, reports Reuters in a feature article. Goran, an army deserter, can't get out of Hungary because almost no country will grant him a visa and he can't go back home because he deserted. "I just hope to get refugee status and get a job and live peacefully," he said. "If I go back I may be executed, so I need refugee status. But from what I've seen, there's not much chance of that." Hungary is receiving a small but steady stream of Yugoslavs fleeing northwards. Some are ethnic Albanians, but many are Serbs, ethnic Hungarians and other Yugoslavs. Among them are women and children fleeing NATO bombs. Others, like Goran, are escaping military service. Istvan Dobo, general director of the Hungarian immigration and refugee service, said that since March 24 some 1,500 people, mostly Yugoslavs, have applied for asylum. The number is the tip of the iceberg since it represents only those seeking asylum, not the total entering Hungary, he said. He said few Yugoslavs, but especially Serbs, were likely to meet strict requirements for refugee status. "The threat to Serbs (in Yugoslavia) is nothing like the threat to Albanians," he said. [Hungary no idyll for Yugoslavs fleeing war – www.reuters.com]

KOSOVANS: HOPES FADE FOR EARLY RETURN 14 May 1999 – Kosovan refugees in Macedonia and Albania are beginning to lose hope of an early return with the result that growing numbers are instead trying to secure evacuation to the West, reports the Financial Times. The desire to escape before the hot Balkan summer could undermine the West's hopes of securing a rapid repatriation once a peace settlement is in place. Aid workers say it also raises the prospect that some may never return home. The mood was summed up by refugees in a large camp in Tirana: "We are still confident in Nato, but they are going very slowly." The Los Angeles Times reports there are indications NATO is preparing for a long slog despite its confident talk. Italian Navy Cmdr. Fabrizio Maltinti told reporters in Brussels that NATO and UNHCR are worried about how displaced Kosovans will weather the next winter in Albanian camps located more than 3,000 feet above sea level. [Refugees losing hope of return – www.ft.com; Clinton Defends NATO's Reasoning – www.washingtonpost.com]

KOSOVANS: UNHCR, NATO TO DISCUSS 'SAFE' RETURNS 14 May 99 – UN High Commissioner for Refugees Sadako Ogata yesterday said UNHCR would be meeting with NATO to discuss the "safe" return of refugees to Kosovo, reports AFP in Geneva. NATO was not best placed to lead a return to Kosovo, but it could help create "conducive" conditions for an eventual move back, Ogata said. "I have been talking with the military and we are going to have a planning meeting on how to do returns properly," she said. Ogata has asked NATO to look into the questions of ensuring security and providing help for logistics and infrastructure rebuilding in devastated Kosovo. The Los Angeles Times adds that some US defence officials privately say they may be facing a lengthy period in which Yugoslav forces can still block the efforts of a casualty-averse NATO to escort home refugees. [Ogata says UNHCR to discuss with NATO safe return of refugees to Kosovo – www.afp.com; Yugoslav Troops Remain Effective Foes, Officials Say – www.latimes.com]

KOSOVANS: NUMBERS ENDGAME? 14 May 1999 – The spokesman for Yugoslavia's ruling party yesterday said up to 300,000 people have left Kosovo since NATO attacks began, far below aid workers' estimates of almost a million refugees, reports Reuters in Belgrade. "There are not more than 300,000 of them, including those in Macedonia, Albania and Yugoslavia," Ivica Dacic, spokesman for Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic's Socialist Party, told a news conference. UNHCR yesterday said 904,082 people had either fled or been expelled from Kosovo since March 1998. Dacic added Yugoslavia supported the return of refugees, but made clear that only those with proper documents would be able to return. The Christian Science Monitor reports the last reliable census in 1981 found about 1.6 million ethnic Albanians in Yugoslavia. But last Monday, Goran Matic, Yugoslavia's information minister, said there are just 917,000. Analysts say that's the number Milosevic may be shooting for as he reviews his strategy before engaging NATO in negotiations. "That's the core of Milosevic's endgame: the refugees," says an observer. Milosevic has said he is ready to accept the return of all Albanian refugees. But without a shred of identification to prove their citizenship, the suspicion among aid workers is that a substantial percentage of them will not be allowed back in. [Milosevic aide says only 300,000 left Kosovo – www.reuters.com; Giving refugees an ID to counter Serb 'cleansing' – www.monitor.com]

KOSOVANS: UNHCR GETS FUNDS FOR A MONTH 14 May 1999 – UNHCR said yesterday fresh donations had bridged a severe cash-flow gap and ensured funding for its Kosovo-related operations until the end of the month, reports Reuters. Special envoy Dennis McNamara said UNHCR had received more than US$100m towards the just over US$140m it had requested for Kosovo. Earlier this week only about US$76m had been received. Among the new contributions were US$21.25m awaited from the European Commission and additional funds from Canada, France and Ireland. "The High Commissioner, myself and others have made international appeals in recent days because we have found ourselves with no cash flow for the entire Kosovo emergency,'' said McNamara. "We are still US$43m short, but at least the immediate cash flow should have been taken care of for a short period. That money will take us to approximately the end of May,'' he said. Reuters also reports US congress negotiators agreed yesterday to provide US$919m in humanitarian aid to refugees fleeing Kosovo and to nations bordering Yugoslavia. Meanwhile Kyodo reports Japan's Prime Minister yesterday noted the need to make Kosovo refugees more aware they are receiving aid from Japan following its contributions of US$200m, ruling party sources said. [Fresh funds ensure UNHCR Kosovo aid till end; May + U.S. lawmakers agree billions for Kosovo war, aid – www.reuters.com; Japan's refugee aid needs to be recognized, says Obuchi – www.kyodo.co.jp]

KOSOVANS: MILOSEVIC SNUBS RIGHTS CHIEF 14 May 99 – Mary Robinson, the UN high commissioner for human rights, was frustrated in her aim to ask Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic about his government's human rights record when he refused to see her yesterday in Belgrade, reports the New York Times. Robinson denounced all civilian casualties in the war, but reserved her strongest language for the "devastating pattern of ethnic cleansing" in Kosovo. She placed the responsibility squarely on Milosevic and Yugoslav authorities. She also voiced her concern about NATO's using cluster bombs near civilian areas and the resulting civilian casualties. But Robinson was in no doubt where the main guilt lay. "People in uniform are driving people from their homes and from Kosovo . . . That is a responsibility of the government," she said at a news conference. The Daily Telegraph reports Milosevic yesterday refused to meet Robinson who had planned to tackle him on allegations of "ethnic cleansing" by his forces. [Milosevic Refuses to See Top U.N. Rights Official – www.nytimes.com; Milosevic snubs UN rights chief over 'cleansing' – www.telegraph.co.uk]

KOSOVO NOTES 14 May 1999 – BBC News reports Bulgaria's Foreign Minister has accused Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic of deploying a 'refugee bomb' against his neighbours, amid worries about the effects of the refugee influx on Albania and Macedonia. Reuters reports three Kosovo refugees who arrived at Fort Dix in the United States last week landed behind bars at county jails in Pennsylvania after using fake names to enter the country, US officials said yesterday. AFP reports the 5,000 Kosovan refugees that Canada agreed to take in will have to pay a hefty fee if they decide to permanently settle in the country, the immigration minister said yesterday. The Los Angeles Times reports Kosovan refugees Mentor Hoti, 14, was finally reunited yesterday with his family in Germany after a seemingly endless string of snafus by government officials, humanitarian agencies and even his family. CTK reports the planned second flight with Kosovo refugees from Macedonia to Slovakia had to be cancelled because of the refugees' lack of interest. Reuters reports Iranians donated cash and goods for Kosovo refugees yesterday and IRNA news agency said Iranian workers in Macedonia had opened a camp near Kosovo to provide aid and medical services to refugees.